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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Thackerays’ ‘Taandav’ for trees, tigers

AI generated image Mumbai: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray launched a sharp attack on the government for the systematic degradation of the state’s environment under the garb of development, even as the climate change poses a direct threat to the environment, economy, agriculture, public health and the future of both rural and urban centres. Questioning the state government’s claims of having planted millions of trees, he rued how the World Environment Day has been...

Thackerays’ ‘Taandav’ for trees, tigers

AI generated image Mumbai: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray launched a sharp attack on the government for the systematic degradation of the state’s environment under the garb of development, even as the climate change poses a direct threat to the environment, economy, agriculture, public health and the future of both rural and urban centres. Questioning the state government’s claims of having planted millions of trees, he rued how the World Environment Day has been reduced to an annual ritual of tree-planting drives and clicking selfies for social media, though 90 pc of the saplings don’t survive even a day. “Only the government knows where those trees really are,” said Raj sternly. He recalled a "Blueprint of Maharashtra’s Development" he had proposed in 2015, in which he advocated how development without environmental sensitivity is hollow. Justifying, he said that the consequences are visible where roads, bridges and infrastructure projects are hailed as achievements, but even a short spell of rainfall can paralyze entire cities. Referring to recent reports on farmers returning from the fields after 10 am due to the scorching heat, Raj said that the worsening climate crisis has become an everyday reality. Citing official statistics, Raj claimed that extreme heat has caused productivity losses of nearly USD 159 billion and slashing of 160 billion work-hours annually in recent years. He mentioned the World Bank estimates that India’s GDP could plummet by 2.5-4.5 pc while 57 pc of the country’s districts sheltering 76 pc of the population stare at serious climate-related crises. Taking a swipe, he said while the governments boast about growth figures and economical rankings, they are silent on the staggering costs of environmental destruction. He questioned the development model “whether flooded cities, washed-away crops and unbearable summers” genuinely indicate progress. Claiming that Maharashtra was increasingly becoming unliveable for upto 8 months in a year, he said excessive monsoon rains disrupt rural life and urban floods cripple cities, while extreme heat make normal life a torture in summers in both urban-rural areas. Targeting the Centre, Raj alleged that nearly 173,984 hectares of forest lands were diverted in the past 11 years for mining and infrastructure projects to benefit the PM’s single favourite Adani Group. He said that these lands amount to 1,730 sqkm, or equivalent to the area of 16 Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) that is spread over barely 104 sqkm. Dissolve state wildlife board: Aaditya Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray has accused the Maharashtra government for issuing a permit to carry out mining activity in the sensitive tiger corridor between the Tadoba-Andhari and Indravati sanctuaries housing the big striped cats. In a strongly-worded letter to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) Member-Secretary Sanjay Kumar, Thackeray sought his immediate personal intervention, sacking the Maharashtra State Board for Wild-Life (SBWL), revoking the permit, and probe against the Chief Wildlife Warden & Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) M. Srinivasa Reddy for the alleged lacunae. Aditya’s two-pager says the permit has been granted for “scientific exploration and excavation/systematic recovery of low-grade iron ore in existing mines in villages Hedri, Bande, Parsalgondi and Round Parsalgondi, in the Etapalli taluka of Gadchiroli district”. Last January, Aditya – MLA from Worli – had first raised the issue saying that the proposed mine would create only 120 jobs, including 32 permanent, and the estimated output is pegged at 1.1 million tons in a year. Referring to two letters of Reddy – on April 28 and May 21 – the SS (UBT) leader claimed that in communications to the state government, the PCCF had changed his stance on the issue. Aditya said that in the first letter, Reddy had effectively opposed the government plans for mining activity but in the second letter, he took a somersault, ostensibly due to government pressures or some commercial interests, “the U-turn is disgraceful and detrimental to India’s national interest” – and this abrupt shift in stance must be investigated thoroughly. In view of the contrary stance of the PCCF Reddy, entrusted with protecting the wildlife but failing to defend the NTCA and NBWL, point to serious malfunctioning of the SBWL, and hence it must be dissolved, besides reviewing all its decisions in the past three years, particularly those pertaining to hazardous activities in sensitive areas, demanded Aditya. 444 tigers roam in 11,000 sq.km As per the Status of Tiger Report (2002), and the Maharashtra Economic Survey 2025-2026, the state boasts of 444 tigers prowling in the wild along with other menacing creatures. The state’s total protected wildlife network of 88 Notified Areas of National Parks, Sanctuaries, and Conservation Reserves - including 6 dedicated to the striped big cats – is spread over 11,092 sq. kms as per current data.

