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Demolition drive: Sheila approaches the Prime Minister
Kids’ interview case: Schools get four |
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CBSE evolves AIDS education plan for schools
HC refuses to stay DDA order on schools
Demand for special status for Gurgaon
Hooda talks about blueprint for Haryana
Relatives abandon juvenile orphan
Police custody of blast accused extended
Assembly adjourned after obituary references
Delhi govt to ink deal on power plant in Chhattisgarh
Husband gets life term in dowry-death case
Vendor’s courage lands corrupt cops in jail
Now, a bomb hoax call at railway station
One killed in cylinder blast
Capital in the grip of cold wave
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Demolition drive: Sheila approaches the Prime Minister
New Delhi, December 19 After a not-so-successful meeting with the Union Urban Development Minister, Ms Diskhit met with Dr Manmohan Singh here this morning in Parliament to apprise him of the demolition of illegal buildings in the Capital. Owners of these illegal buildings have been protesting the court’s directive to mow down their properties. Delhi Lt Governor B L Joshi had earlier met Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil to discuss the situation arising out of the High Court order to demolish all illegal structures in the Capital. On December 14, the High Court had directed the authorities to remove all unauthorised construction in the Capital without sparing anybody. As per the court directive, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi began demolition of illegal structures in the Capital on December 16. Carrying on with its task of removing illegal structures in the Capital, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) today demolished over 80 unauthorised constructions and sealed 25 others amid violent protests by the affected residents. Resuming its operations under strong police cover and amid hectic political activity to get the demolitions stopped, the civic body’s bulldozers razed to the ground unauthorised structures at around 20 places across all the 12 zones. In many places, officials of the civic body faced angry protests from affected people, with the situation going out of control in west Patel Nagar in Central Delhi, where police resorted to lathi charge. MCD officials also demolished portions of multi-storeyed buildings extended without permission in several areas, including portions of two state-run Delhi State Industrial Development Corporation (DSIDC) units functioning in Bhawana industrial complex in West Delhi’s Narela area. The majority of the demolitions took place in Rohini area where authorities pulled down 35 illegal shops and residential properties in Kohat Enclave and sealed ten unauthorised structures. Twenty such shops were demolished in Dilawar Nagar area of Civil Lines. In view of the violence faced in some areas against the action, additional police forces have been deployed for the security of MCD officials taking part in the drive and their vehicles, an MCD spokesman said. Four multi-storeyed showrooms, including a diamond shop, were sealed and two flats were demolished on Vikas Marg and in Mayur Vihar areas of Shahdara south division, where officials faced stiff resistance from the local residents. A mob broke open some shops sealed by the MCD and the civic body had to request for additional police force to continue the operations. The shops were sealed again after police reinforcement arrived on the scene. MCD bulldozers demolished three huge commercial establishments in the posh Lajpat Nagar market and pulled down five illegal properties in Sitaram Bazaar in Sadar Paharganj area besides sealing nine transport godowns on Roshnara road. The drive did not spare posh residential areas of the national Capital as seven multi-storeyed apartment complexes were demolished in the upmarket Green Park, Rajouri Garden, Janakpuri and Vikas Puri areas of south and west Delhi. Three multi-storeyed buildings were demolished in Green Park and Mehrauli-Badarpur road areas, while four such properties were pulled down in Rajouri Garden, Janakpuri and Vikaspuri. The outer areas of Najafgarh and Narela also saw the demolition drive in full flow. Four commercial godowns were razed to the ground in Nangloi while 20 shops and portions of some buildings were pulled down in areas of Civil Lines division. The MCD officials are waiting for police cover to start demolitions in Rajouri Garden, Vikas Puri, Janak Puri, Green Park, Karol Bagh, Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, Narela and Najafgarh, MCD sources said. The demolition drive continued even as the BJP joined the political chorus to find a way to stop it. Condemning the drive, the BJP blamed the Congress Government in Delhi for it and demanded that the action be stopped forthwith. “They are behaving like Nadir Shah. The demolitions should