Mumbai: The state government on Friday suspended IAS officer M Devendra Singh, who was serving as member secretary of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), for not attending a briefing convened by environment minister Pankaja Munde.
The briefing was regarding work related to the legislative assembly and the unusually stringent action against the officer resulted from a conflict over authority between Munde and Siddesh Kadam, a Shiv Sena leader and chairperson of the MPCB, sources said.
Pro-tem speaker Dilip Lande ordered the suspension of Singh and another MPCB official on Thursday evening after Munde expressed her inability to answer a question in the assembly, citing absence of the two officials from the briefing she had convened.
Singh and Satish Padval, joint director of the MPCB, were suspended after BJP MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar presented a breach of privilege motion against them on Friday.
The IAS officer did not respond to requests for comment from HT.
Parallel drain at Andheri subway
The state government on Friday informed the legislative assembly that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will commence work on a stormwater drain parallel to the Andheri subway in the coming months to resolve the longstanding problem of flooding in the area.
The BMC decided to construct the stormwater drain after a survey, minister of state for urban development Madhuri Misal told the assembly, while responding to complaints from BJP legislators Murji Patel and Ameet Satam about the civic body not doing anything about the matter.
“At present the subway gets flooded with 19mm rainfall, and the flooding problem persists for four months during monsoon. The parallel drain has been designed in such a way that there will be no flooding even with 55 mm of rainfall,” Misal informed the assembly.
The estimated cost of the proposed drain was ₹157 crore, she noted.
But Satam, displeased with the announcement, suggested that the BMC construct underground water tanks. Misal said she would convene a meeting of all concerned MLAs soon and resolve the issue.
Using plastic flowers an offence
The state government will soon issue an order mandating close watch over those using flowers made of non-biodegradable plastic, especially decorators and managements of banquets and marriage halls, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis told the assembly on Friday.
“Plastic which is not biodegradable is banned in the state. Henceforth, all those who use such plastic flowers…will have to face consequences as the situation has gone out of hand,” Fadnavis said in response to demands from legislators for a ban on artificial flowers.
The government will issue an order specifically mentioning the businesses that are using artificial flowers in violation of the plastic ban, Fadnavis said.
“Artificial flowers, especially those made up of plastic are not only causing damage to the environment but also affecting farmers who are associated with the profession of floriculture,” the chief minister said. All concerned government departments will be taken on board for effective implementation, he noted.