Sudharkar Paricharak, MLA who is the chairman of the MAHARASHTRA STATE ROAD TRANSPORT CORPORATION (MSRTC) has initiated a slew of measures to turn the public transport corporation into a service-oriented and profit-making body. He has taken several initiatives including starting phone service on buses, adding new vehicles to the existing fleet, starting incentive schemes for increasing the passenger traffic. The MSRTCis all set to post a record profit of Rs 150 crores in the current financial year. After a gap of 15-years, MSRTC earned a profit of Rs. 23 crores.

Civic bodies in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region could soon start sharing landfill sites to create environment friendly dumping grounds, thereby reducing the requirement of land for garbage. "Two to three civic bodies can possibly have a landfill site in common where they can dump their garbage, however the land will be only for bio-degradable waste," Metropolitan Commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad said. The sites would be earmarked for certain civic bodies on the basis of their geographical proximity to the landfills.

NCP supremo and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has indicated that the scope of the loan-waiver scheme would be enhanced to cover even those farmers who possess more than 5 acres of land. He was speaking at NCP meeting in the national capital. Pawar said he had received demands from the farmers from Maharashtra as also elsewhere for enhancing the scope of loan-waiver package. He said the proposal was under consideration of the government.

I refer to the FPJ report about Bush blaming India for world's food shortage. Bush & Rice have accused India along with some other countries, of overconsuming the food products such as rice & wheat which has brought a shortage to the rest of the world.

There is every possibility that the Thane-Belapur industrial zone could become the state's first special economic zone (SEZ). The state government has appointed Pricewaterhousecoopers as consultants to explore the establishment of an SEZ in the belt. While the government is hardselling Dronagiri in Navi Mumbai as its first-ever SEZ, sources say that the Thane-Belapur area could get off the ground quicker because it already has the infrastructure and in place.

Gorai Creek is a big green shelter, a belt stretching above 5,000 acres of land covered with mangroves adjoining areas in different villages like Gorai, Malad and Dahisar. A tourist place heading towards the Mumbai's favorite picnic spot Essel World and Manori Beach. The mangroves are connected with small estuary, streets and rivers moving in all locations.

Research project undertaken by the students of Saraswati School about variety of species in Thane creek has revealed that 19 varieties of fish have disappeared from Thane creek. The project informs that previously there were 19 fish varieties seen in Thane creek. Rawas, Pakat, Hekru, Karkara, Makul, Jitad, prawns (Kolambi), Mushi, Shingada and many other varieties have vanished from the water of Thane creek.

CONSTRUCTION of 10 lakh houses for the poor and lower middle class and a load-shedding free Maharashtra will be on the agenda of the state government for the next two years, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh announced in Mumbai on Wednesday. He said that whatever land the State government has freed after the scrapping of the Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act (ULCRA), would be used up for providing affordable houses for the lower and middle classes in the State.

The lives of the people of Bhiwandi are at stake due contaminated water they are receiving from the corporation. The Citizens have lodge several complaints with the corporation in this regard. After receiving complaints, the water supply department merely dug up the ground to find the source from where the water getting contaminated. According to the Sagir Ahmed, a resident of Mahada colony said that it was more than a year they were drinking muddy water.

THE Maharashtra Government will implement an ambitious programme to build ten lakh houses for poor and middle class people in the next two years, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said today on the eve of the 48th Maharashtra Day. "Maharashtra is the most progressive state in the country and has given direction to the country," Deshmukh said in his message. "The new housing policy of the government is being discussed in the country and the government has already announced providing 270 sq feet houses to slum-dwellers under the slum rehabilitation scheme," he said. PTI