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First Post
42 minutes ago
- First Post
US Supreme Court allows Trump's education dept mass layoffs amid school funding crisis
The US Supreme Court has cleared the way for President Trump to carry out large-scale layoffs at the Education Department, putting about 1,400 employees at risk of losing their jobs. The decision supports Trump's push to shrink the federal government. read more The Supreme Court has allowed President Trump to go ahead with mass layoffs at the US Education Department, putting nearly 1,400 employees out of work. In a 6-3 ruling, the Court's conservative majority overturned a lower court decision that had blocked the firings and ordered the workers reinstated. Education Secretary Linda McMahon praised the ruling as a 'significant win,' saying it would help carry out Trump's executive order to shut down the department 'as far as the law allows.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The layoffs affect about one-third of the department's staff and are part of Trump's broader effort to reduce the size of the federal government and shift education responsibilities back to the states. In a strong dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, warned the decision could cause a constitutional crisis. She accused the majority of allowing 'lawlessness' and argued that Trump's plan 'usurps Congress's power' by effectively dismantling an agency created by Congress. Justice Sotomayor warns of serious harm from cuts Justice Sotomayor cautioned that the cuts would cause 'untold harm,' weakening civil rights enforcement, support for students with disabilities, and anti-discrimination programs. Her dissent pointed to Trump's earlier promise to eliminate the department, suggesting the administration intended to 'break the law.' Schools fear funding gaps and disruptions Twenty-one Democratic-led states and teachers' unions have sued, arguing the layoffs would cripple essential services. They raised concerns about threats to $1.6 trillion in student loans, special education, and funding for low-income schools—responsibilities required by Congress. Massachusetts school districts warned of lasting damage, including delays in financial aid that could trigger teacher layoffs. Employees, who have been on paid leave since March, now face losing their jobs. A union official said, 'This guts our ability to protect students.' Push for a smaller federal government gains speed The ruling comes after the Supreme Court recently allowed Trump's plan to reduce the federal workforce, moving forward with his goal to 'dismantle the administrative state.'


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Groundwork of Swargate-Katraj underground Metro line yet to begin nearly one year after approval
1 2 3 Pune: Actual groundwork on the 5.5-km-long Swargate-Katraj Metro line has remained a non-starter almost a year after it was approved in Aug 2024. The addition of two stations on the stretch as an afterthought necessitated re-tendering for the entire project. The plan was initially sanctioned with three stations. Later, two more Metro stations were included at Balajinagar and Market Yard, taking the total to five stations on the route. Updating TOI about the most recent status of the line, Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (Maha Metro) officials said they are in the process of finishing the re-tendering work and appointing agencies to execute the project in the next two months. However, work is likely to begin only after the monsoon in Oct 2025. You Can Also Check: Pune AQI | Weather in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune The Swargate-Katraj Metro line is an extension of the PCMC-Swargate corridor, which has been functional since last year. Once completed, it will connect Pune's southern end to Pimpri Chinchwad. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation of the Swargate-Katraj stretch in Sept 2024. Since then, authorities have just been engaged in completing formalities required to start actual work. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Is it legal? How to get Internet without paying a subscription? Techno Mag Learn More Undo Commuters have long been awaiting the beginning of this line. Many Metro users from Satara Road in particular are hoping for the Katraj extension to become functional at the earliest. "We are looking ahead to the Metro run getting extended till Katraj, but work has not even started yet. There should be some timeline followed by authorities," said Ashok Marathe, a resident of the Padmavati area. As per the plan, the work is expected to be completed in four years after it starts. Opposition parties claimed that state govt is planning the launch of this pending groundwork with an eye on the upcoming civic polls. A Congress functionary from the Pune unit pointed out that although the project's foundation was laid "hurriedly" at the hands of the PM, work has failed to take off for a year. "Civic polls are around the corner; state govt will attempt to push ahead with the project in the next couple of months," he claimed. The addition of three stations has also escalated the project cost to Rs3,637.6 crore from Rs2,954.5 crore — an increase of Rs683 crore. The cost of this additional expense is expected to be shared by the Centre, state, and Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). Maha Metro officials said details of the finances were being worked out, including the share of govt and assistance from financial institutions. A functionary from Shiv Sena (UBT) said that the BJP-led govt has failed to push ahead with several major projects in Pune, including Metro extensions. "People are struggling to deal with increasing traffic in the city, but govt has ignored