Nagpur ZP, Panchayat Samiti Elections Get Green Light; Ward Formation Deadline Set
Nagpur: The Maharashtra govt has initiated the long-awaited process to hold general elections for zilla parishads (ZPs) and panchayat samitis (PSs), including Nagpur, whose bodies were dissolved earlier this year on January 17.
A detailed order was issued on Thursday, outlining the steps and deadlines to determine new ward boundaries ahead of the polls.
In an official communication dated June 12, the state issued orders to determine the number of members and draw fresh ward boundaries for all affected rural local bodies. District collectors have been empowered to carry out this critical groundwork as part of the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti General Election (Number of Members, Ward Composition) Order, 2025.
The process includes fixing the number of members for each ZP and PS, which is currently at 57 and 114 respectively, and dividing constituencies based on the rural population of each district as per the latest Census 2011. The state has made it clear that natural boundaries and geographical continuity must be considered during ward formation, and care should be taken not to divide existing gram panchayats or tribal settlements wherever possible.
Importantly, the state has also issued a strict confidentiality clause, prohibiting any premature disclosure of the ward structure before the official draft is released. Officers violating this could face disciplinary action.
The entire exercise has been put on a fast track, with a fixed five-phase schedule, so that elections can be held within four months. Citizens are encouraged to participate actively during the feedback phase to ensure transparency and representation. The State Election Commission will supervise the final approval and publication of ward maps before poll dates are announced.
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Deccan Herald
3 hours ago
- Deccan Herald
Of old friendships and cold shoulders
Good morning readers and welcome to another edition of DH's political theatre. This week a heavy silence hung above the country as families of those who perished in the tragic crash of AI171 waited in sorrow to receive the remains of their family members. There were many among this crowd who had tinges of hope that those who were termed 'missing' will be found somewhere out there. Sadly, this wasn't the case for many as DNA testing proved that the worst had come true. The aftermath of the crash saw an outpouring of grief and rage at the cruel tragedy which snatched the lives of more than 200 people in a single devastating moment. As India grapples with the calamity that had befallen, let's also turn our attention to events that dominated the political arena this week:.C-ing the world in 4 days .This week Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on an expedition beginning with Cyprus. In his meeting with President Nikos Christodoulides, he promised to uphold Cyprus' independence. By promising their recognition, and Canada ignited by the murder of Khalistani Sikh extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, both the countries have decided to respect each other and rebuild their relationship. In line with this, they have decided to return Indian and Canadian High Commissioners to Ottawa and New Delhi, respectively. Unfortunately, not all relationships are working. There seems to be a bit of snag in his burgeoning relationship with US President Donald Trump who too had come to attend the summit. But more on that attending the G7 summit, Modi made history by becoming the first Indian prime minister to visit Croatia. Here as well, the Indian prime minister held talks with Croatia's leadership and aimed to boost ties. .Frosty relations up North .PM Modi and Donald Trump's warm relationship, which many believed was achieved due to the Indian Premier's huglomacy, has taken a bit of a tumble. While India made amends with one country in North America, icy winds slowly shifted to the other. Modi and Trump were supposed to meet on the sidelines of G7, but the US president decided to leave the summit early due to the conflict in the Middle East. Moreover, a very interesting guest was making an appearance at the White House: Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir. But prior to this meeting, Modi had dialled Trump and reiterated that India has never accepted and will never accept mediation by any third party to settle issues with Pakistan. Unfortunately, Trump didn't give any heed to Modi's clarification and once again stated that he being a 'harbinger' of peace had brought forth a ceasefire between the two 'warring' while meeting Pakistan's latest Field Marshall, Trump expressed his desire to do trade with the country. This meeting has come as a huge blow to PM Modi as earlier the United States of America had publicly claimed that Pakistan was a 'safe haven for terrorists' and now it seems they are making some sort of an 'alliance', leaving India alone to tackle with its notorious neighbour and leaving Modi sans a home, the Congress party wasted no time in pointing out Modi's flaws and criticising the 'fantastic man' (a term Trump recently called Modi). They said that Trump's lunch with Munir was a "huge blow" to Indian English egos and Hindi sparks a political debate—which can percolate to the masses— quite like language, and this week stands testimony to that. The week began with a controversial move by the Maharashtra government to make 'Hindi' a mandatory 3rd language in schools. But, after receiving intense backlash from both the opposition and literary bodies, the government 'amended' its order by saying that Hindi will "generally" be the third language. Amongst the people involved in the backlash was Raj Thackeray, who was leading the chant. He asked what was the need to "impose" Hindi on students and appealed to schools in Maharashtra to foil the government's "hidden agenda to deliberately create a language divide".While Maharashtra was grappling with such issues, Union Minister Amit Shah too dabbled in language politics, albeit with his own 'dialect'. Maybe in a bid to appease the masses, the home minister made a contentious statement which left many people puzzled at a book launch event. He said 'the time is not far that those speaking English in the country will start to feel ashamed'.This statement invoked a backlash from the opposition, with many saying it showcases a "restrictive and narrow-minded" political view. