Latest news with #GirishMahajan
NDTV
4 hours ago
- Politics
- NDTV
"In The Long Run, We Are Harming Maharashtra": Governor On Language Row
Mumbai (Maharashtra): Amid the ongoing row over language in Maharashtra, Governor CP Radhakrishnan has urged people to refrain from spreading hatred based on linguistic differences, warning that such attitudes could harm the state in the long run. Sharing a personal experience from his time as an MP in Tamil Nadu, the Maharashtra Governor said, "...one day I saw some people beating someone. When I asked them about the problem, they were speaking in Hindi. Then, the hotel owner told me that they don't speak Tamil, and people were beating them to speak Tamil." He added, "If we spread this kind of hatred, then who will come and invest...? In the long run, we are only harming Maharashtra. I'm unable to understand Hindi, and that is an obstacle for me. We must learn the maximum number of languages, and we should be proud of our mother tongue." Maharashtra Minister Girish Mahajan also weighed in on the issue, saying, "Definitely, Marathi is our mother tongue, and it is our priority, but if we force someone else to speak Marathi or beat them, that is also not right for our state. We also go out, and what will we do if someone tells us to speak in Tamil or Bengali... We live in a country where many languages are spoken. We love our own languages, but I also do not like this kind of attitude." These remarks come amid heated debates in Maharashtra and Karnataka over the alleged "imposition" of Hindi and the choice of medium of instruction in schools. The controversy in Maharashtra began with a government resolution issued on April 16, mandating the introduction of Hindi as a third language from Classes 1 to 5. The move drew sharp criticism, with many accusing the state government of attempting to impose Hindi. Earlier on Saturday, NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule took a jibe at Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, questioning who might be pressuring him to prioritise Hindi over Marathi. "I am very concerned about Devendra (Fadnavis) Ji. Who is pressuring him?... Under whose pressure is he doing this? This is the first time that Maharashtra's Chief Minister is placing Hindi above Marathi..." Sule told reporters
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Minister orders fresh probe against power co for damaging crops
1 2 Chandrapur: Water resources minister Girish Mahajan has directed fresh inquiry against Dhariwal Infrastructure Ltd for allegedly laying a pipeline through private land instead of the govt approved route, resulting in significant crop damage to farmers. The issue came to light during the monsoon session of the state legislature when MLA Sudhakar Adbale raised a starred question demanding action against the company. He pointed out that despite violating norms and causing losses to farmers, no penal action had been taken so far. He also sought compensation for the affected cultivators. Mahajan informed the House that the company was supposed to lay the pipeline six feet deep along the approved route from Wardha river to its power plant at Tadali MIDC. However, the company allegedly diverted it through private land at a shallower depth, which caused frequent leakages and damaged nearby farms. An inquiry was conducted by a committee formed by district collector on March 18 this year. The panel, comprising officials including sub-divisional officer and tehsildar, recommended a meagre Rs15,000 compensation to six farmers — a finding the minister termed 'suspicious and unacceptable'. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Flexible in AI & Data Science BITS Pilani Digital Apply Now Undo Mahajan said, "The actual damage assessment was not done properly. The amount recommended is even less than basic travel expenses. A fresh and fair probe will be conducted." Adbale stated that he would continue to pursue the issue until the farmers get appropriate compensation from the company.
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Will go on indefinite strike if our demands are not met soon, says sanitation workers
ALSO BY KARTIKA JAMDAR Essential activities in Mumbai like picking up solid waste from households and commercial establishments and keeping the city clean may suffer a major setback as nearly 31,000 municipal workers have announced to go on an indefinite strike starting July 23. The workers have called for the strike in order to oppose the civic body's Rs 4,000-crore project under which it aims to rope in private contractors to carry out cleaning and collection of waste through a fleet of new waste collection trucks across all the wards in Mumbai. On Thursday, hundreds of sanitation workers gathered at Azad Maidan to protest the civic body's new waste collection policy, voicing concerns over job security and living conditions. The protest, organised by the Municipal Workers Action Committee, also saw BJP leader and cabinet minister Girish Mahajan extending support to the agitating workers. Following the gathering, a delegation of municipal workers along with Mahajan also met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. 'We have held a discussion with the CM who assured us that all our demands will be met and we will have an agreement with municipal commissioner by July 23. If this doesn't happen, then we will go on an indefinite strike,' Ramakant Bane, general secretary of municipal union said. Bane said their demands included that no existing employee of the solid waste department should lose their job, there shall be no change in the service condition and no scheduled post should be dissolved or nullified in the wake of this tender. Meanwhile, civic officials maintained that the tender of the Rs 4,000 crore project is still live and there has been no instruction from the administration to revoke it. Thursday's protest also comes amid growing anger among workers against the civic body's plan to bring in private agencies for garbage collection. Workers fear the move will render thousands jobless, disrupting livelihoods of families that have served the city for generations. 'I have been working for over 20 years with the BMC. This job has been our family's sole source of income for generations,' said Prafulla Kamble, a sanitation worker. Kamble also highlighted another longstanding demand of the community—ownership rights to the municipal quarters they have lived in for over three generations. 'Our demand for ownership is repeatedly denied, and now we face the risk of losing our jobs too,' he said. Several workers claimed the civic body has verbally assured that those displaced by the new plan would be accommodated in hospitals and other government offices, but claim that no formal guarantees have been provided. Ashok Hatagale, who has worked for 27 years, expressed similar fears. 'We have always done the city's dirtiest and toughest jobs. Our living quarters are crumbling and no one listens to our requests for repairs. Now they want to take away our jobs too,' Hatagale said.