these issues. Why can't projects like the Metro be expedited to avoid delays?" he said. Pune: Actual groundwork on the 5.5-km-long Swargate-Katraj Metro line has remained a non-starter almost a year after it was approved in Aug 2024. The addition of two stations on the stretch as an afterthought necessitated re-tendering for the entire project. The plan was initially sanctioned with three stations. Later, two more Metro stations were included at Balajinagar and Market Yard, taking the total to five stations on the route. Updating TOI about the most recent status of the line, Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (Maha Metro) officials said they are in the process of finishing the re-tendering work and appointing agencies to execute the project in the next two months. However, work is likely to begin only after the monsoon in Oct 2025. The Swargate-Katraj Metro line is an extension of the PCMC-Swargate corridor, which has been functional since last year. Once completed, it will connect Pune's southern end to Pimpri Chinchwad. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation of the Swargate-Katraj stretch in Sept 2024. Since then, authorities have just been engaged in completing formalities required to start actual work. Commuters have long been awaiting the beginning of this line. Many Metro users from Satara Road in particular are hoping for the Katraj extension to become functional at the earliest. "We are looking ahead to the Metro run getting extended till Katraj, but work has not even started yet. There should be some timeline followed by authorities," said Ashok Marathe, a resident of the Padmavati area. As per the plan, the work is expected to be completed in four years after it starts. Opposition parties claimed that state govt is planning the launch of this pending groundwork with an eye on the upcoming civic polls. A Congress functionary from the Pune unit pointed out that although the project's foundation was laid "hurriedly" at the hands of the PM, work has failed to take off for a year. "Civic polls are around the corner; state govt will attempt to push ahead with the project in the next couple of months," he claimed. The addition of three stations has also escalated the project cost to Rs3,637.6 crore from Rs2,954.5 crore — an increase of Rs683 crore. The cost of this additional expense is expected to be shared by the Centre, state, and Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). Maha Metro officials said details of the finances were being worked out, including the share of govt and assistance from financial institutions. A functionary from Shiv Sena (UBT) said that the BJP-led govt has failed to push ahead with several major projects in Pune, including Metro extensions. "People are struggling to deal with increasing traffic in the city, but govt has ignored these issues. Why can't projects like the Metro be expedited to avoid delays?" he said.


Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Sood: Plans in place to boost network & power output in city
New Delhi: Several power transmission projects worth Rs 3,310 crore were in various stages of implementation, and more schemes costing nearly Rs 1,810 crore were in the pipeline, which will improve Delhi's power sector in the coming months, minister Ashish Sood told TOI. The power minister said due to the lack of attention of the previous AAP govt, the transmission network of Delhi largely stagnated over the past few years, and there was no significant capacity addition, resulting in an increase in power outages over a period of time. Sood agreed that Delhi Transco Limited executed only 58 of 120 schemes under its 13th business plan, and only one substation was commissioned under their 14th plan. "The result was an increase in constraints and bottlenecks in the transmission and distribution network in Delhi. But, just in a few months of the BJP govt coming into office, significant reforms are taking place to revive and revitalise the power sector of Delhi," Sood said. You Can Also Check: Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi According to the minister, 14 major schemes consisting of five substations of 400kV and 220kV level, 36 new transformers of various capacities, and many transmission lines, totalling Rs 3,310 crore, were now at various stages of implementation. "The transmission capacity of Delhi will increase from the present 13,040 MVA to 19,835 MVA at the 400kV level and from 14,780 MVA to 19,340 MVA at the 220kV level. This significant capacity addition in the power network is going to ensure reliability and uninterrupted power supply to residents of Delhi for the coming years," Sood said. The minister informed that power discoms have also planned to infuse capital investment of around Rs 1,937 crore in the current financial year for strengthening the distribution network of Delhi, which was significantly higher than the last two years. "There was less network upgradation during the tenure of the previous govt, but due to the continuous review and decisions of the BJP-led dispensation, using creative strategies and load rationalisation in consultation with all stakeholders, Delhi was able to meet a peak demand of 8,442 MW on June 12 without any load shedding. The unscheduled outages also reduced significantly from 2,045 in the previous year to 1,946 in the current year. With the concentrated effort of the BJP-led govt, the outages are going to further decrease in the coming years," Sood said. The minister also highlighted the increase in subsidy for installing rooftop solar plants as a step towards providing clean, green, and uninterrupted power supply in Delhi. He added that the power regulator recently released guidelines for rooftop solar installations under the utility-led aggregation model.