Patna: Nitish Kumar reviews underground drainage project, asks for faster execution of 4-lane road

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

Patna, May 21 (IANS) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday conducted an inspection of the ongoing road and underground drainage construction along Saidpur Nala in the city, emphasising its significance for traffic decongestion and urban beautification.

Accompanied by senior officials, including Urban Development Secretary Abhay Kumar Singh and Municipal Commissioner Animesh Parasar, the Chief Minister inspected key sites such as the Sheetla Mandir flyover, the drainage pumping plant hill, and Saidpur Nala.

“We have inspected this site multiple times before. It’s a very good scheme,” said Nitish Kumar during the visit.

He directed officials to speed up work on the construction of a four-lane road over Saidpur Nala and ensure its renovation is of high quality.

He emphasised that the project will provide significant relief from traffic congestion in densely populated areas like Saidpur, Rajendra Nagar, Musallahpur Haat, Gaighat, and Pahari.

“Once completed, it will offer an alternative route to the New Patna Bypass, enhance mobility, and improve the overall aesthetics of the city,” the Chief Minister noted.

The Bihar government has given the responsibility for the construction of the project to Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (BUIDCO). The total length of this stretch is 5.61 kilometres, and the estimated cost is Rs 259.81 crore.

The integrated development of underground drainage and road over Saidpur Nala up to the hill area will carry discharge from nine drainage pumping stations and one Sewage Treatment Plant (STP); improve urban sanitation and ease vehicular movement.

During the inspection, Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Minister for Water Resources and Parliamentary Affairs; Deepak Kumar, Principal Secretary to the CM; Dr Chandrashekhar Singh, Patna District Magistrate; Kumar Ravi, Secretary to the CM; and Abhay Kumar Singh, Secretary, Urban Development, were also present.

The Chief Minister reiterated his government’s commitment to urban infrastructure improvement and instructed the concerned departments to maintain strict timelines and quality standards for this flagship urban mobility project.

–IANS

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New Delhi, April 28 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Monday disposed of an application seeking recall of its decision which had enlarged DMK leader and former Tamil Nadu minister Senthil Balaji on bail in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged cash-for-jobs scam.

A Raj Bhavan communique accepting the resignation of Balaji, who was Minister for Electricity, Prohibition and Excise in Tamil Nadu government, was placed before a bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and A.G. Masih.

The Justice Oka-led Bench on April 23 told the senior DMK leader to choose between his ministerial post and bail in the money laundering case, as it dealt with an application claiming that Balaji may influence the case witnesses in his capacity as a minister.

It had cautioned Balaji that if he did not step down from his minister post, it would recall its bail order, noting that the top court had made a mistake by ignoring the previous judgments against him.

“We are giving him a choice. Freedom or post? [T]he judgment of the Madras High Court records how, as a minister, you tried to influence witnesses by entering into a settlement with them, based on which proceedings were quashed,” the bench had said.

The Supreme Court had asked Balaji, who was immediately inducted into the Tamil Nadu Cabinet after he was granted bail, to decide by April 28 whether he preferred his liberty or his minister post.

Following the top court’s ultimatum, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Sunday recommended the Governor to accept the resignation of Balaji and to reallocate his portfolios to other ministers.

“The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu has recommended to the Governor of Tamil Nadu to accept the resignation of V. Senthil Balaji, Minister for Electricity, Prohibition and Excise, and Dr K. Ponmudy, Minister for Forests and Khadi. The Governor has approved the recommendation,” read a Raj Bhavan communique issued.

It added that Transport Minister S.S. Sivasankar has been given the additional portfolio of Electricity, while Housing and Urban Development Minister S. Muthusamy has now been designated as the Minister for Housing and Prohibition & Excise.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had, on June 14, 2023, raided Balaji’s house and other places in Chennai, Karur, and Coimbatore and interrogated him about a job for a cash scam while he served as the Transport Minister in the AIADMK-led government. After several hours of interrogation, Balaji was arrested and sent to judicial custody. Even as the opposition demanded the immediate removal of Balaji from the ministry, CM Stalin did not succumb to the pressure. However, Balaji finally tendered his resignation on February 12, 2024, eight months after his arrest and ahead of his bail plea hearing in the Madras High Court. After the Supreme Court granted him bail, Balaji walked out of Puzhal Central Prison after 450 days and was inducted again as minister on September 29 last year.