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi too retaliated and said that BJP-RSS doesn't want the poor to learn English as it empowers them to ask questions. .Tharoor's coup d'état? Tussle with Congress carries on .While Congress was busy packing a punch at the BJP, they too got a shock when one of their own made it to the limelight for openly defying the leadership. Shashi Tharoor, the man who recently led a delegation to the US and several other countries in the Americas, admitted that he doesn't toe the line of the ringmasters and does have a 'difference of opinion' with some colleagues in the party. This reaction comes on the heels of the Thiruvananthapuram MP claiming that his invitation got lost in the mail for the campaign at Nilambur by-poll in Kerala..'We were never apart': Bharat milap .Maharashtra isn't the only state privy to old family reunions. After Uddhav and Raj Thackeray's possible reunification, politicians from Rajasthan too followed suit. In a peculiar turn of events, Congress leaders Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot have decided to let go of their feud and mend their differences Later on, Gehlot even feigned surprise and said, 'When were we apart? We were never apart.' .BJP, Congress at each other's throats, a move which BJP labelled as 'minority appeasement', the Karnataka government hiked the minority reservation in housing schemes from 10 to 15%. The party defended themselves against the naysayers by retailing, 'Why do you smell political motives?' But the BJP didn't back down and said that Congress was snatching the rights of SCs, STs, OBCs and EWS. In other news, the Tamil Nadu CM is at loggerheads with the Centre. M K Stalin made sharp remarks at the government for demanding additional evidence from archaeologist K Amarnath Ramakrishna on the Sangam Era site of Keeladi. Ramakrishna was relieved from his role as Director (Antiquity) in the ASI and transferred to Greater Noida. This comes in the wake of him being asked to rework on his report of the first two phases of excavation in Keeladi. DMK and the BJP are currently engaged in a tussle over the interpretation of findings from Keeladi excavation. Stalin remarked that demanding of more information is a 'blatant attack' on Tamil puts Israel's Iron dome to test.A week after Israel launched a barrage of missiles at Iran and eliminated its military top brass along with many of its scientists who were involved with the country's nuclear programme, Iran decided it had had the stewardship of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the West Asian country appointed a new league of leaders and began retaliating with more missiles, including the Fattah-1 hypersonic ballistic missile, at its Jewish neighbour. These missiles were able to pose a challenge to Israel's Iron dome system and also succeeded in striking a hospital in Beersheba. This attack on the hospital came as a grave insult to Israel who vowed to eliminate Khamenei at all this midst of all this tension, India too had its worries. Many people who were stranded in the two 'warring' nations had to brought home, which led PM Modi to launch Operation of peace mulling to join the war .If we turn our attention to the North American superpower, the president of that country seems to be in a fix. During the initial days, Trump called for Iran's unconditional surrender, but Iran, in turn, retaliated by saying, 'US military intervention will have irreparable damage'. Moreover, it also emphasised that it would not discuss the future of its nuclear programme while under attack by Israel. Now the man, who claims to be the harbinger of peace, is himself mulling whether he should join the war or not. .That's all for this week, we will be back with more next week. Till then, stay safe and stay tuned to DH to catch all the breaking news and latest Stage Left,DH Newsletters Team
Hans India
6 hours ago
- Hans India
Cabin crew sacking: Trouble brews for Air India amid CBI probe demand
New Delhi: Air India, currently reeling under the devastating AI 171 Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash that killed at least 270 people, including 241 passengers and crew members, on Friday faced more heat as the Aviation Industry Employees' Guild (AIEG) demanded a CBI probe into the sacking of two cabin crew members by the airline for reporting a technical fault in the aircraft last year. AIEG General Secretary, George Abraham, told IANS that they have demanded a CBI probe into the sacking of two cabin crew members, as this move, after pressure on them by Air India to change their statements after reporting a technical fault in the Dreamliner 787 aircraft, is a very serious matter. "This poses a threat to the safety of the aviation sector. We have also written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a fair probe into the matter," Abraham said. He further stated that on May 14, 2024, after the Air India flight from Mumbai to London reached its destination, the slide rafts opened in manual mode due to a technical fault in the door of the aircraft. According to Abraham, the slide rafts are activated only when the plane is in automatic mode. The pilot and the entire cabin crew had also admitted the technical fault in the plane in their initial statements, but due to alleged pressure from the airline's management, the statement was later changed. Abraham said that to suppress the technical fault in the plane, the Air India management allegedly pressured these people to change their statement, and when they refused, both these crew members were fired from their jobs. Speaking to IANS, Abraham further said that due to the seriousness of the matter, both these crew complained about the matter to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the regulator called them to Delhi and heard the whole matter and talked about conducting an "informal investigation". However, eight months have passed, but no result of the "informal investigation" has come out, he noted. According to Abraham, after the deadly Ahmedabad plane crash, the attention of the government and the people is back on this issue. "This is why we have raised it once again and written a letter to PM Modi. We hope that this