immediately stop,” BJP Parliamentary Party spokesman V K Malhotra told reporters. The BJP leader said a Committee under his Chairmanship, constituted during the tenure of the party government in Delhi, had recommended that the Master Plan be amended to regularise unauthorised constructions within certain parameters and after imposing some penalty. “Amnesty should be given to unauthorised constructions within certain parameters,” he demanded. The city BJP is planning to move an adjournment motion in the Assembly tomorrow on the issue. MLAs cutting across party lines will also be moving a resolution tomorrow for regularising of all unauthorised constructions in residential areas in public interest and to “stop demolition in these areas with immediate effect”. MLAs Mukesh Sharma (Congress), Ramvir Singh Bidhuri (NCP) and Harsharan Singh Balli (BJP) would move the resolution in the House under Rule 107 for regularising unauthorised constructions, including shops, in residential areas of Delhi. “My demand is in keeping with the Congress policy of helping the poor. People have made some additional constructions in their small houses and these should be condoned,” Sharma said, adding that the government should explore all options, including bringing in a legislation and going to court. A special motion on the issue tabled in the Assembly today could not be taken up as the House was adjourned after passing obituary references.
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Kids’ interview case: Schools get four more weeks
New Delhi, December 19 A division bench of Justice Vijendra Jain and Justice Rekha Sharma made it clear to the private schools that the present system of forcing toddlers and their parents to appear for interview was not acceptable to the court. The Bench suggested to the schools that the new mechanism should adopt a neighbhourhood policy giving preference to kids residing within a five kilometre radius. The court said schools can consider the feasibility of a centralised admission system and admit students based on the draw of lots. “Parents are being made to run from pillar to post and we want the obnoxious policy of interviewing parents and kids to go. It is a disgrace to mankind,” it observed while passing a slew of suggestions for the schools to explore. It gave four weeks to the private schools to consider their suggestions and come out with a viable alternative mechanism for kids’ admission without interviewing them and posted the matter for further hearing on January 31, 2006. Earlier, the court had given the last opportunity to hundreds of private schools here to evolve a mechanism to select children for admission to Nursery and pre-Primary classes without forcing them and their parents to appear for interviews. The court had made it clear that the private schools should not have the discretion to call a particular set of children for interview. The court had observed that in the absence of any proper alternative suggested by the schools, it might ban toddlers’ interviews from January 2006 onwards. The Division Bench is seized of a petition filed by three parents challenging a single Bench judgement which had on January 12, 2003 rejected the plea for banning interviewing of children and their parents. Petitioners’ counsel Ashok Agrawal argued that Yashpal Committee appointed by the Central Government had recommended a complete ban on interviewing of children. He sought a ban on interviewing children on the ground that it was “arbitrary and violative” of their human rights. The practice was violative of their fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 14 (right to equality), Article 21 (right to life & liberty) and Article 21-A (right to education for children below 14) of the Constitution and provisions of Delhi School Education Act, 1973, he has contended. Agrawal had argued that by subjecting the children to interviews public schools were violating the recommendations of the Kothari Commission (1964-66) and Yashpal Committee (1993) and urged the Court to direct the schools to give admission in pre-primary classes by draw of lots only. There was an increase in incidents involving school buses and asked the Court to order the schools to implement the April nine, 1997 directive of the city Government to give preference in admission to the students residing within a radius of three km, he had pointed out. Agrawal had alleged that all the unaided recognised private schools here were forcing children in the age group of three to six years and their parents to appear for tests and interviews for admission in LKG, UKG and Nursery. The court had on May 6, last year issued a public notice to all schools, including unaided recognised public schools, seeking their assistance on this “question of larger public importance”. It had already issued notices to the Union HRD Ministry, Montfort School, Delhi Lt Governor and Director of Education on the matter.
