Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) is on track to become India’s largest airport within the next three years.

Speaking at the NMIA premises alongside Union Minister of State for Cooperation Muralidhar Mohol, CM Fadnavis launched the ‘Bharat Taxi’ ride-hailing app. Built on a cooperative framework rather than a private intermediary model, Bharat Taxi is designed as a zero-commission, surge-free alternative that directly benefits both commuters and cab drivers.

Under the cooperative model, drivers act as shareholders and owners of the service, earning direct profit dividends while charging transparent, fixed fares. CM Fadnavis highlighted that passengers will no longer face inflated surge rates during heavy rain or peak festive hours.

“Bharat Taxi breaks the chain of private intermediaries by turning drivers into true owners of the cooperative system, while providing passengers safe and reliable travel at standard rates,” stated CM Devendra Fadnavis.

To boost local employment, a special agreement with transport associations will enable 3,000 to 4,000 local project-affected residents (bhoomiputras) from Panvel and Uran to secure bank loans, purchase vehicles, and operate within the airport ecosystem.

In a major crackdown on administrative corruption, the Navi Mumbai unit of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested a 32-year-old Assistant Engineer working with the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) in Taloja for allegedly accepting a Rs 50,000 bribe.

The accused official, identified as Rohit Revanand More, was caught during a planned trap at the MSEDCL office. The operation was initiated following a formal complaint from a local citizen who alleged that the engineer demanded money to process an official application.

Upon verifying the grievance, ACB officials laid a trap at the Taloja MSEDCL premises. The Assistant Engineer was apprehended on the spot in the presence of independent witnesses immediately after accepting the cash.

“A case has been registered against the official under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act,” an ACB official stated. “Further investigation is underway to determine if additional staff members were involved.”

The arrest sent shockwaves through the local MSEDCL division, with civic activists urging residents to report any further demands for illegal gratification by public servants.

Disciplinary action initiated by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) against town planning officials and ward staff has triggered a major political and administrative row across the satellite city.

The civic body’s crackdown follows strict observations from the Bombay High Court regarding rampant unauthorized constructions, including thousands of illegal structures built across local gaonthans (villages) and residential colonies. In response, NMMC issued show-cause notices to nearly 300 officials ranging from deputy municipal commissioners and assistant commissioners to junior engineers and town planning staff for failing to curb illegal developments during their tenure.

The widespread notices have sparked strong pushback from local representatives and administrative staff. Critics argue that field-level town planning officers are being scapegoated, while deeper jurisdictional conflicts particularly between the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) and NMMC over development authority remain unresolved by state urban planning authorities.

“Targeting ground officers without addressing the decades-old policy delays and dual-authority confusion only creates panic, rather than solving the city’s structural development challenges,” noted a civic representative.

The ongoing friction has left property owners, builders, and local residents caught in administrative limbo as approval processes face severe delays. While civic authorities maintain that strict disciplinary measures are necessary to uphold urban planning standards, stakeholders are calling on the state government to intervene and bring clarity to Navi Mumbai’s planning framework.