Lease: Elite SoBo clubs to shell out more
With the enforcement of renewed lease policy, those who possess elite properties in South Mumbai will now have to shell out more money. Of the total 1307 SoBo properties leased out during the Colonial rule for a period of 99 years or more, lease agreements have expired in 691 cases and 391 of them haven’t even bothered to reply despite repeated notices. While action to seize such properties is expected to begin soon, some of the elite clubs are also likely to lose a part of their property, adding insult to injury. The decision is expected to fill the government treasury in an election year as well as win over votes of the masses, which is why the government is unwilling to lend an ear to the grumbling elites.
Work on Navi Mumbai Airport to take off?
Though the work on Navi Mumbai International Airport has begun for over a year, its pace had been a cause of concern. However, with the state government appointing BJP’s Panvel MLA Prashant Thakur the chairman of CIDCO, work is likely to gather speed. Thakur is a local leader who hails from the community to which the majority of project-affected people from eight villages belong to. This gives him an edge over others to communicate with the locals. But, that is not the only reason. While Thakur’s company has bagged major work orders, the appointment also suggests a truce between the BJP and the Shiv Sena, meaning there won’t be any political opposition to the project.
End of an era: Exit of RK Studios
The RK Studios at Chembur is inextricably linked to Bollywood’s greatest showman Raj Kapoor. Announcement by the Kapoor family to sell off the studio came as a shocker last week. Cine enthusiasts suggested the studio, started by Raj Kapoor in 1948 while living in a rented accommodation, be converted into his memorial or a tourism destination. However, neither the Kapoor family nor the government seem to be keen on it. Apart from the movies, the Govinda, Ganpati and Holi celebrations at RK Studios are still a part of fond memories for many commoners, who used to get an opportunity to mingle with celluloid stars on such occasions. But, such memories carry little value in Mumbai, especially when the real estate is involved.
Turtles with microchip
The Dahanu division of the Maharashtra Forest Department has started fitting microchips on the carapaces of Olive Ridley turtles. While two of such turtles were released into the sea on Saturday after fitting microchips, as many as 50 to 60 more turtles are likely to be released into the sea in a similar manner after fitting them with microchips. These chips are more like the rings fitted to the migratory birds that give an idea where that where a particular bird was ringed and that gives an idea on its migration route. For the time being, the chips are being fitted only on injured turtles found on shore. But, soon it will be a regular activity aimed at conservation of these migratory turtles.
Our correspondent in Maharashtra
abhijit.mulye@gmail.com