Thursday, February 26, 2026 | Vol. 69 No. 122 | 31 Pages Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL Veer Savarkar’s Death Anniversary INDIA EDITION | www.freepressjournal.in ● Leader in E-paper circulation l E-paper edition is not a replica of the print edition NATION On three-day visit to Bihar, Shah orders major crackdown on infiltration GAMES BIG PUSH | 8.77% hike in outlay; no new scheme announced in 1st plan after BJP took charge, focus on finishing ongoing projects BMC bets on infra in mega `80K cr Budget Shefali Parab-Pandit & Devashri Bhujbal MUMBAI Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani on Wednesday unveiled the BMC highest-ever budget of Rs 80,952.56 crore for 2026–27, with a modest surplus of Rs 89.84 crore and no new direct taxes. While the budget does not announce fresh mega projects, it underscores a strong push towards completing and funding existing infrastructure, with a massive Rs 48,164.28 cr earmarked for capital expenditure. The outlay marks an 8.77 per cent increase over last year’s Rs 74,427.41 crore, reaffirming the BMC’s position as the country’s richest civic body. Gagrani presented the Cinema Did Sanjay Leela Bhansali have a heart attack? India will aim to record a huge win against Zimbabwe in crucial Super 8 clash today budget to Standing Committee Chairman Prabhakar Shinde, in what is his final financial blueprint before retiring on March 31. Infrastructure remains the centrepiece, with major allocations for the Versova–Dahisar– Bhayander Link Road, the Gargai Dam to secure future water supply, and the proposed desalination plant at Manori. To fund its ambitious pipeline, the BMC plans to mobilise Rs 13,765.74 crore from fixed deposits and Rs 14,295.86 crore from special funds. Capital expenditure has seen a sharp rise of 11.59 per cent over the revised estimate of Rs 39,159.51 crore for 2025–26, signalling an aggressive push to accelerate ongoing works. 4See also | city Edit Biryani to bytes: New face of Indian tax enforcement MONEY MATTERS KEY INCOME From grant in aid (Octroi Compensation) `15,550.02 cr MUMBAI The ED has provisionally attached Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani’s 17-storey Pali Hill residence, ‘Abode’, valued at Rs 3,716.83 crore, in connection with its moneylaundering probe into loan defaults by Reliance Communications (RCOM). Padwa gift: 3% DA hike FPJ News Service MUMBAI In a festive bonanza ahead of Gudhi Padwa, the Maharashtra government has announced a 3% hike in DA for its employees and eligible staff, taking total DA to 58%. Minister of State for Finance Ashish Jaiswal told the Assembly on Wednesday that the revised DA will be effective from July 2025. The increased DA will be paid in cash starting this month. 4Contd on | nation 41 Maha tiger deaths in 2025 Kalpesh Mhamunkar MUMBAI With this move, the total value of assets attached in the group has crossed Rs 15,700 crore. ED’s Special Task Force carried out the attachment. Officials said a portion of the same property, worth Rs 473.17 crore, had been attached earlier. Located in the upscale Pali Hill neighbourhood, Abode is a 17-storey private residential tower rising about 66 metres HC clean chit to AJL & Hooda in land grab case FPJ News Service MUMBAI The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday set aside criminal charges against Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda in a case concerning alleged irregularities in the re-allotment of an institutional plot to AJL in Panchkula. This judgment is a significant relief for AJL, which is owned by Congress leaders AJL is owned by Sonia and Rahul Gandhi Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and Hooda, the Leader of Opposition in Haryana. Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya, in his ruling, stated that Hooda’s 2005 decision to re-allocate the CJI fulminates over NCERT chapter... allow anyone on earth to taint NEW DELHI the integrity of the institution and defame the institution. At The Supreme Court on Wed- any cost, I will not permit it. nesday took serious objection Whosoever high it may be, the to portions of a new Class 8 law will take its course. I know social science textbook re- how to deal with it,” the CJI leased by said, Bar & NCERT that ‘GRAFT IN JUDICIARY’ Bench and refer to “corLive Law reruption in the judiciary”, with ported. The CJI said he was CJI Surya Kant saying he has fully aware of the issue and had already taken suo motu cogni- received several calls and sance of the issue. messages about it. SC will hear “I have already passed an the suo motu case on Thursday. order and am taking the 4Contd on | nation matter suo motu. I will not FPJ News Service Forest Minister Ganesh Naik on Wednesday told the Maharashtra Assembly 41 tigers died in the state in 2025. Of these, 28 were natural, eight from accidents, four from electrocution and one due to poaching. MLAs flagged the issue citing recent incidents including a tiger electrocuted in Wardha, another killed by a train on the Ballarshah– Gondia line, and deaths linked to human–animal conflict. 