Will fulfil common man's housing dream, bring back Marathi people who have left Mumbai: Shinde
Apart from this, the efforts made by the Mahayuti government will bring about a radical change in the lives of the citizens of Mumbai, which is the growth engine of the country, said Shinde in the state Assembly.
The necessary reforms in the Urban Development and Housing Department will complete the stalled redevelopment projects and move towards a slum-free Mumbai, he stated in his reply to a discussion held under Rule 293 in the state Assembly.
'We are working to connect Mumbai with the world. We are doing the makeover of Mumbai in the true sense. Most of the Mumbai transformation work was done during the Mahayuti government. These works are bringing about radical changes in the lives of Mumbaikars. We are doing the biggest development of Mumbai after the country's Independence. Mumbai is being transformed in every sense,' he said while rebutting the charges of the Opposition in this regard.
'We are working to speed up the stalled redevelopment projects in Mumbai. In this, a developer has been appointed for the cluster development project in Motilal Nagar Goregaon and GTP Nagar. This will provide houses to 4,900 residents.
"The bidding process for the cluster development in Kamathipura Abhyudaya Nagar is underway and will be completed by September 2025. Nearly, 11,441 tenants will benefit from the redevelopment. The cluster will benefit 2010 residents in Adarsh Nagar Worli and Bandra Reclamation, the bidding process is also underway,' he said.
Dy CM Shinde said that the redevelopment project of BDD chawls is underway in Worli Naigaon and N.M. Joshi Marg and a total of 15,600 tenants will be rehabilitated in this.
"Out of which, we will allocate 556 flats in Worli by August 15. We have planned to allocate 25 per cent of the total flats by December 2025. We are rehabilitating the Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar slum. The work of the East-opening road passing through this area is being done by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). In the first phase, 6144 slum dwellers are being rehabilitated and MMRDA has issued a tender,' he added.
He said that a new housing policy has been prepared for affordable housing and 35 lakh houses will be built by investing Rs 70,000 crore.
"The common man will get the affordable, environmentally friendly houses he deserves. The issue of redevelopment of old buildings in Mumbai is also very big. When I was the Chief Minister, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation Act 1888 (Act 1976) was amended and now the unfinished projects can be completed quickly. The stalled SRA schemes are being completed through government agencies, making the dream of Hindu Hruday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray a reality,' he expressed.
Refuting the Opposition's charges about Mumbai roads being in a poor shape, Dy CM Shinde said the roads in Mumbai are being concretised and wherever the work is incomplete and there are complaints, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation is taking action by appointing zone-wise dedicated agencies.
The cost of filling potholes every year has been reduced by 50 per cent this year, he stated and added that an online portal for pothole complaints has been set up as well as an agreement has been signed with IIT Mumbai for inspection.
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Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
‘Sense of fear I see everywhere…': Marathi playwright Satish Alekar
Eminent Marathi playwright and actor Satish Alekar spoke about his work, the Emergency, fundamentalism, tolerance, and the language row, among other things, in an interaction with The Indian Express. Progressive and forthright, Satish Alekar, whose influence spans generations, has enriched the Marathi – and Indian – stage with powerful and political plays, including Mickey Aani Memsaheb (1973), Mahanirvan (1974), Mahapoor (1975), Begum Barve (1979), and Atireki (1990). Much of Alekar's appeal lies in his wit and the social issues he raises in his plays, such as inequity, injustice and fundamentalism. Pune-based Alekar is a recipient of the Padma Shri and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for theatre (Marathi playwriting). He has taught at BJ Medical College and served as the director of the Lalit Kala Kendra. Excerpts from the interaction: Dipanita Nath: You are a biochemist by training. How did you come into theatre and playwriting? Satish Alekar: I became a playwright by fluke. I had lost my admission to a medical college because, during that time, I was campaigning for the Congress party. My maternal uncle V N Gadgil was given a Lok Sabha ticket for Pune and was defeated by Samajwadi leader S M Joshi by just 12,000 votes. I didn't realise while campaigning that the examination was just around the corner. I was left out to do a BSc and all my friends went and joined IIT and various medical colleges. During