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CBSE evolves AIDS education plan for schools
New Delhi, December 19 The Central Board of Secondary Education, being a part of the National Action Plan for the Introduction of Adolescence, Reproductive and Sexual Health Education
(ARSH Project) launched by the Government of India in association with the
UNFPA, has begun a series of advocacy programmes for private school Principals to understand and effectively implement the objectives of the project. “The Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas have their own programmes. We are doing this for all private affiliated schools wherein we will first have a programme for Principals,” said Mr G.
Balasubramaian, Director, Academics, CBSE. The second step would be identification of master trainers who would help in building an appropriate school environment for students to understand and practise the objectives of the project. The final step would be the training of both teachers and students, he said. The objectives of the ARSH include facilitating adolescents to understand the perspective of physical, biological and emotional changes, initiating a sense of self-awareness among adolescents to understand others, helping adolescents to manage their emotions effectively and empowering them with social skills that will help in building positive relationship with others. The programme also aims at enabling them to resist peer group pressure, acquiring information and education on sex and reproductive health, avoiding vulnerability to risky behaviour, resisting sex exploitation and general-based violence and understanding the consequence of substance abuse, adopting preventive measures and most importantly understanding the seriousness of the epidemic HIV/AIDS. “The advocacy programmes for Principals will help them understand and effectively implement the objectives of the above project in their respective schools”, Mr Balasubramanian said. The advocacy and training for teachers would be carried out by a team of resource persons from
Vimhans. The strategies for introduction of the project include awareness building, co-curricular activities, integration in the school curriculum and development of life skills.
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HC refuses to stay DDA order on schools
New Delhi, December 19 A Division Bench of Justice Vijender Jain and Justice Rekha Sharma asked the four schools to furnish details about the total strength of their students and free seats offered to the poor, if any, by February 22, 2006, the next date of hearing. “We will throw you out. You may have to now save your skin,” the court told the counsel for the petitioner while asking the schools to furnish the details of the number of poor children admitted in the schools as stipulated by the norms. The Bench however, asked the DDA not to dispossess the schools until the matter was decided. Social Jurist counsel Ashok Agarwal opposed the schools’ plea and urged the court to clarify that the state of dispossession ordered by the court should not be construed as a stay on the order for implementation of freeship for poor students. It was on a PIL filed by the Social Jurist that the court had earlier asked the authorities to take action against the erring private schools. Earlier, the court had issued a notice to DDA on a petition by the four schools whose lease for allotment of land in the Capital was cancelled by the Authority. The DDA had on December 14 cancelled the land lease of Bal Bharti School, Rukmini Devi Public School (Pitampura), Pinnacle School (Panchsheel Enclave) and Gyan Bharti Education Society (Naraina Vihar) for their failure to provide free education to 25 per cent poor children as agreed to by them at the time of getting the land at concessional rates. After cancellation of the land lease, Delhi Government was likely to take over these schools so that students do not suffer.
