Referring to the findings, the Shiv Sena said any scheme is good on paper, but the real question is about its transparent and effective implementation.

MUMBAI: Latching onto the CAG’s adverse remarks about the ‘Jalyukt Shivar’ scheme rolled out by the previous Devendra Fadnavis government, the ruling Shiv Sena on Thursday asked whether he will introspect now.

The ‘Jalyukt Shivar’ scheme had little impact in achieving water neutrality and increasing groundwater level, and its execution was characterised by lack of transparency, the CAG said in its report tabled in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.

A sum of Rs 9,633.75 crore was spent on the scheme, a flagship programme of the Fadnavis government (2014-19) that sought to make Maharashtra a drought-free state, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said.

The now-scrapped project involved deepening and widening of streams, construction of cement and earthen stop dams, undertaking work on nullahs and digging of farm ponds.

Referring to the findings, the Shiv Sena said any scheme is good on paper, but the real question is about its transparent and effective implementation.

“When there is a problem (with such implementation of a scheme), then the rant about it (the scheme) turns out to be hollow and expenses superfluous,” the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’.

“Precisely this is what happened in the case of Jalyukt Shivar scheme,” the Shiv Sena, which was part of the Fadnavis government, said.

Had the implementation of the scheme been effective, water sufficiency would have been achieved in parts of the state in the real sense. But it did not happen, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said.

“The real question is whether those who released high the balloon of the ‘Jalyukt (Shivar)’ will introspect now as to why its burst,” the party said, without naming Fadnavis.

Experts had criticised the scheme during the previous regime. But Fadnavis and others dismissed the criticism terming it as political and wrong, it added.

IRCTC, the only entity authorised by Indian Railways to provide catering services to railways, online railway tickets and packaged drinking water, was listed on stock exchanges in October 2019.

NEW DELHI: The government plans to sell about 15-20 per cent stake in IRCTC via offer for sale (OFS) and would like to complete the transaction in minimum number of tranches.

Last month, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) had invited bids from merchant bankers by September 10 for managing the sale in Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp (IRCTC).

However, it did not disclose the quantum of stake on offer in the Request for Proposal (RFP).

Following this, a pre-bid meeting was held on September 4 with potential bidders.

DIPAM has now posted its response to the queries raised by potential bidders on its website.

To a query on intended stake dilution percentage, DIPAM said, “The indicative percentage is 15 per cent to 20 per cent. The exact details will be shared with the selected merchant bankers.”

The government currently holds 87.40 per cent stake in IRCTC.

To meet Sebi’s public holding norm, it has to lower its stake in the company to 75 per cent.

Shares of IRCTC on Tuesday closed 2.57 per cent lower at Rs 1,378.05 on the BSE.

Asked if payment would be made by the government to merchant banker after completion of every single tranche or cumulatively after the completion of entire transaction, DIPAM said, “GOI would not like to have an OFS overhang and hence would like to complete the transaction in minimum number of tranches as advised by merchant bankers based on market conditions.

“In case more than one tranche is used, pro-rata payment would be made to the merchant bankers”.

IRCTC, the only entity authorised by Indian Railways to provide catering services to railways, online railway tickets and packaged drinking water at railway stations and trains in India, was listed on stock exchanges in October 2019.

The company had raised Rs 645 crore through the IPO.

IRCTC OFS would help the government inch forward towards meeting the Rs 2.10 lakh crore disinvestment target for ongoing fiscal.

Of this, Rs 1.20 lakh crore is to come from disinvestment of public sector undertakings and Rs 90,000 crore from stake sale in financial institutions.

However, DIPAM has not been able to sell stake in any CPSE so far in the current fiscal as the coronavirus outbreak has impacted equity markets.

However, the government has garnered subscription worth Rs 11,000 crore for ‘AAA’ rated bonds of CPSEs through Bharat Bond ETF-II.

The government is also looking at launching initial public offering (IPO) of Indian Railway Finance Corp Ltd (IRFC), and had filed draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India in January for IPO of over 140 crore equity shares.

The Union Cabinet had in April 2017 approved listing of five railway companies.

While four of them — IRCON International Ltd, RITES Ltd, Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd and IRCTC — have already been listed, IRFC is likely to be put on block this fiscal.

The NCB had told the court that she was an “active member” of a drugs syndicate and procured drugs for Rajput, her boyfriend.

MUMBAI: A day after the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested her, Rhea Chakraborty was on Wednesday shifted from the anti-drug agency’s office in south Mumbai to the Byculla jail here.

Shortly after her arrest on Tuesday in a drugs case linked to her boyfriend and actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, she was sent in judicial custody till September 22 by a local court.

On Wednesday, she stepped out of the NCB office at 10.15 am after spending the night there and was taken to the Byculla jail by the agency officials.

The court had rejected her bail application.

The NCB had told the court that she was an “active member” of a drugs syndicate and procured drugs for Rajput, her boyfriend.