–IANS

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CJI Gavai is first Buddhist to head India’s judiciary

New Delhi, May 14 (IANS) Justice B.R. Gavai who was administered the oath of office by President Droupadi Murmu early on Wednesday as the 52nd Chief Justice of India (CJI), is the first Buddhist to head the country’s judiciary.

CJI Gavai, will have a tenure of over six months, and he will demit the highest judicial office of the country on November 23, 2025.

President Murmu, in exercise of powers under Article 124(2) of the Constitution, had appointed Justice Gavai, the senior most Judge of the Supreme Court, as Chief Justice of India, and the Ministry of Law and Justice had later notified his appointment on April 29.

Justice Gavai was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India on May 24, 2019.

Appointed as Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court in November 2003, he became a permanent Judge in November 2005.

Before elevation to the Bench, he practised in constitutional law and administrative law and acted as Standing Counsel for Municipal Corporation of Nagpur, Amravati Municipal Corporation, and Amravati University.

He was appointed as Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor in the Bombay High Court, Nagpur Bench in August 1992 and served till July 1993.

He was appointed as Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor for the Nagpur Bench on January 17, 2000.

Earlier, in an informal interaction with the media, Justice Gavai expressed sorrow over the tragic incident in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam and said that the Supreme Court cannot remain untouched when the country is mourning.

Son of former Bihar Governor R.S. Gavai, Justice Gavai also took pride in the fact that he would be the first Buddhist CJI of the country.

“My father had embraced Buddhism along with Baba Saheb Ambedkar. I will become the first Buddhist Chief Justice of the country,” he said.

Asserting that he believes in all religions, Justice Gavai said, “I go to temples, dargahs, Jain temples, gurudwaras everywhere.”

In the apex court, Justice Gavai, a part of the 7-judge Constitution Bench dealing with the question of whether a sub-classification among reserved category groups for giving more beneficial treatment would be permissible under the Constitution, suggested the application of the “creamy layer” principle to the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) for availing benefits of affirmative action.

In his detailed opinion, Justice Gavai said: “When the 9-Judge Bench in Indra Sawhney held that applicability of such a test (creamy layer test) insofar as Other Backward Classes are concerned would advance equality as enshrined in the Constitution, then why such a test should not also be made applicable to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.”

“Can a child of IAS/IPS or Civil Service officers be equated with a child of a disadvantaged member belonging to Scheduled Castes, studying in a Gram Panchayat/Zilla Parishad school in a village?” he asked.

Justice Gavai said putting the children of the parents from the SCs and STs who, on account of the benefit of reservation, have reached a high position and ceased to be socially, economically and educationally backward and the children of parents doing manual work in the villages in the same category would defeat the constitutional mandate.

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Jabalpur residents praise PM Modi’s initiative for providing discounted generic medicines

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The beneficiaries of the scheme shared their positive feedback with IANS, admiring the Central government under PM Modi’s leadership.

The Central government runs various welfare schemes with a focus on the general and underprivileged sections of society.

The PMBJP scheme is one of these initiatives which are benefiting the people immensely.

Through this scheme, beneficiaries are provided generic medicines at affordable prices. In the Cantt Assembly constituency of Jabalpur, the Jan Aushadhi Kendras are offering medicines at a discount of 30 to 80 per cent.

Deepanshu Kevat, the operator of a Jan Aushadhi Kendra, mentioned: “Beneficiaries are getting generic medicines here at very low prices. The medicines available in the market are quite expensive, but people are saving a lot by buying them from here. PM Modi’s initiative is that medicines should reach every household. These kendras are benefiting people, and they are also providing us with employment.”

With so many Kendras for cheap medicines across cities, towns and villages, youth are getting employed there.

A beneficiary, Aman Patel, said: “Earlier, I used to buy medicines from outside, which were very expensive too. But now, I am able to get the same medicines from this kendra at much lower prices. I have family members who need regular medication, and I had to buy it continuously. After getting medicines from this shop, I am saving a lot of money.”

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