that time, in any middle-class Brahmin family, if you missed admission to either an engineering or a medical college, it was a crime. I was very dejected. At this time, Bhalchandra Vaman Kelkar somehow spotted me and asked me to play a role in a play he was staging. This was 1967. I did the main role and found that theatre worked like therapy for me. I gradually started realising myself from within through theatre. Anuradha Mascarenhas: Which was the very first play you saw and the first one you wrote? Satish Alekar: The very first play I saw was when we were in the eighth standard. Due to the Panshet dam disaster, the school had organised a professional theatre festival to support the flood-affected people. I saw the best commercial theatre that was happening over 10 consecutive days from the wings. As asked by my teacher, I used to offer tea or coffee to the artists who were coming by buses to Ramanbaug, which used to have a very big ground during that time. I watched all the plays from the wings and not from audience. So I got a sense that theatre is made up, not real. This element was reflected later in my playwriting. All my short plays were written while I was in Fergusson College and they were published in the very prestigious magazine Satya Katha. I was very young during that time. That's why many of my plays have completed 50 years while I am alive. Manoj More: What was your experience of the Emergency, which was also 50 years ago? Satish Alekar: I saw the Emergency in force because we were at BJ Medical College and all the political prisoners were brought to Sassoon Hospital for checking. And that was the only time they used to get to meet their relatives. The doctor and all the people were siding with the political prisoners, not against them. We used to bring the relatives to the prisoners, sometimes the latter gave us tiffin to give to the political prisoners. It so happened that at this time, while I was helping the political prisoners, my maternal uncle was a minister in the Central Government. In fact, my marriage took place during the Emergency and one person who signed at the court as witness was my maternal uncle V N Gadgil and the other was S M Joshi. They knew each other. We stayed in Shaniwar Peth, which had an accommodative point of view. Their atmosphere was the best for the development of a liberal democracy. All our teachers belonged to the RSS but we never went to an RSS party. My cousin went to the RSS. My father belonged to the Samajwadi Party. My father had been in jail for four years for the freedom movement. All the differences were present, but there was not the kind of animosity you see now. Manoj More: When did society begin to change? Satish Alekar: I think everything changed after 2014. Gradually, the parameters of liberal democracy began to shrink day by day. You can see what's happening today, and it has been reflected in my latest play, Thakishi Samvad. As artists, we suffered more after the Emergency, when Ghashiram Kotwal and Sakharam Binder became targets. We couldn't move out of the house. Many people were asked to leave the theatre because 'you are a Brahmin and you are working under a Muslim director'. Because of the controversy surrounding Ghashiram Kotwal, we were forced to leave the group Progressive Dramatics Association (PDA) after the first 19 shows. We established our own group, Theatre Academy, and, after a gap of one year, we resumed the play and no one contested it. For Ghashiram Kotwal, we received an invitation from the Berlin International Film Festival in 1980 and a second controversy started [over claims'] that 'You are doing theatre here which is alright, but you don't wash this linen outside the country. It is a bad history of your projecting, your play is a character assassination of a great historian Nana Fadnavis.' Vijay Tendulkar, the playwright, and a few others went to court. The compromise the court gave us was that, before every performance outside India, we were to read out the court order publicly that this was not a reflection of real history. This was an artist's point of view. People used to laugh at that. We had to get the court order translated into Dutch because we are performing in Amsterdam. We had to translate it into German because we are performing in Germany. We had to translate it in French. We had 25 shows in West Europe and in London. In London, we had 12 houseful shows of Ghashiram Kotwal. From 2014 onwards, the situation is not all that conducive. There is a sense of fear I see everywhere. This is fear about whether I should express myself fully, whether someone will be watching me and hit me, not physically but by not giving me any kind of opportunity. Sushant Kulkarni: As far as reaching more people is concerned, does a politically convenient stand reach more people? Satish Alekar: Yes, but we don't know what is really in their mind. An example is the current hidden pro-Hindu elements in the middle class. It was there right from the beginning in my