investigation will be expedited," he said. In a statement to IANS, the airline on Friday said that the "said cabin crew members were terminated for their misconduct and behaviour and continuing to falsify critical information during the course of an investigation". "The said investigation was launched after an emergency slide was activated while opening the aircraft door post landing," said Air India. Slide rafts deploy when a door is opened in "armed" or "automatic mode". The crew alleged the Dreamliner's door had malfunctioned as the slide raft deployed, though the door was opened in the "manual mode". The incident is reported to have occurred on May 14 last year, after the Mumbai-London flight AI-129 docked at Heathrow airport and the passengers disembarked. The two former senior cabin crew members have written to PM Modi, alleging they were wrongfully terminated last year after raising an alarm over technical issues in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
NDTV
14 hours ago
- NDTV
'Flying On A Dreamliner? I'm On': Ex Aviation Minister Praful Patel After Crash
New Delhi: There is no cause for worry after the Air India crash in Ahmedabad and if he was asked to fly on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner today, he would say yes immediately because the airline has a sound technical grounding and the country's aviation regulatory framework is strong, former civil aviation minister Praful Patel has said. Speaking exclusively to NDTV on Friday, the NCP MP also said, however, that there is a need for better communication from airlines as well as the aviation watchdog and all vacancies should be filled up because, when it comes to flying, "it's either 100% safe or zero, there's nothing like 99.9%". On the pace of the investigation after last week's Dreamliner crash in which at least 270 people were killed, including over 30 on the ground, Mr Patel said it has been satisfactory because a team from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) team in the US, teams from Boeing and GE, which manufactured the engines of the plane, and India's own Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) visited the site almost immediately and took charge. Based on his experience as the civil aviation minister between 2004 and 2011, the investigation, he said, should be completed within three months but could take longer because all possible scenarios should be ruled out. Mr Patel said the AAIB is very competent and the damaged black box of the AI 171 could be decoded in India itself, but there is no harm if this happens in the US either. "It doesn't really matter whether it's being opened in the US or it's being decoded in India. At the end of the day, what we really want to know is what went wrong," he said. Air India Safety Mr Patel pointed out that instances of flights being cancelled or having a technical issue happen every day, and are being amplified now because of the crash. "Air India, irrespective of the ownership today or in the past, has always been completely safety driven, protocol driven. They follow every single process which has been prescribed either by the manufacturer or by the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation," he said. "I would like to say that India does follow very good safety protocols. Air India has also had very tragic incidents, accidents in the past and they have been able to learn from them and overcome those kinds of issues. And I am sure even in the current context, Air India will be able to ride out of this crisis," the minister added. Describing the current crisis as a "crisis of confidence", Mr Patel said he has been getting calls about whether it is safe to fly Air India and whether its safety protocols and maintenance are up to the mark. "I can tell you, and I have no hesitation in saying this, that if I were to fly a 787 Dreamliner today, I would be the first person to say, fine, I'm on. There's no real issue, I wouldn't worry even for a second... only time will tell whether it's some kind of a failure of a machine or man or whatever. But these are all hypothetical things, we should not really be talking too much about them until we actually have the full report," he stressed. "Air India itself has got very, very, very good technical people over the years. The legacy has been very strong in Air India," he added. Passenger Confidence Asked how the government could boost the confidence of flyers after the crash, Mr Patel said passenger confidence has been shaken badly, but it can also be easily restored. Suggesting measures to do this, he said, "I feel that there needs to be better communication, both by Air India and by all the airlines of the country put together, even by the DGCA. And I can also sense that this is a time when any vacancies in the DGCA or even in airlines in terms of their engineering or safety departments should be filled up immediately... You see, in aviation parlance, either it's 100% safe or zero, there's nothing like 99.9%." Pointing out that several helicopter crashes have occurred in the Char Dham area in the past few weeks, he said checks and balances should be put in place and "shortcuts" should be avoided. "The operators take chances, the pilots also sometimes are confident or overconfident, they think that they can navigate through the mountains or the clouds and they know their way... And sometimes, I'm not blaming anybody, but there could be shortcuts which need to be avoided. That also shakes up confidence. After all, anything falling off the sky does rattle people. Safety Focus On whether India has too few players in terms of airlines, Mr Patel said the emphasis should be on quality, not quantity. India's track record, he said, has not been worse than advanced countries like the US or countries in Europe. "And we also have very, very good overall safety standards and monitoring. But my last word to people would be, please do not be scared of flying. It's still the safest mode of public transportation, even in India or anywhere in the world. (Once) you sit on a plane, your chances of having something going wrong are really very rare. You are one of the real unlucky ones if you really encounter some major problem," he said. "Otherwise, it is the safest and probably the best-managed public transportation (system) anywhere in the world," the former aviation minister emphasised.
