In a first, Jal Shakti Ministry invites over sixty MPs to discuss concerns about its schemes: Report
New Delhi: Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil has reportedly invited over sixty Lok Sabha MPs for an informal interaction on Thursday to address concerns raised during the recent discussion on his Ministry’s Demand for Grants for 2025–26.
The meeting, which will be held at the Parliament House Annexe building, is likely to see members discussing issues related to different schemes of the Ministry including the Jal Jeevan Mission and Namami Gange, as reported by The Indian Express.
This initiative comes in the backdrop of the Centre’s decision to send 100 teams of Central Nodal Officers (CNOs) for ground inspections of Jal Jeevan Mission projects across India, amid growing reports of irregularities in multiple states.
The invited 60 MPs represent almost all political parties in Parliament and had participated in the discussion on the Ministry's Demand for Grants 2025-26, TIE quoted its source as saying.
During the discussion held on March 19, several MPs flagged alleged corruption and mismanagement in the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission. Notably, NCP (Sharad Pawar) MP Nilesh Dnyandev Lanke raised serious concerns about the status of water supply schemes in his Ahmednagar constituency in Maharashtra.
“Har Ghar Jal is also a very important scheme of our Prime Minister. A target of providing 55 litres water to every household has been set under this scheme. Around 830 schemes have been sanctioned in my constituency and 972 villages have been covered under this scheme. Officials claimed that out of 830, works of 230 schemes have been completed. But the ground reality is different and not even 50 schemes have been completed yet; a lot of corruption cases came to light and local villagers have sent me written complaints about it,” TIE quoted him as saying.
He also alleged widespread corruption in the tendering process, poor quality of work, and false billing for incomplete projects. “I have got photos and videos of these corrupt activities. I have sent a pen-drive and photocopies to the Hon’ble Minister too,” he added.
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Fire erupts at private hospital in Mumbai; none hurt
Mumbai (PTI): A fire broke out at a private hospital in Mumbai's Grant Road area on Monday afternoon, prompting temporary evacuation of around 250 people, including patients, doctors and other staffers, officials said.
"No one was injured in the incident," a civic official said, adding the cause of the fire was not yet known.
The fire started in the CT-MRI scan unit of Bhatia Hospital at 1.35 pm, the official said.
As per the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB), the blaze was confined to electrical wiring and installations in the CT-MRI unit of the private medical facility.
As a precautionary measure, around 250 people, including patients, doctors and other staffers, were temporarily evacuated from the hospital premises, he added.
The blaze was extinguished by 3 pm, the official stated.
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An MFB officer said at least eight fire engines, other vehicles and equipment were rushed to the spot to put out the blaze.
He told PTI that the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) where newborn babies are kept in case they face breathing or any other health problems, was located exactly above the fire-affected CT-MRI unit.
The officer further said though the situation was tense, the hospital administration and MFB acted swiftly and ensured safety of babies, other patients as well as staff of the medical facility.
As per the officer, MFB personnel carefully used forced ventilation system fitted in their fire fighting vehicles to blow out the smoke from the CT-MRI unit to ensure babies being treated in the ward remain safe.
As a precautionary measure, the personnel did 'stage shifting ' or temporary transfer of babies from one ward to another to protect them from smoke or fire, he explained.
"If the smoke had increased, the children would have been affected. So, we simultaneously shifted them to another ward instead of acting at the last moment. We did their stage evacuation for safety reasons," the officer maintained.
Within 10-15 minutes of the outbreak, the MFB personnel controlled the fire and avoided further evacuation, he stated.
According to the officer, MFB suspects the fire was of "electric origin", but the exact cause was under investigation.
Notably, electric origin fires are caused on account of short circuit, overheating, overloading, use of non-standard appliances, illegal tapping of wires and improper wiring, among others.