childhood. On October 13, 1964, I was in school when Gopal Godse, the brother of Mahatma Gandhi's assassin, Nathuram Godse, was released from prison. It so happened that people who supported his ideology decided to honour Gopal Godse. But, how to do this? It would become a very volatile situation and they would get arrested. The solution was to have 100 Satyanarayan Mahapujas at the homes of the supporters and distribute the prasad. In Shaniwar Peth, Deccan Gymkhana and other localities of the city, Satyanarayan pujas were conducted in homes. Who will object? If you asked them, 'Are you honouring Gopal Godse?', the answer would be no. A hundred households conducted private pujas. The supporters had planned to bring the prasad to Udyan Mangal Karyalaya in Sadashiv Peth for distribution, an event that would be attended by Godse himself. That story leaked in Kesari the next day. That's how the people came to know that such a thing happened. So, religious divisions have been an entrenched part of Indian society. Today, fundamentalism has come to the forefront as it has received some kind of confidence. I think that the BJP's own reinterpretation of their own party is responsible for these kinds of social divisions. This party was very different under Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Pramod Mahajan was very fond of theatre and watched our plays. They think that this will be successful and long lasting and praised all over the world. I don't know whether it is true or if we will fall on our faces. Dipanita Nath: We have lost Ratan Thiyam, a great director. Satish Alekar: It was thanks only to regimes like Indira Gandhi's, because of her policies in culture, that his plays could come. She formulated a policy in such a way that every ministry had to spend 20 per cent of their budget on the seven sisters. I knew Ratan very closely because he used to come here off and on. Our student visited him and conducted a 15-day workshop in Imphal. Once I asked him, 'Why are you so restless? Why do you make plays only on war and myth?' He said, 'if you want to know how we live in Manipur, come and visit us. You come out on the street and you see the traffic police; in Manipur, we never see police, we see the Army. We see the Indian Army behaving aggressively. Suppose my actor is to leave his place and come to the rehearsal, he has to cross three barriers and show that he is an Indian. Imagine, you have to show your identity three times to prove that you are the real person. If that kind of a situation exists, what kind of a subject will one make plays on.' He gave a new dimension to the theatre space, and created the theatre space spectacularly using the fabrics and the mask, traditional drums and language. He was a profound literary figure as well. He was a fine designer, musician, and painter. His paintings used to sell. He was a wonderful designer, actor, writer and poet. The other thing is he was a Meitei but he involved Kuki performers as well. When one creative person dies, you will find it's very difficult for any other person to fill up the void. Sunanda Mehta: Last year we had an incident at the Savitribai Phule Pune University in which a play, Ramleela, was disrupted. What is your take on all that happened? Satish Alekar: Now, everything has become quiet. It was not a play but a rehearsal that was taking place. It was a text-to-performance in which the students were supposed to perform some scene and analyse it. It was not a complete play. You can't demand some kind of authentic value to that particular piece because it was a play in the making, a kind of a trivial theatre exercise. For a theatre exercise, we need one or two audience numbers. That's why they had invited an audience. The audience came in large numbers and we found that some mischievous element was there in the audience. The whole thing was blown out of proportion for no reason. Theatre is vulnerable; performing art is very vulnerable. You can destroy it any time. The university should have supported [the performers]. It reflects the times where there is no tolerance, that's for sure. Ajay Jadhav: Would you like to comment on the language row in schools? Satish Alekar: We started in the Marathi language. Hindi was introduced to us in the sixth standard and English from the eighth standard. Gradually, they brought English a little forward to the fifth standard, but from the first to the fourth standard, there was only one language. People have introduced English from the first standard, which is a bad decision and I don't know how it can be reversed now. Why do we need politics over the issue of a third language? Partha Sarathi Biswas: What kind of media do you consume these days? Satish Alekar: There is a lot of media to be consumed. One has to become very choosy. I listen very carefully to the video channel of Pravin Sawhney of Force magazine. The way in which he described wars and so on makes me feel that we don't know which war is the real one and which is a virtual war.
