Expedite power projects in Nagpur, Amravati: CM
Devendra Fadnavis
on Monday directed energy department officials to accelerate execution of approved electricity infrastructure projects in Nagpur and Amravati to meet the rise in power demand from expanding industrial, commercial, and residential sectors.
He also called for a long-term energy roadmap up to 2035 to accommodate future population growth.
"The demand for electricity is increasing rapidly in Nagpur and Amravati due to the surge in investments in infrastructure and industry," Fadnavis said while chairing a high-level review meeting at Vidhan Bhavan. "All works approved under the current allocation must be completed without delay. We must proactively plan for emerging needs."
The CM emphasised the importance of protecting underground power cables from damage during other infrastructure works and recommended the use of secure cable ducts in all upcoming projects. "Safety and longevity of our distribution systems must be a top priority," he added.
Officials said that an additional Rs713 crore was required for electricity projects in Nagpur district and Rs242 crore for Amravati. The CM stated that this requirement must be incorporated into financial planning.
Fadnavis also directed the speedy implementation of projects under the revamped power sector reforms, including the Kusum-B scheme, the 'Solar Pump for All' initiative, capacity upgrades for transformers, and the establishment of new substations in both districts.
The meeting was attended by revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, energy minister Atul Save, minister of state for finance Ashish Jaiswal, minister of state for energy Meghana Bordikar, and local MLAs Ashish Deshmukh, Mohan Mate, Pravin Datke and Charan Singh Thakur. Key bureaucrats including principal secretary to CM Ashwini Bhide, ACS (energy) Abha Shukla, secretary Srikar Pardeshi, environment secretary Jayshree Bhoj, and top officials from Mahavitaran, Mahatransco, MahaGenco, and MahaUrja were also present.
Nagpur collector Dr Bipin Itankar joined via video link.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
20 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
CM approves long-pending faculty recruitment for state universities, colleges
MUMBAI: The state government has taken a major step to strengthen higher education by giving the go-ahead for recruitment to over 7,900 teaching posts and more than 2,200 non-teaching posts across public universities and aided private colleges. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has principally approved the long-pending recruitment drive, which was last initiated in 2022 but got stuck due to technical glitches. Mumbai: Maharshtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis (PTI Photo)(PTI07_07_2025_000131B) (PTI) At a high-level review meeting held at Vidhan Bhavan on Monday, Fadnavis expressed strong support for completing the recruitment process without further delay. 'Filling vacant posts in public universities and aided colleges is crucial for implementing the National Education Policy (NEP) and improving the overall quality of higher education,' he said. One of the key decisions taken at the meeting was the approval of 100% recruitment in state-aided engineering institutions, including VJTI college in Mumbai and Shri Guru Gobind Singhji Engineering College in Nanded. Additionally, 788 teaching posts and 2,242 non-teaching posts were cleared for recruitment across state universities, while 5,012 posts of assistant professors in aided private colleges under the directorate of higher education will also be filled. The meeting was attended by higher and technical education minister Chandrakant Patil, additional chief secretary Venu Gopal Reddy, finance department ACS O P Gupta, planning department ACS Rajgopal Deora, and university heads, including Dr Atul Vaidya, vice-chancellor of Lakshminarayan Innovation Technology University. Fadnavis also emphasised the need to strengthen technological universities in the state, noting that their numbers were limited. 'Universities must run at full capacity to maintain academic excellence and increase opportunities for students,' he said. The chief minister further directed that 105 teaching posts and one equivalent academic post be approved at Lakshminarayan Innovation Technology University. The university will also receive ₹8 crore annually for administrative and daily operations. Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University has also received approval for a revised staffing structure of 603 posts. In a move to improve library infrastructure, Fadnavis approved a 40% increase in library grants, with instructions to send the proposal immediately to the finance department. He also gave in-principle approval for upgrading the classification of libraries (A, B, C, D) and sanctioned proposals for new libraries to replace the 1,706 derecognised ones. Libraries completing 50, 75, and 100 years will receive special incentive grants.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
Tata Projects eyes order book of over Rs 60,000 cr from infra biz by 2030