4Contd on | nation and counted among Mumbai’s most expensive homes. The high-security mansion features multiple basement parking levels, private leisure and wellness facilities, landscaped terraces, guest and entertainment areas, and dedicated service zones. It was designed as a single-family luxury residence in one of Mumbai’s priciest real estate enclaves. plot to AJL, initially allotted in 1982 for the National Herald office and Hindi newspaper publication, was ratified by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) in 2006. It noted that no court had ever declared the decision illegal, Bar and Bench reported. “The allotment is valid as on date, it has also not been cancelled, nor declared illegal or arbitrary,” the HC said. 4Contd on | nation ...BOOKS PULLED NCERT has pulled a Class 8 social science textbook from its website after SC’s wrath, with sources saying the government has not taken kindly to the inclusion of the controversial topic. Sources said NCERT is considering removing the controversial parts from books already printed. Several schools in the national capital said there was no order yet on whether to teach the portions concerned. 4Contd on | nation Huge mistake: Gates on Epstein ties Agencies Gates apologised to his staff at a town hall, but said he did nothing illicit. He admitted to two affairs with Russian women NEW YORK US tech entrepreneur Bill Gates apologised for his “actions” over his ties to late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a town hall meeting with employees of the Gates Foundation, a spokesperson for the philanthropic group said on Tuesday. “I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit,” the Microsoft co-founder told the staff, according to The Wall Street Journal. The report prompted comments from the Founda- tion's spokesperson. Gates also acknowledged that he had two affairs with Russian women and admitted to mistakes that cast a shadow over the philanthropic organisation, even as he maintained he had no involvement in Epstein’s crimes, WSJ said. Gates was among several prominent figures whose links to Epstein surfaced in tens of thousands of documents released online last month by the US Justice Department. The files — comprising emails, interview transcripts, photographs and call logs, some with redactions — have come to be known as the Epstein files. He also addressed photographs in the released files showing him with unidentified women, saying Epstein had asked him to pose with his assistants after meetings. “To be clear, I never spent any time with victims, the women around him,” Gates said. 4Contd on | nation 4See also | world NETANYAHU ROLLS OUT RED CARPET From devpt planning `12,050 cr From property tax `7,000 cr FPJ News Service ALLOTMENT MUMBAI INFRA Total for road & traffic policy of zero tolerance for terrorism with no double standards”, while conveying condolences to families of those killed in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. “I carry with me the deepest condolences of the people of India for every life lost and for every family whose world was shattered in the barbaric terrorist attack by Hamas,” Modi said. “We feel your pain, we share your grief. India stands with Israel firmly and with full conviction in this moment and beyond. No cause can justify the murder of civilians. Nothing can justify terrorism.” PM Narendra Modi arrived in Israel on Wednesday to a red-carpet welcome that underscored the warmth and growing strategic depth between the two nations. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, personally received Modi at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, embracing him in a gesture that symbolised the close personal rapport between the two leaders. He then held a private meeting with Modi after the welcoming ceremony. It marks Modi’s second visit to Israel in nine years, his first since the 2017 trip that elevated bilateral ties to the level of a strategic partnership and opened new avenues of cooperation in defence, agriculture and water management. Modi will hold one-on-one talks with Netanyahu, followed by delegation-level discussions on Thursday covering defence, technology, innovation, trade and regional security. 4Contd on | nation 4Contd on | nation `6,875 cr Coastal Road (South) `950 cr Bridges `2,300 cr HEALTH `7,456.80 cr EDUCATION `4,248.08 cr ED seizes Anil Ambani ‘Abode’ Ashish Singh PM in Israel: Terror threats everywhere The ED initiated its investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by CBI under sections relating to criminal conspiracy, cheating and breach of trust under IPC, along with provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The case names Reliance Communications, Anil Ambani and others. 4Contd on | nation FPJ News Service MUMBAI Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday declared that “terrorism anywhere threatens peace everywhere” as he addressed the Israeli Parliament, firmly backing Israel in its fight against terror while also endorsing the Gaza peace initiative as a pathway to a “just and durable peace” in the region. He was later conferred the Knesset’s highest honour for strengthening bilateral ties. In a strongly worded address to the Knesset, Israel’s house of representatives, Modi reiterated India’s “consistent and uncompromising