New Delhi, May 24
Expressing strong reservations over the claims of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the Delhi High Court today directed the authority to file a fresh affidavit on the “disappearance” of more than 37 water bodies in the Capital.

A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Vijender Jain and Mr Justice S. N. Agarwal also asked the DDA to file a reply as to why 39 other water bodies were converted into public parks or encroached upon by vested interests.

The court passed the directions after the DDA, contrary to its earlier submission made in 2000, claimed today that the 37 water bodies which were allegedly encroached by vested interests were never in existence and also submitted that 39 others were beyond retrieval.

The Bench recalled that in the year 2000 a court appointed committee, which included representatives of the DDA, had submitted a report about the existence of the 37 water bodies whose very existence was now being denied by the authorities.

“Your own report has talked about the existence of such water bodies. How can you now deny it. We are not happy with your affidavit. File a fresh affidavit to explain what had happened to the 37 water bodies,” the Bench told the DDA counsel.

The Bench also asked the DDA to explain as to why eight water bodies were converted into public parks and 31 others were allowed to be encroached upon by vested interests. Expressing anguish that DDA which was supposed to preserve the water bodies
had itself converted eight
of them into public parks, the Bench asserted that ensuring greenery did not mean destroying the water bodies.

“For a clean environment, we not only need greenery in the form of parks but also water bodies as they are the lifeline for the city’s ecological balance and water supply,” Mr Justice Jain remarked.

Mr Vinod Kumar Jain, chairman of Tapas, a voluntary organisation, had earlier filed a PIL in the court alleging that 611 water bodies in the Capital had disappeared over the years as the same had been encroached upon by mafia elements with official connivance.

The organisation had
contended that the acute water scarcity being witnessed in the Capital was on account of the destruction of the natural water bodies which if protected would not only ensure perennial water supply to the citizens but also help maintain the ecological balance of the city.

New Delhi, May 24
The MCD today stepped up de-sealing of commercial establishments sealed as part of a court-ordered drive against the unauthorised use of residential premises and took action against 2,223 properties. The corporation de-sealed 627 shops and offices in Shahdara South, 272 in Karol Bagh, 265 in West, 258 in Central, 210 in Civil Lines and 178 in city zone, it said in a statement here.

The action was spread across 11 civic zones of the Capital.

The civic body began the drive yesterday and de-sealed 561 commercial establishments. The MCD’s decision to de-seal the properties follows the notification of a Bill passed in Parliament providing a one-year moratorium on demolitions and sealings in the Capital.

The civic body, however, cautioned the shopkeepers against breaking seals on their own. The MCD would also not allow any new commercial activity in residential zones, the spokesman added.

During its drive, the MCD had sealed about 15,000 shops of which about 6,000 were de-sealed after receiving affidavits by the owners. 

New Delhi, May 24
An expert witness today told a city court, trying the journalist Shivani Bhatnagar murder case, that a polygraph test of the main accused, suspended IPS officer R K Sharma, was never conducted.

Deposing before the Additional Sessions Judge Rajender Kumar, Vibha Rani Ray stated that she had conducted the polygraph tests of Shivani’s husband, Rakesh Bhatnagar, her sister Shivanti, brother-in-law B S Bhatnagar, brother Abhijit Kumar and Manoj Gulati.

Ray, however, told the court that Sharma was not produced before her for a second time even though she had given September 20 and 21, 1999 as the next dates and hence the test could not be conducted.

The statement comes close on the heels of another expert witness R S Bhardwaj, Director of Finger Prints Bureau of Delhi Police, stating before the court on May 22 that he merely signed the report prepared by a Sub-Inspector and he did not himself independently examine the prints.

New Delhi, May 24
The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practice Commission (MRTPC) has strongly admonished Reliance-owned BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd, responsible for distributing electricity in a major part of the national Capital for refusing to accept its order seeking to know the company’s stand on interest on security deposits by consumers.

Threatening to summon the BSES chairman personally, the MRTPC Bench headed by M M. K. Sardana, noted with concern that the company had taken a “strange” stand by not accepting the order sent through registered post by marking on it that the name of its “required officer and his designation” was not mentioned in the address.

“The observations made by the respondent’s (BSES) office are highly misplaced and do not speak well of the functioning of the company, which is an important utility service in the city of Delhi,” the MRTPC said in its recent order.