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Demand for special status for Gurgaon
Gurgaon, December 19 At an all party meet called by People’s Action, Gurgaon chapter, the local leaders of the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Gurgaon Residents Party (GRP), the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) have signed a resolution that Gurgaon should be accorded a special status, and a planning board headed by the Chief Minister should be formed. They have agreed that the 2021 Master Plan presented to the Chief Minister be put on hold till the planning board is constituted. Introducing the subject, Shashi Sharma convenor of the Gurgaon chapter for People’s Action said that an integrated plan is required to make Gurgaon the city of choice for multinationals and industries. Out of Rs 1,600 crore collected from the residents and industries as external development charges, the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) has been able to use only Rs 500 crore in the last 25 years, said Mr Sharma. “Policy must be accompanied by intention,” said Sita Ram Singla of the BJP, highlighting the unplanned manner in which development funds are managed by the government. He took strong note of the falling standards of infrastructure development in new Gurgaon. Mr K. L. Yadav, president of the District Congress Committee (Rural), contented that his government’s intention is good but “the problem with Gurgaon is more with the district administration, which is unable to implement any of the plans efficiently. Gurgaon needs integrated planning with the different administrative departments sitting together and planning out the issues,” he stressed. Col. Ratan Singh of the Gurgaon Residents Party (GRP) made a crucial observation when he said that there must be a “unified command” in administration, and “the kind of structure recommended by People’s Action will work best in such a scenario. At present, there are four parts to Gurgaon – old Gurgaon, the villages, HUDA sectors and New Gurgaon – but all four are managed and administered by different authorities. While the old city is under the municipality, the villages are under the panchayat. The HUDA sectors are administered by HUDA, while the colonies are managed by the colonisers. This is one reason for lack of integrated development in Gurgaon,” he added. Mr Gopi Chand Gehlot of the INLD and the former Deputy Speaker of the Haryana Assembly, said that Gurgaon is one of the fastest growing cities. But Gurgaon’s link to Delhi is fast becoming a headache for the district administration. Except the MG Road and NH8, which are fast choking up, there are no other roads. Citizens must demand the immediate construction of the Delhi-Gurgaon link roads, which have been proposed for a long time but is not moving forward. The pressure on infrastructure is huge. But to create income generation opportunities, it must also strengthen infrastructure to attract more revenue, said Dr Sanjay Paswan, former Union Minister, and a member of the RJD. Summing up the meeting, Sanjay Kaul, president, People’s Action, said we have to keep working on the issue until there is tangible progress on the formation of the planning board.
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Hooda talks about blueprint for Haryana
Faridabad, December 19 Addressing a gathering at Hodal town in the district yesterday after laying the foundation stone of the mini-secretariat building, the Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, said, “The state government had made a move to raise the power generation capacity by another 5000 MW in the next few years to make the state self-sufficient on the power front.’ The mini-secretariat building will cost around Rs 3.13 crore and will be constructed within the next two years. The Chief Minister claimed his government had prepared a framework which would place Haryana as one of the most developed and advanced states in the country in the next five years. He said the present government would ensure full and fair development of all districts of the state without any bias and focus on providing basic amenities like water, power and roads in both the rural and urban areas. He said efforts had been on to attract more foreign investment and industrialisation in the state to provide more employment opportunities and faster development. He said the proposed ‘Western Peripheral Expressway’ between Palwal and Kundli would open vast opportunities for trade and investment in the state and put the region on the fast track of development. Regarding the demands of development of the Hodal region, Mr Hooda said the water scarcity problem of at least 14 villages of the area would be solved within a year and funds would be released for local schemes. He said an amount of about Rs 6.26 crore would be spent on the relaying and widening of the road between Hassanpur and Bamni Khera villages. Besides, he said Rs 17.9 crore would be spent on works related to improving the sewage network and water supply for the Hodal town. He also announced that the government would set up an Industrial Training Institute (ITI) at Kusak village of Hodal subdivision. The Chief Minister also attended some other functions, including the laying of the foundation stone of Jat Bhawan in Sector 3. He also addressed a public meeting at Jharsentli village where he said the government would take measures to put Faridabad back on the development track.
