Rs 20 lakh fine on Reliance Digital, Airtel for damaging roads in Greater Noida
Noida, Sep 12: A penalty of Rs 20 lakh each has been slapped on two telecom service providers in Greater Noida for allegedly damaging roads while laying optical fibre lines in the city, according to an official statement Sunday.
Residents were facing a lot of trouble due to the broken roads and had repeatedly complained about it to the local Greater Noida Authority, it stated.
"Telecom service providers Reliance Digital Company and Airtel's local vendor Telesonic Network were laying optical fibre along the roads in sectors Beta 1 and Beta 2 of Greater Noida to further improve their mobile and broadband network. Because of the work, the roads had got damaged and the upset residents had complained about it to the authority," the Greater Noida Authority said.
"The companies were not even getting the roads repaired. On instructions of the authority's CEO Narendra Bhooshan, the Commercial Department has imposed a fine of Rs 20 lakh each on Jio Digital Company and Airtel's local vendor Telesonic Network," it said in the statement.
The two firms could not be contacted immediately for their response.
The firms have been asked to remit the fine amount within 15 days, failing which legal action would be initiated against them, the authority said.
Till then, the authority has asked the service providers to stop laying the optical fibre and ensure that the roads are repaired completely and brought back to original form, according to the statement.
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Allahabad HC orders probe into 'reinstatement' of teacher in UP's Barabanki
Lucknow (PTI): The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday ordered a probe by the special task force (STF) into alleged irregularities in the rejoining of a teacher at City Intermediate College in Barabanki, observing that the reinstatement appeared to be prima facie illegal.
The court also directed the recovery of the salary paid to the teacher during the disputed period.
A bench of Justice Rajeev Singh passed the order on a petition filed by the college management committee. The court expressed doubts over the roles of the District Inspector of Schools (DIOS), Barabanki, the college principal and the teacher concerned and hence, directed a detailed inquiry into the matter.
Taking note of alleged manipulation of records and misleading submissions, the court ordered the immediate transfer of the Barabanki DIOS to ensure a fair probe. It also directed the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against the then joint director of education of the Ayodhya division.
In its order, the court found that the teacher, Abhay Kumar, was initially appointed as an assistant teacher in 2018 but joined an Eklavya Model Residential School in Chhattisgarh as a lecturer in June 2024 without obtaining permission from the management. His subsequent request to retain the lien was rejected.
Despite this, he was allowed to rejoin the Barabanki College in September 2025 on the directions of the joint director of education and the DIOS, and was even paid the salary for October 2025. The court termed the rejoining "wholly illegal" and lacking any legal basis.
The bench also expressed concern over lapses in communication within the education department and directed the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary to ensure that official orders are communicated through email and WhatsApp as well, to prevent disputes.
The matter is next listed for hearing on May 28 when a compliance report is sought.