The MRTPC directed the company’s chairman to take appropriate steps for the compliance of its various orders on the issue.

While warning company’s counsel V. P. Sharma that in the case of failure to take appropriate steps “the Commission shall summon the chairman himself for explaining the conduct of the respondent company,” the MRTPC has listed the matter for further hearing on July 4.

The order came on an application of Director-General (Investigation and Registration), who looks after the matters pertaining to violation of restrictive trade practices norms.

The issue in the complaint was whether a company like the BSES engaged in a utility service that had obtained security deposits on electricity connections from consumers was liable to pay interest on it or not.

The MRTPC had sought to know the stand of the BSES on the issue in the order, which it had chosen to return on the ground that name of its officer concerned was not mentioned on the registered address.

New Delhi, May 24
Chief Minister Ms Sheila Dikshit today demanded setting up of a multi-state task force to resolve water and power issues with neighbouring states.

Speaking at a meeting of the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) here, Ms also Dikshit emphasized on construction of peripheral expressways which was one of the important issues concerning the National Capital Region (NCR) through public-private partnership. The construction of the expressways will give a boost to infrastructural development in the region, she said.

The neighbouring states, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and the Union Government have to contribute for the construction of the road, she said. The Delhi Government has already contributed Rs 387.10 crore for timely implementation of the expressways construction programme. Once the road is constructed, the traffic and pollution level in Delhi will come down, the CM claimed at a meeting held at NCR Development Board.

Emphasizing the NCR’s development, the Chief Minister said that with the population explosion witnessed by the national
Capital in the last decade, it has become difficult to locate suitable land for infrastructure projects in Delhi. There is thus an urgent
need to identify large sites in the NCR.

She appealed to the neighbouring states to take positive step in developing the NCR as majority of their population come to Delhi, resulting in infrastructural problems. She said that Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan contribute 60 per cent of the migratory population to Delhi. Their needs like water, power, land etc are being served by the Delhi Government.

She proposed setting up of a Joint Interactive Group under the umbrella of the NCRPB to examine all initiatives needed for the NCR development. The Delhi Government has initiated the ‘Bhagidari yojna’, a citizen-government partnership for contributing to the Capital’s development.

The Delhi Government received the United Nations Public Service Award 2005 for implementing the Bhagidari system of development, she pointed out. 

Gurgaon, May 24
The local unit of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) today took out a procession in the city against the functioning of the Congress government in Haryana and submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, Gurgaon, for being passed on to the Governor. The procession was led by Mr Abhay Singh, son of former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala.

The INLD alleged in the memorandum that the ruling Congress was “fabricating” charges against its opponents. It was an old tactic of the Congress to frame charges against leaders of the opposition parties when their popularity increased, it added.

The memorandum cautioned that the INLD would intensify its campaign if the false charges were not withdrawn.

It further said the Congress government had failed on all fronts and the ruling party in the state had backtracked on all poll promises it had made to the people.

It further said crime had increased ever since the Congress came to power. The government was functioning contrary to the ideal of transparency in the administration professed by the Congress.

Also, the prices of agriculture inputs had increased manifold and the masses were reeling under reducing purchasing power ever since the Congress-led UPA government came to power at the Centre.

The memorandum demanded that all employees dismissed by the Congress government should be absorbed back at the earliest.

Referring to the labour problem, especially in Gurgaon, the INLD apprehended that the strike in Honda Motors by its employees was on account of faulty policies of the Haryana Government.

The government did not seem to have learnt its lessons and was still following the same policies, it added.

The INLD procession started from its local office and wound up at the mini secretariat where the memorandum was submitted to the Deputy Commissioner.

Later, talking to newspersons, Mr Abhay Singh said that Mr Chautala would return by July 15 from abroad.

The INLD was not averse to the formation of a third front to oust the Congress-led UPA from the Centre and the Congress government in Haryana.

Noida, May 24
In a bold initiative, the Mulayam Singh Yadav government has decided to offer unprecedented largesse to all new investors making an industrial investment of more than Rs 100 crore each in Uttar Pradesh.