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Relatives abandon juvenile orphan
New Delhi, December 19 “The juvenile saw his closest relatives alive and available but refusing to take him home. The conduct and action of the relatives has given him a feeling of an unwanted child and we can understand the trauma it has left in his young mind,” Principal Magistrate Santosh Snehi Mann said. The boy, a class IV dropout, has been released on probation and put in the care of Prayas Children Home for a period of three years. He, along with his younger sister, was forced to live in their uncle (father’s younger brother) Kamal Singh’s house after a fatal attack of tuberculosis killed his parents and two other sisters. Kamal, who had fought bitterly with his elder brother, now turned his previous animosity on the children and at times even denied them food. Unable to stand Kamal’s barbs, Aditya dropped out of school and tried to find solace in nefarious activities and substance abuse. “He became a victim of substance abuse and fell into bad company in search of his identity and emotional support,” the Magistrate said. Matters came to a head when the boy was implicated of stealing from Kamal’s house. Observing that this was an apparent bid by Kamal to get rid of the boy, the court deputed probation officers to check on the living conditions of the siblings who found the girl locked up in a tiny room with hardly any proper food or clothing. “Considering her age, she needs great care and direction and lacks both. She is vulnerable to abuse and exploitation,” the Magistrate said, referring the girl to a home under the Childline scheme. Further, officials found that none of the boy’s other relatives were willing to take him back in. The family even personally appeared before the court to inform the court of their “displeasure” to have him with them. “It has not been an easy task for us to provide for the rehabilitation of the boy because despite the fact that his closest relatives have social and economic means to take care of him and his sister they have refused to take custody or responsibility,” the Judge said. She has also ordered Prayas officials to involve Rahul in informal education and enroll him in a regular school from next year. Steps have also been taken for the brother and sister to meet each other every two months.
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Politician arrested on murder charges
New Delhi, December 19 Mukesh alias Mukhiya Gujjar (37), who has twice contested Parliamentary elections on a Samajwadi Party and a Congress ticket, was arrested yesterday from his residence following a lead given by a contract killer Sunil Bhati who executed the ‘supari’ killing of the woman last year, DCP (Crime) Tajendra Luthra told newsmen here today. “Two rifles, belonging to someone else and being used only in Uttar Pradesh, his personal licensed revolver and some ammunitions were seized from his possession,” he added. As he was keeping the rifles illegally with him, he has been booked under the Arms Act, said the DCP. “He has also admitted to his involvement in the murder of Sunita Khanna at Sahibabad last year,” he claimed. According to the police, the suspect had hired Sunil Bhati, who was arrested on December 17, for Rs 1 lakh to kill Mrs Khanna who owed him several lakh rupees but was not able to pay him as her furnishing business had failed to pick up, Mr Luthra said.
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Police custody of blast accused extended
New Delhi, December 19 Dar, Rafiq Shah and Mohammad Fazil were produced inside the chamber of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Reena Singh Naag who remanded them till January 2 after the Special Cell officials sought more time for their interrogation in connection with the blast at Paharganj market. The police have filed three separate FIRs in the blasts at Sarojini Nagar, Paharganj and Govindpuri which claimed 67 lives and injured over 200 persons. Meanwhile, Dar’s counsel Riaz Mohammad, who came to know about the court proceedings from media persons, alleged that Special Cell officials were not allowing him to represent his client in the case and challenge extension of remand. “They produced Dar inside the chamber of the Magistrate without intimating me today and on the last date and they are going on seeking extension of remand without allowing me to represent him,” Mohammad told reporters outside the court. “Dar has been in custody for the past 40 days. Now they want his custody on the pretext of probing the Paharganj blasts. On December 8 they wanted him further for Govindpuri probe. What is the need for custody for each case? The probe agency is the same and cases interlinked,” he said. Mohammad said he would file a complaint before the CMM in this regard tomorrow. Dar, arrested on November 9 from Srinagar, has been accused of coordinating and financing the blasts. Police now claims that it was Rafiq who had planted the explosive in a bus in Govindpuri. Earlier, they were of view that he only played a role in arranging funds.
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Assembly adjourned after obituary references
New Delhi, December 19 As the House assembled on the opening day of the five-day Winter Session, eloquent tributes were paid to these leaders besides Congress leader H K L Bhagat and former deputy chairperson of the Delhi Metropolitan Council Begum Khurshid Kidwai. The House also paid condolences to the victims of the bomb blasts in Delhi on the eve of Divali. It also remembered the people who lost their lives in the October eight quake in Jammu and Kashmir as well as the victims of the stampede in Chennai yesterday.