The Buildings and Infrastructure (B&I) division of Tata Projects, the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) arm of the Tata Group, is eyeing an order book of Rs 60,000–70,000 crore by 2030, according to Raman Kapil, Chief Operating Officer, B&I, Tata Projects. The business's order book as of 31 March 2025 stood at around Rs 30,000 crore, featuring projects across segments such as transport infrastructure, residential, commercial and industrial real estate. 'We're targeting metro projects, mega bridges, renewable and nuclear power, and private real estate. We'll go deeper in select cities, particularly in the data centre, aviation and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) segments,' Kapil said. The company aims to focus more on geographies such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Meanwhile, the division's annual turnover stood at around Rs 9,500 crore in the financial year 2025 (FY25), against Tata Projects' total income of Rs 17,564.89 crore in FY25. The company's B&I arm aims to grow its turnover to Rs 15,000–16,000 crore by FY30. The B&I division contributes about 50 per cent to Tata Projects' overall revenue. The rest is contributed by the Energy and Industrial (E&I) division of the company. In FY25, Tata Projects incurred a loss of Rs 696.56 crore against a profit of Rs 81.96 crore in FY24. 'Growth comes with challenges. We also have our own share of those challenges. But we have mostly come out of it, and now our paths and our directions are very clear,' Kapil explained. Currently, 60 per cent of B&I's order book is third-party, while 40 per cent comes from Tata Group projects. Kapil stated that there would be more group projects going ahead (45 per cent), leveraging the synergy with group companies. 'We aim to shift to a 55:45 ratio, growing our share of group projects,' he added. Further, the division would prefer private sector projects over government ones. According to Kapil, government sector projects come with challenges—approvals, right of way (RoW) issues and fund flow. 'We focus on financially secured government projects while prioritising private sector opportunities.' The division has been working on government projects such as metro lines across top-tier cities worth over Rs 12,500 crore, the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link worth Rs 2,400 crore (40 per cent stake), and the BDD Chawl redevelopment project in Mumbai worth Rs 11,744 crore (through a consortium of Tata Projects, Capacit'e Infraprojects and CITIC Group). However, going ahead, the company is not very keen to work on redevelopment projects such as that of BDD. 'We aim to complete BDD before taking up similar redevelopment projects. Our focus remains on private sector building projects.' Kapil also emphasised that the company does not want to enter the public–private partnership (PPP) space for the next three to four years. Earlier, in March 2025, Tata Projects decided to raise Rs 2,500 crore through a rights issue. Kapil stated that the fund-raising was to support the company's investments in technology, precast solutions, fabrication facilities in Nagpur, and cleanroom infrastructure for the semiconductor space. 'Our vision is to become a technology-led EPC company—leveraging BIM, drones and AI tools—to enhance speed, quality and risk management—to deliver predictable and sustainable projects through innovation and technology,' Kapil said.
New Indian Express
3 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Maharashtra CM Fadnavis orders probe into Shiv Sena minister Sanjay Shirsat's hotel purchase
MUMBAI: In a big blow to Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday ordered a high-level inquiry against Shinde-led Shiv Sena's minister Sanjay Shirsat and his son for buying a Rs 110-crore luxury hotel for just Rs 67 crore in Sambhaji Nagar. It was alleged that Shirsat and his son, Siddhant Shirsat, undervalued the VITS Hotel and bought it by rigging the tender process. The Opposition had raised the issue and demanded a probe. Fadnavis said that Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule had already announced the cancellation of the tender process. The CM said, 'We will ensure that a new bid for this VITS Hotel auction is opened. However, to investigate any potential violations and irregularities in the tender process, we have decided to conduct a high-level probe to uncover the truth. Transparency has to be maintained in such a process.' Shiv Sena MLC and Leader of Opposition Ambadas Danave raised the matter in the Legislative Council. Danave alleged that the firm of the Sena minister's son, which bought the VITS Hotel, was not even registered and was therefore ineligible to participate in the bidding process. Still, it participated and won the bid, and illegally, he claimed Danave said it was revealed that the Sena minister's son used fraudulent documents to show his firm was eligible to enter the tender process. 'The government officials who are involved in this illegal deal have to be punished, and action should be taken against them. We want justice, and we expect CM Fadnavis to do justice,' he said. Sanjay Shirsat tried to defend himself and his son on the floor of the House, claiming that the allegations against both of them are baseless. He said that they had already announced their withdrawal from the deal.