The government has decided to offer financial concessions up to Rs 200 core to all those new industries investing Rs 100 crore or more. This has been done with a view to removing the obstacles and difficulties encountered in the expansion of industrial units already established. The industries will be required to pay the actual price of the land acquired for the purpose.

These incentives have been offered keeping in view similar facilities being offered by the Uttaranchal Government as well as recent reports that certain entrepreneurs in Noida and Greater Noida industrial belt were feeling suffocated for want of sufficient facilities. Some industrialists were even thinking of relocating to Himachal and Uttaranchal.

This move is being seen as a reassurance to these industrial houses, particularly in western UP. The UP Chief Secretary, Mr Navin Chander Bajpayee, and the Industrial Development Commissioner, Mr Atul Kumar Gupta, had expressed apprehensions that in such a scenario UP could be the loser in a big way.

With the implementation of this decision, after the proposal had been approved by the UP Development Council as well as the state Cabinet, government circles are hopeful that the way has been paved for substantial industrial investment pouring into UP in the months to come.

Mr Gupta said various taxes like sales tax, trade tax etc will automatically be considered as having been converted into interest-free loans up to 15 years which will be paid after seven year in an interest-free way. Besides, the industrial units will also have the option to repay the interest-free loans after 15 years instead of seven years.

But this concession available to the units over the total investment for the period of 15 years will not cover over 100 per cent of the investment, it has been stated.

New Delhi, May 24
Latest medical research shows that patients under treatment for high-blood pressure have a better chance of reaching their blood pressure goals by taking a combination of medications. This information was made given by Dr K.K. Aggarwal, President, Heart Care Foundation of India, while speaking about latest research on high blood pressure in the city here today.

He revealed that Dr Paul M. Ridker from Brigham and the Women’s hospital in Boston has done considerable work in this field and has scientifically proved that patients receiving two drugs (Valsartan and diuretic) have an average drop in blood pressure by 25mmHg as compared with a drop of 18 mmHg among those receiving Valsartan alone.

According to reports from the ADHT trial, at least 27.5 per cent patients suffering from both blood pressure and diabetes require more then one drug to achieve their blood pressure goal; only 12.5 per cent patients taking only one drug could achieve this goal.

Dr Aggarwal advises that one should not be afraid of using a combination of four or five drugs to achieve this target. The TROPHY study has results taken over four consecutive years and shows that people with pre-hypertension who received Candesartan, an anti-hypertensive drug, had a significantly reduced risk of developing high blood pressure as compared with those who received a placebo.

On the other hand, Dr John B. Kostis, at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey, has shown that lowering blood pressure and cholesterol among patients with coronary artery disease significantly reduces rates of heart attack and stroke. 

New Delhi, May 24
Despite repeated claims by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), two swimming pools situated at Mandir Marg and Laxmibai Nagar are yet to be thrown open for the general public even in this scorching summer. Interestingly, membership forms are available for sale since more than two months but not a single membership has been issued so far to aspirants by the pool authorities. The status of the remaining three swimming pools in Lutyens’ Zone at Sarojini Nagar, Talkatora Stadium and Nehru Park is also not satisfactory. They are facing problems like insufficient level of water and purification of water reserved.

On the notice boards hung at both the swimming pools, swimming timing, membership fees and other details are displayed but not a single line has been mentioned as to when both the pools will be thrown open for general public. “As membership forms for both the pools are available for sale so there is a lot of confusion regarding their status whether they are open or not. It should be clearly intimated that both the pools are yet to be opened. Summer vacations for schools are already on. Like attending other hobby classes, schoolchildren also prefer swimming. Local schoolkids will be disappointed this time,” said a local resident.

Asenior officer of the NDMC said the delay had been caused due to some sanitation problems. “Both the pools are yet to be sanitised. Delay in the supply of chlorine tablets for the purification of water as also in the supply of ample water to these pools has resulted in an automatic delay in opening of both the pools. Now the work is on a war footing. We hope both the pools would be thrown open for the general public very soon,” he said. 

New Delhi, May 24
The Delhi Education Minister, Mr. Arvinder Singh Lovely, today claimed that Rashtriya Pratibha Vidyalayas (RPVs), run by the Directorate of Education, performed better this year as they secured hundred per cent result in senior secondary examinations. Four RPVs – Gandhi Nagar, Surajmal Vihar, Shalimar Bagh and Dwarka — have entered in the list of top 100 schools of the national Capital as per CBSE class XII results declared yesterday.