Time of India
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Ekadashi bears fruit for crisis manager Mahajan
For water resources minister Girish Mahajan, the biggest challenge was management of millions of devotees visiting the historic Vitthal temple in Solapur district's Pandharpur on Ashadhi Ekadashi. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now CM had entrusted the entire task of the event and crowd management on Mahajan, his trusted aide. As per reports, Mahajan camped in the area for more than four days, that he did not move out of the township and personally looked after preparations. He mobilised social workers, including women, children, educational institutions and zilla parishads. Mahajan began preparations for the event in Jan. It involved management of an estimated one-and-a-half million devotees from across the country, including CMs of several states, Union ministers and cabinet members from more than a dozen states. Elaborate arrangements were made for their arrival at the temple and the entire darshan process was completed in record time. At the same time, it was ensured that other devotees did not face hardship and it was a smooth affair. Mahajan said govt will ensure more facilities for devotees. From the Kumbh Mela, state bureaucrats and cabinet members have learnt several lessons to be implemented in Maharashtra. In the corridors of power, Mahajan is the only cabinet member who has emerged as a troubleshooter and crisis manager. Recently, when there was a major rail accident, he took his entire team to the spot and provided relief operations without instructions from either the CM or any other authority. Whether in cabinet or not, he has ensured that people in crisis receive relief on top priority. Language row Even before Fadnavis withdrew the circular on making Hindi compulsory in primary schools, leading social organisations had taken note of people's sentiments. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now At an event by Nana Palkar Memorial Committee to felicitate leading medical practitioners, the anchor conducted the programme in Hindi. When trust chairman Shrikant Badwe rose to speak, he submitted he did speak in Hindi, but after a while, he said in view of the critical situation in the state, he would prefer to speak in Marathi. Later, while all the speakers turned to Marathi, the anchor continued in Hindi. Former bureaucrat Avinash Dharmadhikari spoke about the importance of Marathi language and Marathi authors, and their contributions to the freedom struggle. A veteran cardiologist, Gajanan Ratnaparkhi, who has embarked on several new techniques in the field of heart and related diseases and has won awards and prizes at the international level, spoke at length not only in Urdu but also stole the show with a few couplets in the language.
Hans India
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
758 irrigation projects completed in Vidarbha, says Maha minister
Mumbai: Maharashtra Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan has said that 758 irrigation projects have been completed in the Vidarbha region, and another 87 were under implementation. In a written reply, the Minister told the state Assembly on Wednesday that of the total 858 irrigation projects, 758 projects have been completed as of June 2024 by the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation in the region. Of the balance 100 projects, the work on 13 projects could not start as the administrative approval, including permission from the forest department, had already lapsed. The remaining 87 irrigation projects are under various stages of implementation. He said this while responding to a question by Pravin Datke and others. Of the total Vidarbha's irrigation potential of 22.31 lakh hectare, 14.23 lakh hectare of land has been irrigated, which comes to 64 per cent till June 2024. The implementation of 87 projects as of today is under way while 12 projects are pending due to forest land and other reasons. The irrigation potential of 87 irrigation projects is 12.60 lakh hectare, of which 4.81 lakh hectare have been irrigated by the end of June 2024. According to the Index and Backlog Committee, the irrigation backlog in six districts from the Vidarbha region by the end of June 1994 was reported at 7,84,720 hectares. Of which, the irrigation backlog of 7,81,185 hectares, which is 94 per cent, has been cleared by the end of June 2025. The irrigation backlog of 43,535 hectares still exists in Akola and Buldhana. The minister told the state council that the government is providing funds for the completion of pending irrigation projects through the Centre's Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchan Yojana, Baliraja Jalsanjeevani Yojana, loan under NABARD's Rural Infrastructure Development Fund and partial grant. The fund is being provided as per the fund disbursement formula devised by the state Governor and the state's financial status. He said that the fund is being provided to complete irrigation projects to clear the backlog from the Amravati division and also for the Gosikhurd National Project from the Nagpur region.