Hans India
5 hours ago
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Delhi court defers decision in National Herald case
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News18
7 hours ago
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Yogi Adityanath Becomes Longest Serving UP CM, Surpasses Govind Ballabh Pant's Record
Last Updated: Breaking a 70-year-old record, UP CM Yogi Adityanath completed 8 years and 132 days in office, surpassing Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant, marking a historic milestone. It wasn't just the third Monday of the holy month of Shravan — it was a historic one too. On this day, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath scripted history by breaking a 70-year-old record to become the state's longest-serving head of government. Having completed 8 years and 132 days in office, he surpassed Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant's record of 8 years and 127 days. With this milestone, Yogi not only cements his place in the state's political history but also sets a new benchmark ahead of the crucial 2027 Assembly elections. He is also the first CM in UP's history to return to power after completing a full five-year term without a break. On March 19, 2017, Yogi Adityanath took oath as the 22nd Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, after the BJP's sweeping victory in the Assembly polls. Under his leadership, the BJP secured another emphatic mandate in the 2022 Assembly elections, making him the first Chief Minister in the state's history to return to power after completing a full five-year term without a break. A firebrand leader and the Mahant of Gorakhnath Math, Yogi began his political journey in 1998 when he became one of India's youngest MPs at just 26. Representing Gorakhpur in the Lok Sabha for five consecutive terms, he built a strong base in eastern Uttar Pradesh before transitioning to state leadership. With the next Assembly elections scheduled for 2027, Yogi now enters uncharted political terrain, seeking to consolidate his record-breaking tenure with a vision that blends infrastructure growth, law-and-order control, and cultural revivalism. Political expert Shashikant Pandey, Head of the Department of Political Science at Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, described Yogi Adityanath's tenure as 'a defining phase in Uttar Pradesh's modern political history." Pandey said, 'Yogi Adityanath's long tenure marks not only a record in numbers but also a significant shift in the state's political culture. He has successfully transformed the image of UP from being a state frequently associated with instability and lawlessness to one that speaks of firm governance and decisive leadership. His strong stance on law and order, along with the push for infrastructure and welfare schemes, has consolidated his base and created a perception of stability among the people. At the same time, Yogi has never shied away from projecting his ideological moorings, which resonate strongly with a large section of the electorate," he said. He further said that this blend of development-oriented policies with cultural nationalism has set him apart from many of his predecessors. As he crosses this milestone, his role as Chief Minister becomes even more crucial in shaping not just the state's future but also the BJP's roadmap for the 2027 elections. The real challenge now lies in maintaining this momentum and addressing rising aspirations. Who Was Govind Ballabh Pant? Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant (1887–1961) was not just the first Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh but also one of India's foremost freedom fighters and nation-builders. Born in Khoont village near Almora, he studied at Allahabad University and became a lawyer in Kashipur, where he first challenged British colonial policies. Pant played a vital role in the independence movement — representing revolutionaries in the Kakori case, participating in the Salt Satyagraha, and facing multiple imprisonments, including during the Quit India Movement. Known for his towering presence, he stood shoulder to shoulder with Gandhi, Nehru, and Patel. As Premier of the United Provinces from 1937 and later the first Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 1950 to 1954, Pant introduced agrarian reforms, strengthened the panchayat system, and promoted self-reliance among farmers. A key moment of his tenure came in 1949 when idols of Ram and Sita were placed inside the Babri Masjid — an event that set the stage for the decades-long Ayodhya dispute. Despite pressure from Prime Minister Nehru and Home Minister Patel to remove the idols, Pant resisted, opting for a cautious approach. In 1955, he was appointed India's Union Home Minister, where he oversaw the linguistic reorganisation of states and pushed for Hindi as an official language. For his contributions, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1957. He served in office until his death in 1961. Yogi's Place in UP Politics By breaking Pant's long-standing record, Yogi Adityanath now finds himself compared to one of India's most celebrated leaders. His governance model, marked by a focus on infrastructure development, law-and-order reforms, and cultural nationalism, has reshaped the state's political discourse. He also joins a rare club of Uttar Pradesh CMs who secured consecutive mandates, alongside Sampurnanand (1957), Chandrabhanu Gupta (1962), Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna (1974), and Narayan Dutt Tiwari (1985). With the next Assembly elections due in 2027, Yogi's extended tenure provides both an opportunity and a challenge. While his record-setting leadership strengthens the BJP's claim to stability, it also sets high expectations for delivering on promises of economic growth, youth empowerment, and social harmony in the country's most populous state. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from politics to crime and society. Stay informed with the latest India news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : uttar pradesh Yogi Adityanath view comments Location : Lucknow, India, India First Published: July 29, 2025, 14:59 IST News india Yogi Adityanath Becomes Longest Serving UP CM, Surpasses Govind Ballabh Pant's Record Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