Having seen the performance of the these schools, the Delhi Government is planning to open two RPVs in each district. There are 12 districts in the national Capital.

Countering the CBSE claim that Delhi secured fourth position, the Minister claimed that Delhi’s position was second on all India level. The CBSE claimed that Chandigarh position is second. The Minister said that in Chandigarh, only 6,000 students appeared for senior secondary examinations while in Delhi 60, 585 students appeared. As such, the Delhi pass percentage is better, he stated.

He also claimed that the results of private and aided schools had gone down this year while government schools performed better. 

New Delhi, May 24
An 18-year-old girl, a class XII student of Delhi Public school in Vasant Kunj, committed suicide at her house in Dwarka in South West Delhi last night, police said.

Priyamvada was found hanging from a ceiling fan in her house in Sector 6, Dwarka at around 8.00 pm last night, the DCP (South West) said.

According to the police, the 18-year-old was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared brought dead. Priyamvada, who had appeared for her class XII board exams this year, was said to be upset over her board exam results.

New Delhi, May 24
The police has rescued 39 children aged between 12-14 years, working as bonded labourers in factories in the Capital, and arrested two men for allegedly holding them captive.

The two arrested men, Mohd Asgar and Mohd Tariq, both residents of Sarai Kale Khan in south Delhi, allegedly brought the children from rural areas of Bihar and confined them in inhuman and unhygienic conditions in small export units here, police said.

The two have been booked under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act and the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act, while a third accused, Sarruddin, is still at large.

The children were produced before the Chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee here, who ordered them to be sent to a Childrens’ Home.

Noida, May 24
The National Fertiliser Ltd, the largest government undertaking in fertiliser industry, had the largest turnover of Rs 3600 crore during 2005-06, generating a profit of Rs 169 crore before taxes (operating profit of Rs 161.67 crore)

The company had produced 33.44 lakh metric tonnes of urea, reflecting a capacity utilisation of 103.4 per cent.

The company produced 16 per cent of the total urea fertiliser produced in the country. Besides, the NFL had also produced industrial products worth Rs 85 crore during the year.

The National Fertiliser Limited had also achieved the minimum cost among the PSUs in marketing its products in the country.

This was stated by Mr G. S. Mangat, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the NFL, in an exclusive chat with this correspondent at the company’s headquarters in Noida today.

Another noteworthy achievement of the NFL was the production and sale of neem-coated urea. “The NFL was the first company chosen by the government for producing and marketing this product. That was after two years’ R&D and field trials,” Mr Mangat said.

More than 4.22 lakh metric tonnes of neem-coated urea marketed by the NFL in 12 states across the country had been very popular with the farming community. It was known for its slow release of fertiliser which resulted in saving on leaching losses, Mr Mangat said.

Now, of course some other companies had also started producing it, but the NFL was the pioneer in this field, the CMD added.

Though the neem-coated urea cost Rs 100 per tonne extra, the NFL continued to bear this extra cost in the interest of the farming community.

The matter was, however, under the consideration of the government, it was understood.

“The NFL has made a saving of Rs 100 crore in its marketing cost during 2003 which was a direct addition to our profits. We have somehow managed to keep up this tradition,” said Mr Mangat.

Ghaziabad, May 24
At least 10 dwellings of a particular community were today torched by BJP activists in Sapnawat village of Ghaziabad district when a protest against cow slaughter turned violent.

BJP supporters, who were protesting the cow slaughter of May 10 and 11 in the Nayabansh locality, torched the houses under the Dhawalana area. State Home Department sources here said 15 persons had been arrested in connection with the arson.

Earlier, the police had arrested nine persons in connection with the cow slaughter episode.

Meanwhile, BJP state president Keshri Nath Tripathi announced a statewide protest against cow slaughter on May 31. —OC

New Delhi, May 24
The police has decided to reward a resident of Dilshad Garden area of East Delhi with Rs 500 for helping apprehend a chain snatcher on April 21.

Delhi Lt Governor B L Joshi had asked Delhi Police to publicly recognise and promptly reward the brave act of Satish Kumar, an official statement said today. —TNS