Why the Jan Vishwas Bill Could Make Life Easier

  • VNS
  • Apr 4
  • 3 min read

The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026 aims to remove criminal penalties from many laws and replace them with civil penalties to make governance more trust-based and business-friendly. The Bill changes 784 provisions across 80 Central laws and introduces a uniform administrative system for enforcement. Its goal is to improve regulatory efficiency, ease of living, and ease of doing business.


The Bill was developed through a detailed and evidence-based consultation process.A 24-member Select Committee held 49 meetings.Inputs were taken from different ministries, industry stakeholders, and experts.This ensured a balanced and credible approach to decriminalisation.


Removed criminal penalties from 183 provisions in 42 central laws. The new Bill proposes changes to 784 provisions across 80 Central Acts. Out of these, 717 provisions will be decriminalised. The remaining 67 provisions are aimed at improving ease of living for citizens.


The Bill provides relief to different sectors of the economy. In the pharmaceutical sector, changes to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940, removed criminal penalties for minor procedural mistakes like not submitting returns or statements, which will help companies comply faster and reduce legal cases.


Minor Violations

The Bill removes imprisonment for minor civic violations under the Delhi Development Act, 1957 and the New Delhi Municipal Council Act, 1994, making it easier for urban residents to comply with rules.


Changes to the National Highways Act, 1956 also simplify and rationalise penalties in the infrastructure and logistics sector. These reforms will reduce court cases, lower compliance costs, and create a more transparent and predictable regulatory system. This will support economic growth and improve ease of living.


The Bill also proposes changes to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 to improve clarity and make compliance easier, such as allowing state-wide vehicle registration. The Bill clearly separates minor procedural violations from serious road safety offences. Only minor offences are decriminalised, and imprisonment is replaced with graded monetary penalties and administrative action. The law will still keep criminal punishment for offences that affect road safety and public welfare.


Less Compliance

The Jan Vishwas Bill, 2026 supports the Make in India and Startup India initiatives by reducing compliance burden on businesses. India has over 2.12 lakh DPIIT-recognized startups, and the Bill will provide relief to this growing ecosystem. The government is allowing businesses to correct minor compliance mistakes instead of facing long legal cases. This will help businesses operate and grow more easily.


These reforms are especially important under the Legal Metrology Act, where small labelling or packaging mistakes earlier could lead to up to one year of imprisonment. Under the new system, these are treated as civil violations and businesses will be given a chance to correct them. With thousands of compliances already reduced and the number of companies increasing in recent years, these reforms will help entrepreneurs grow and innovate without fear of unnecessary legal action.


Less Pressure

India has improved its position in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings and achieved record exports of $790.86 billion in FY 2025–26. These developments reflect India’s growing economic strength and global presence.


The Jan Vishwas framework creates an administrative adjudication system to reduce pressure on courts. With over 4.8 crore cases pending in courts, minor violations will be handled by Adjudicating Officers instead of courts. This could reduce the judicial workload by 25–30 per cent. It will allow courts to focus on serious crimes, while business disputes are resolved faster, reducing compliance costs and improving ease of doing business.


The Bill removes more than 700 criminal offences related to minor lapses, reducing imprisonment provisions and legal burden on citizens and businesses. It will also reduce pressure on the criminal justice system and allow regulatory bodies to handle such issues through administrative processes.


The previous Congress Government followed a license-quota system with complex regulations, which often led to corruption and middlemen interference. Over the last decade, the Modi Government has tried to remove this control-based regulatory system and simplify laws. One major example from the past was the 2012 retrospective tax amendment, which affected global companies like Vodafone and Cairn Energy, damaging India’s image as a reliable investment destination.


The Jan Vishwas 2026 reforms aim to end the era of regulatory harassment. The government is shifting from a system that treated minor mistakes as crimes to a trust-based governance model. The focus is now on correcting minor mistakes instead of punishing people with criminal charges. This approach supports honest entrepreneurs and citizens while promoting the idea of “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance.”

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