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TOI : PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has sought help from the Swedish International Co-operation Agency (SIDA) to prepare a Sustainable City Planning Project (SCPP), to be incorporated in the city’s Development Plan (DP), which is currently being re-drafted.

With instructions to focus on land-use and mobility planning, the SIDA has submitted its inception report (the project implementation plan), while the final action plan will be submitted by December 2009, after it passes through a series of phases.

Speaking to TOI, PMC development engineer Aniruddha Pawaskar said this is the first time the municipal corporation will receive international expertise in preparing the DP.

The last DP for the city was prepared in 1987. The PMC has already declared its intention to revise the DP according to the Maharashtra Regional & Town Planning Act. A resolution was made in the General Body in February 2007 and was published in the Maharashtra Government Gazette in December 2007. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: Former transport and tribal welfare minister of state Dharmarao Baba Atram was finally arrested and remanded to a 14-day magisterial custody on Saturday for allegedly killing two Chinkaras at Gulunche village near Baramati on June 14.

However, following the court’s order, Atram complained of chest pain and was admitted to the Sassoon general hospital.

Acting on orders issued by the Bombay high court, which had rejected Atram’s anticipatory bail application, the former minister had arrived at the forest department’s sub-divisional office in Bhor on August 28. After interrogating Atram on Thursday and Friday, the sub-divisional forest officer Hanumant Dhumal on Saturday arrested Atram and his aide Sayyad Ali Hussain. They were booked under section 26 of the Forest Act and sections 9, 18, 39, 50 and 51 of the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972.

The duo was immediately produced before the judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) court at Saswad. Dhumal filed a chargesheet against Atram and Hussain in the Chinkara poaching case before the court and demanded magisterial custody for the accused, which was granted by JMFC K.M. Kaygude. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: Santosh Lakshman Ovhal (35), who was absconding for the past two years and had 24 cases registered against him, was killed in an encounter at Kothrud on Saturday night. This is the 13th encounter by the Pune police so far and the second this month.
A team led by Ram Jadhav, police inspector of anti-dacoity squad and inspector Kishore Jadhav of the anti-extortion cell, shot him at Dahanukar colony, behind Cummins company, in Kothrud at 9.30 p.m.
Santosh was wanted in 24 cases including kidnapping, murder and dacoity. He was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in 1997 in a dacoity case. Two years back he was released on a parole, and had been absconding since then.
The police laid a trap near the Karve statue. Santosh, who came on a motorcycle, tried to escape on seeing the police. He fired four rounds at them and was killed in retaliatory fire by the police.
Earlier on August 11, the police had shot dead another goon, Robert Salve at Bhosari.
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TOI : PUNE: After cracking down on clinics in Mumbai for violating the anti-sex selection law- the Pre-conception and Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, the National Inspection and Monitoring Committee (NIMC) raided five city hospitals including Deenanath Mangeshkar and Poona hospital on Saturday.

The NIMC team is monitoring the implementation of the PCPNDT Act which bars using technology to determine the sex of a child. “Sixteen ultra sound machines were sealed including eight at Deenanath and five at the Poona hospital. Three machines at private clinics were also sealed,” said Varsha Deshpande, NIMC member.

Deshpande said that these hospitals were not maintaining records as per the requirement of the anti- sex selection law. “Form ‘F’ to be filled in with expectant woman’s details and a declaration by the doctor and the woman saying that they are not seeking the sex of the foetus, were found incomplete and incorrect at Deenanath and Poona hospital,” said Deshpande. Besides, many important columns were left empty, she added.

“It is a major cause of concern that super-speciality hospitals are found violating the norms. This is an indicator of what could be the situation in smaller hospitals. Declining girl-child sex ratio in cities like Pune is something that makes all of us hang our heads in shame,” said Deshpande.

The raids were conducted jointly by the Union Ministry for health and family welfare, women and child development with the PMC, said Dhananjay Chandakar, PMC deputy chief medical officer.

Dhananjay Kelkar, medical director of the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, clarifying the hospital’s stand said, “Among the 600 ‘F’ forms which were filled in by the hospitals in the last two months, only four to five were not signed by the concern radiologists. Everyday, 20 to 30 forms are filled in and at times the concerned person is unable to sign on a particular form. This does not…More

TOI : AURANGABAD: Now, Marathwada joins in the race to woo Tata to the region. The Chamber of Marathwada Industries & Agriculture (CMIA) has requested the state government to take special efforts to invite industrialist Ratan Tata to establish Tata’s Nano car project in Marathwada region in case they opt for alternate location to Singur.

CMIA has already made a representation to the chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, and other ministers concerned requesting them to extend all possible support to industrialist Ratan Tata for setting up the Tata’s dream car project in Marathwada region. Tata’s head quarter is located in Maharashtra at Mumbai and the proposed Nano car project is very prestigious, said Ashish Garde, CMIA spokesperson.

He pointed out that at least 40 vendors, including four major ones for the Nano are based at Aurangabad. Those preparing to go all the way to Singur would not have to do so and the government could provide land for the project, which is available in plenty in the region, Garde pointed out.

“Aurangabad has emerged as an important hub for auto and auto component industries. Leading auto component manufacturing units from this region who are also the members of the CMIA are already short-listed as vendors for Tata’s Nano car project. Hence, it is logical to invite the company to set up their project here region,” the CMIA said in its representation to the chief minister.
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