NGT pulls up officials over illegal quarrying near Navi Mumbai cancer hospital
Thane (PTI): The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has taken a stern view of the "illegal" quarrying operations behind Tata Cancer Hospital in Navi Mumbai, warning top officials of coercive action for failing to respond to environmental concerns.
The western zone bench, comprising Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh and expert member Dr Sujit Kumar Bajpayee, was hearing petitions filed by an activist and another taken up suo motu following a news report.
The tribunal, in its order dated December 5, noted that it had directed the Raigad district collector and the Directorate of Geology and Mines to submit their reply affidavits, but the same had not been filed.
"We have no option but to direct the registrar of this tribunal to address a letter to the learned Chief Secretary of the State of Maharashtra, requesting him that a direction from his side be issued to the District Collector, Raigad and Director of Geology and Mining to appear before us positively on the next date," the bench said.
The RTI findings suggest that illegal quarrying activity was being carried out behind the premier cancer hospital, posing a health and environmental risk.
The NGT warned that it would be "compelled to order personal appearance of the officers concerned" if they continue to ignore judicial directives.
The Chief Secretary has now been tasked with ensuring the collector and mining officials file their replies by the next hearing on February 12, 2026.
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Andhra to be developed as knowledge, creator economy hub: CM Naidu
New Delhi/Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said the state is taking steps to transform itself into a knowledge and creator economy hub with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and quantum technology.
He noted that Andhra Pradesh has abundant tech-driven youth and the government is formulating plans to train them in futuristic technologies with support from global technology firms.
"Our goal is to transform Andhra Pradesh into a knowledge hub by focusing on AI, quantum computing, data centres, drone cities and space cities. The youth will remain our biggest asset over the next 25 years, and we seek global partnerships to scale up the creator economy," said Naidu during his interactions at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi.
Naidu, who participated in the summit in the national capital, also held meetings with several global technology leaders and industrialists to explore collaborations in artificial intelligence, clean energy and innovation ecosystems.
He met Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Autodesk AI Head Mike Haley, Aramco India Director Abdul Rehman AiThukair, LEGO Education Vice President Tom Hall, Aadhaar Founder and CTO Srikanth Nadhamuni, Khosla Ventures Managing Partner Vinod Khosla and others at the AP Pavilion.
The chief minister also held discussions with Saudi Aramco representatives on clean energy projects, including solar initiatives, and invited the company to expand operations in Andhra Pradesh, stating that the state is highly suitable for green energy production.
He sought support from NVIDIA Vice President Callista Redmond for establishing AI Living Labs and proposed partnerships through the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub to promote youth innovation, including collaborations with IIT Tirupati and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati under the Andhra Pradesh Future Innovation and Research for Science and Technology (AP FIRST) initiative.
Naidu urged Autodesk leadership to support the development of Global Capability Centres in design engineering and requested the establishment of an Innovation Academy in Amaravati aligned with quantum technology, besides proposing AI and robotics learning labs in partnership with LEGO Education.
He also discussed AI-driven smart governance solutions with Quantela Inc Chairman Sridhar Gadhi, while World Bank Group Digital AI Regional Director Mahesh Uttamchandani met Naidu on the sidelines of the summit.
Following the meetings, Naidu visited various exhibition stalls at the summit, including those of NVIDIA, Tata, Intel and Microsoft, and reviewed AI applications across agriculture, healthcare and industry.