The NCB, however, said it did not want her custody as it had already questioned her for three days.

Immediately after her arrest, the 28-year-old Rhea was taken for medical tests including COVID-19 test to the civic- run Sion hospital in Central Mumbai.

At the hospital, her antigen test for COVID-19 came out negative, officials said.

She was then taken to the NCB office in south Mumbai around 7.15 pm, and produced before the court through video-conference.

when she was arrested, the 28-year-old waved at media personnel as she came out of the NCB office in south Mumbai.

The message found an echo in Bollywood with celebrities such as Sonam Kapoor, Taapsee Pannu, Vidya Balan, Anurag Kashyap, Shabana Azmi, Farhan Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar and others sharing the quote on their Instagram in a show of solidarity with the actor.

Directors Hansal Mehta, Anubhav Sinha, Alankrita Shrivastava and writer Atika Chohan were among those who reacted sharply to her arrest.

Actors Swara Bhasker, Dia Mirza and Richa Chadha also came out in her support.

Sinha, the director of films such as ‘Mulk’ and ‘Article 15’, simply asked mediapersons to “resign” and seek different employment avenues.

“If you still feel like a journalist, RESIGN. You won’t die of hunger. You will discover new friends, opportunities and avenues,” the director said in a scathing tweet.

‘Aligarh’ director Hansal Mehta was equally distressed.

“Not abetment of suicide, not money laundering, not murder? Now I know why marijuana is not legalised in India yet,” he said.

Chohan, co-writer of “Chhapaak”, said the actor was being “incriminated” for the life choices of Rajput, her boyfriend.

“He engaged in drugs and suffered from mental illness. Why is this so difficult to accept. Why is a woman incriminated and called names for an adult man’s life choice,” she tweeted.

In an acerbic tweet, Shrivastava said, “Excellent job, India! Enjoy the burning of the witch. And while we are at it we may as well get Sati back.”

“And no, lets not lift a finger to stem any crimes against women. Lets dance wildly and applaud the fire,” added the director of ‘Lipstick Under My Burkha’.

“Sacred Games” star Kubbra Sait said Chakraborty may have been arrested but she is “still not a murderer”.

“May the universe give the parents of Rhea the strength through this devastating time. Arrested by NCB. Still not a murderer. #MediaCircus I wonder your conversations over your shaam ki chai (evening tea)” she said.

Hours before Chakraborty’s arrest, producer Pritish Nandy pointed out how all the other charges against her had failed.

“All charges against Rhea have failed. Murder? No evidence. Abetment to murder? She wasn’t there. Stealing Rs 15 crore? Sushant never got the money. What remains is drugs. None found on her. She’s ready for a test. Who was it for? Obvious, na?#justiceforSushant #JusticeForRhea,” Nandy tweeted.

He said if one wanted to find out “what killed” Rajput, they need to go back to the original charges.

“Harassment, humiliation in public, bullying. There are people in Bollywood who constantly ridiculed him. In this @kangna_official is right. You cannot survive Bollywood with a fragile mind,” Nandy added.

Actor-comic Vir Das tweeted, “Reminder. Abuse legal drugs. Like power.”

Bidita Bag, an actor and model, wrote, “Rhea arrested. Now please can we concentrate on real issues that our country is facing?. #JaiHind.”

TV actor Kritika kamra called out the media for peddling “bloodlust”.

“The media has successfully pushed us into a bottomless pit of bloodlust and hate. We’re so far down in it that we see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing,” she wrote on Twitter.

Not all reactions were critical of Chakraborty’s arrest that followed days of her being literally mobbed by camera crews and others.

Actor Ankita Lokhande, Rajput’s former girlfriend and “Pavitra Rishta” co-star, said “justice” has been served.

“Nothing happens by chance, by fate. You create your own fate by your actions. That’s karma,” she shared a post on Twitter.

Rajput’s sister Shweta Singh Kirti tweeted, “#GodIsWithUs” after Chakraborty’s arrest. Actor Shekhar Suman also hailed Chakraborty’s arrest, saying, “You sow so you shall reap.”

BJP leader and singer Manoj Tiwari used the same words in his response.

“What you sow, so shall you reap! Today’s arrest teaches us that nobody can escape the consequences of wrongdoings! My prayers for the truth to unfold soon,” he said on the social media platform.

Chakraborty has in recent TV interviews denied that she consumed drugs.

Apart from the drugs case, she is facing an abetment of suicide case in connection with Rajput’s death which the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing, and a related money laundering case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Rajput’s father who accused Chakraborty of abetting his son’s suicide had also claimed that she siphoned Rs 15 crore from his son’s bank accounts.

The ED launched a probe into this aspect.

The NCB began a probe after Chakraborty’s mobile phone chats allegedly revealed that she used to consume drugs.

The NCB has also arrested her brother Showik Chakraborty and Rajput’s manager Samuel Miranda on drug supply charges.