State has...

He said, “The state has the right to conduct a probe if the investigation was carried out in a wrong manner in Elgar Parishad case.”

The Elgar Parishad probe was unilaterally taken over by NIA last month by the Centre, a move that was criticised by the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress party. Later, the Sena softened its opposition to the transfer of case. However, NCP chief Sharad Pawar demanded a parallel probe by the state police.

The statement by the minister is in line with party chief’s stance. Pawar has already questioned the role of Pune Police and senior officials in the Elgar Parishad case.

On February 18, Pawar had said he used to be proud of the Maharashtra Police, but today’s situation was worrying. He also questioned how the Central government got information about an internal meeting on setting up a special investigation team (SIT) held by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and state home minister Deshmukh.

During the question hour in the upper house, Deshmukh said, “The government is considering whether a probe can be ordered under provisions of Maharashtra Police Act or Commission of Inquiry under other laws.” Leader of Opposition in the Council, Pravin Darekar and Congress legislator Sharad Ranpise sought a parallel probe on the case.

The home minister said of the total 649 cases filed in the Bhimakoregaon violence that happened on January 1, 2018, 348 cases have been withdrawn. He said a committee is reviewing cases and is in process of withdrawing other cases. However, he added that cases where police personnel were injured will not be withdrawn.

Besides, the home department has also withdrawn cases filed in the Maratha agitation and the agitation against the proposed oil refinery at Nanar. “Of the total 548 cases, 460 have been withdrawn so far... Similarly, of the total five cases filed in connection with the Nanar refinery agitation, the state government has so far withdrawn three cases,” he added.

RJP said the resolution was a victory of the long struggle carried by his party for carrying a caste based census. “We welcome the house resolution,” he said.

Legislators from the BJP offered mixed responses. Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi wrote on Twitter that the resolution should “silence the Opposition trying to reap political benefits out of rumour-mongering on NRC and NPR”.

Road construction minister Nand Kishore Yadav said the resolution was nothing new, as a similar resolution favouring caste based census was passed by the same house a few years back. “This is nothing new,” he said. BJP MLC Sachidanand Rai, however, said a caste-based census would “divide society”. State minister Vijay Kumar Sinha said, “It would have been better had the members been informed about the resolution in advance.”

“Favouring a caste based census by political parties will actually not serve the purpose of uplift of poor among the various caste groups. Had it been the case, the 2011 socio-economic census should have been made public and acted upon because it had made a comprehensive report on the various social parameters to identify caste groups lying low in the social strata,” said DM Diwakar, social scientist and former director, AN Sinha Institute of Social Sciences, Patna. floods over 40 years, heat waves, and extreme-weather events. The average sea level increase for Mumbai over the next 30 years is predicted to be over 0.5m.

“We need to factor in climate risk in our decision making architecture. For example, if storm surge and sea level increases by one metre, then we may need coastal walls to withstand the impact. Mumbai has the money and many of these things can be done better for the financial capital than other cities. If there is understanding emerging, then intent will emerge,” said Sankhe.

Civic chief Praveen Pardeshi said Mumbai needed to build on climate-resilient infrastructure through a circular economy and also spoke about mitigation measures such as eco concrete and Miyawaki plantations that BMC was undertaking. “We are really not that well prepared because we don’t factor in climate risk quantitatively into the design of our infrastructure, which we should be doing even more. There is a huge conflict in Mumbai between greenery and new infrastructure. We need to think globally and act locally,” he said.

RA Rajeev, metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA, said enhancing public transport network would directly work towards greenhouse gas reduction. “By 2025-26, all 300-km of Mumbai’s Metro lines will be constructed. Fuel consumption (mostly private vehicles) will reduce 30%, and overall air pollution will go down by 60%,” he said.

Meanwhile, in August last year, the state environment department set up a task force with Mumbai First, comprising local and international experts, to study climate-change impacts, action against flooding and unplanned reclamation for Mumbai. Thursday’s conference was undertaken under this programme. “About 40% of Mumbai could be under water by 2050 under rising sea levels. Forwardlooking policy measures and investment are required to enable Mumbai to confront the challenges of climate change. Our goal should be to ensure Mumbai regains its title of Urbs primus in India — India’s premier city,” said Narinder Nayar, chairman, Mumbai First.

“Independent groups and the state representatives are now saying what they needed to 20 years ago. However, there is still no coordination on strategies for being climate resilient neither any consensus among top bureaucrats on how development and coastal safety can be balanced,” said Debi Goenka, trustee, Conservation Action Trust. for the past two months. After the CAA was passed on December 11, Congress held a rally at Ramlila Maidan on December 14 where she said ‘now we have to decide: Is paar ya us paar’. Is this not instigation?” Javadekar said, alluding to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Gandhi had on Wednesday held a rare press conference hitting out at the BJP – particularly the Union home minister who, she said, must resign – as well as the AAP.

“Due to the complete inaction on the part of the home minister and the Central government, the violence has claimed the lives of at least 34 people and over 200 have been injured at last count. Several crores worth of properties and business have fallen prey to unchecked arson and looting,” Gandhi said on Thursday, reading from a memorandum the Congress party gave to President Ram Nath Kovind.

Earlier in the day, Congress leaders questioned the transfer of Delhi high court judge S Muralidhar – who had heard a petition relating to the violence on Wednesday and pulled up the Delhi Police for not filing cases against a hate speech by BJP’S Kapil Mishra hours before the violence broke out on Sunday. “The midnight transfer of Justice Muralidhar isn’t shocking given the current dispensation, but it is certainly sad and shameful,” said party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in a tweet.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala alleged that the BJP government was “waging a battle of revenge” against the judiciary.

On Thursday evening, Union home ministry officials said no major incident had been reported for 36 hours in any of the affected districts.

“Prohibitory orders under Section 144 will be relaxed for a total of 10 hours tomorrow in view of the improvement in the ground situation,” an official said, asking not to be named.

Locals Hindustan Times spoke to said they have been advised by police to stay indoors. “Delhi Police have told us not to gather on the main road. But some of us have also voluntarily closed the gates. We are doing this so that outsiders do not come and set our homes on fire. On Monday and Tuesday, we saw new faces in our colony. Many of the rioters were from outside,” said Azhar, who lives in one of the lanes in Chand Bagh.

Using handcarts, cycle rickshaws and Delhi police barricades, most resident of the neighbourhood have locked themselves in.

A few minutes’ drive away from Chand Bagh, the Jafrabad chowk and Maujpur chowk were opened for regular traffic for the first time this week on Thursday. Jafrabad was the site of the sit-in protest by Muslim women against the CAA, while Maujpur was the location where local Hindus gathered in support of the law and played Hanuman Chalisa on loop on loudspeakers installed temporarily along the blocked road. The makeshift arrangements were cleared by the police.

Authorities also began removing debris from the stricken neighbourhoods, with one agency removing as many as 2,000kg of bricks and stones – used as projectiles -- from a single neighbourhood.

Fire officials said at least 79 houses, 52 shops, five warehouses, four mosques, three factories and two schools had been set ablaze between Monday and Thursday morning.

A rough estimate suggested that at least 500 vehicles, including two-wheelers, were burnt during this period.