New Delhi, January 14
The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) today failed to announce any new project while presenting an annual budget of Rs 2,021.57 crore. It will focus on completing old projects, some of which have been on since the Commonwealth Games.

The Connaught Place redevelopment project that started much before the Commonwealth Games is finally expected to end by March-April, according to a new estimate by the NDMC.

There is no hike in the property tax rates of the council, catering mainly to the VVIP areas.

The council announced the completion of some of its work, listed out fresh deadlines for a number of pending projects and focused on an overhaul of water pipelines and deep well hand pumps.

According to the budget estimates, the NDMC hopes to earn Rs 2,356.91 crore revenue in the fiscal year 2013-14, while its expenditure is put at Rs 2,021.57 crore for the year.

"Improving the quality of civic services and generation of revenue are some of the challenges before us," said NDMC chairperson Archna Arora in her address.

The Connaught Place plan has seen several revisions, including slashing the budget and shelving an underground parking and subway project.

"Earlier, our project costs were around Rs 70 crore, but over time some plans were changed and now the budget stands over Rs 650 crore. Till now, Rs 296 crore has been spent," Arora told reporters later, while expressing confidence that the project will finally be completed in a few months.

Also on the agenda of the NDMC this year is the completion of several road and parking projects. The NDMC has also proposed to take up 34 roads for resurfacing.

Presenting the budget before the council, Arora said the work on laying concrete roads in Lodhi Colony, Sarojini Nagar and Bharti Nagar is expected to be completed this financial year.

New Delhi, January 14
With just one more day left to submit admission forms for nursery this year, humungous queues outside city schools were witnessed today.

After the Department of Education (DoE) issued a strict order, warning schools against doling out admission criteria on their whims, parents were seen struglling to complete last- minute formalities.

The notice yesterday had strictly asked private schools to adhere to the common admission norms to relieve parents out of their misery. The website of the department had been flooded with complaints against schools creating unacceptable criteria for awarding points.

The DoE had warned schools that if any forms are denied on the last day of form submission or entertained after that, they would have to face serious consequences. Also, schools were forced to drop the "upper age-limit" criteria while awarding points.

The age-limit criterion puts younger applicants at a disadvantage while even the high court also denied capping the higher age limit for nursery last month.

Parents were relieved but still sceptical today. With many schools charging up to Rs 500 for prospectus and the admission form, the DoE order clearly instructed that the parents need not buy the prospectus along with the admission form. Only Rs 25 are to be charged from parents for the form.

"We are applying to 16 schools this year. On an average, the prospectus per school is nearly Rs 200. even though the notice has come today, it isn't any respite. No school will refund the money we have already spent. The admissions end tomorrow, what good will that do now," said Keshav Lodhi, a parent at Bluebells International School today.

Reacting to several complaints on several schools demanding information about the salary and occupation of parents, the order also forbids any point system based on the financial capability of an applicant's parents. The order also mentions that schools cannot deny free forms to any candidate from the Economically Weaker Section. Also, clearing confusion over the documents required as residence proof, the order spells out a list of acceptable documents.

"We have already submitted forms in four schools, were we had to list our incomes and occupation. What would become of those forms after this order now? Except those parents who would be submitting forms in he last two days, others have already revealed their income capabilities.

The schools have that information and even if they utilize it against us during selection, we wouldn't get to know," said Pallav Das, a parent at Modern School today.

New Delhi, January 14
The 155-bedded super speciality hospital, Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) which is an autonomous society under the city government, will soon commission its phase-II project currently under construction through DMRC, said Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

Known for being the only government hospital in the civilian set-up and successfully performing liver transplants, the phase-II of ILBS will be made functional by the end of 2013. Subsequently, additional facilities will be created, including state-of-the-art ICUs, Cancer cherapy unit, kidney unit, research wings.

"So far the hospital has performed over 65 liver transplants, which include living donor as well as deceased donor transplants. This year, the hospital also started its kidney transplantation programme," said Dikshit while speaking at its 3rd Foundation Day function.

"It has been granted the status of deemed university by the UGC. Receiving the NABH accreditation in 2010, it happens to be the first liver university in Asia. It is running a successful postgraduate teaching programme in various specialties, including hepatology and renal transplantation. The institute has achieved a lot during the last three years," Dikshit said.

Speaking on the occasion, Vice-President Hamid Ansari stated that it is imperative for the state to provide health care to the deprived sections of society.

"ILBS will become a model institute to ensure a healthy society," he said.

New Delhi, January 14
A 26-year-old man was found murdered with his throat slit in the Jaitpur area at southeast Delhi today.

According to the police, the victim has been identified as Pankaj, who is a resident of Jaitpur. He worked as a daily wage labourer at a tent house. His body was found behind a mazaar (grave of a Sufi saint) in the National Thermal Power Corporation jungle.

Residents of the area said Pankaj had a tilak on his forehead and some lemons were strewn near his body. They suspected that he had been sacrificed during a tantric ritual. The police has denied these claims and said that personal enmity could be the motive behind the murder.

According to investigators, the victim's throat was slit with a sharp-edged weapon, but there is no proof that he was sacrificed in a ritual.

Eyewitnesses said that they saw Pankaj at 5 pm on Sunday.

The victim often consumed drugs. Investigators are probing if any friend has killed him.