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Delhi govt to ink deal on power plant in Chhattisgarh
New Delhi, December 19 A coal-based 3,000 MW power plant would be set up in partnership between Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab besides Chhattisgarh, state Power Minister Haroon Yusuf today said. The agreement was being facilitated through the Union Power Ministry, he said. The plant was expected to be ready before the 2010 Commonwealth Games, he added. Earlier, the Delhi Government would shortly sign an MoU with the Union Power Ministry and the NTPC for setting up the plant, she said.
— TNS
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Husband gets life term in dowry-death case
New Delhi, December 19 Additional Sessions Judge Lal Singh also imposed a fine of Rs 6,000 on Anuj Francis Toppo, holding him guilty of harassing his wife Sunita Manju for dowry. Relying primarily on Sunita’s dying declaration made in the presence of a Sub-Inspector and a doctor, the court observed that the declaration was corroborated by other evidence also and was therefore correct. Sunita’s parents Petrus Surin and Mary Flora were among the 11 prosecution witnesses examined who testified before the court that their daughter was regularly beaten up and sent to their house with demands of money by the accused. Sunita was married to Toppo in 1993, and the two were living in Sagarpur Colony of south-west Delhi. On May 30, 2000, Sunita was brought to Safdarjung Hospital in a severely burnt condition where her statement was recorded. She told the police that Toppo had been quarrelling with her since that morning and at around noon doused her with kerosene, setting her on fire. She said she managed to pour water on herself to put out the fire. She was taken to the hospital by her neighbours, who also informed the police. Sunita was declared dead on June 5, 2000, and her husband has been in custody for the past three-and-a-half years.
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Vendor’s courage lands corrupt cops in jail
New Delhi, December 19 “Convicts belong to the law-enforcing agency and their prime duty is to prevent the commission of any such offence; instead they are themselves involved in such type of activities,” Additional Sessions Judge Sunil Gaur observed, passing the sentence against Delhi Police constables Prem Chand, Pramod Kumar and Mohamad
Taufiq. Besides the prison term for offences under various sections of the Prevention Corruption Act and IPC, the court also slapped a fine of Rs 1,500 on each of the accused. Seven years ago, the three convicts, then posted at Badarpur police station had asked Mohamad Sattar, who used to sell bags on a ‘rehri’ (push cart) to pay Rs 300 per week in return of allowing him to do business near the Badarpur Kabristan. The convicts told him that other shopkeepers in the area were also paying them the same amount on a weekly basis. Sattar, who was not willing to fulfil their illegal demand promptly informed the ACB sleuths who laid a trap for the convicts at a point where they were supposed to meet Sattar. On September 28, 1998, when the convicts came to accept the money, the ACB sleuths, who were lying in wait, swooped down on them and arrested them.
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Now, a bomb hoax call at railway station
New Delhi, December 19 The Police Control Room received a call around noon about a bomb being placed at Platform no 5 of the New Delhi railway station, senior police officials said. The police swung into action and after cordoning off the area evacuated passengers from platforms number four and five. For about 15 minutes, there was complete pandemonium at the station as armed policemen and personnel of the bomb disposal squads arrived there to carry out a thorough search. Specially-trained sniffer dogs were also deployed.
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One killed in cylinder blast
New Delhi, December 19 The explosion occurred at around 9.40 a.m. when some people were engaged in welding in a field on the Nangloi-Najafgarh Road, the police said. The injured were admitted to hospital where their condition was described as serious. The blast, which was heard even as far as a kilometer away, caused considerable panic in the area as the residents thought that a bomb had gone off.
— TNS
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Capital in the grip of cold wave
New Delhi, December 19 Cold North-Westerly winds led to
the minimum temperature going down to 3.4 degrees Celsius, which was
five degrees below normal. The dip forced the met department to declare
a cold wave in the city. The city was in the grip of a cold wave
exactly a week ago when the minimum temperature went down to 3.3 degrees
Celsius, the coldest since the 3 degrees on New Year’s eve in 1999.
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