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Sheila seeks Centre’s intervention
to develop National Capital Region
City court frames charges in ’84 riots case after 20 yrs
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DGP orders arrest of wanted criminals
Power tariff hike deferred
Set back to Congress and INLD
Allegations of irregularities in HEWO schemes
Acharya Mahapragya’s ‘Ahimsa Yatra’ reaches Delhi
Campaign launched against commercialisation of education
Firm plans afoot to link Delhi airport by metro rail
CBI finds excess cash at RTO during surprise check
Power situation improves due to rain
Tax exemption for village residential properties
UGC reverses decision on hiring of ad hoc staff
New fire station at Tikri Kalan
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Sheila seeks Centre’s intervention
to develop National Capital Region
New Delhi, June 27 Speaking at the 51st meeting of the National Development Council (NDC), Ms Dikshit said that as per the Yamuna Water Agreement, 1994, Delhi could get its share of 0.724 Billion Cubic Meter of water only after construction of Renuka Dam in Himachal Pradesh, Lakhwar Vyasi and Kishau reservoir in Uttranchal. Keeping the precarious position of raw water availability for making potable water, in the Capital city, it was imperative that these water projects were completed in the shortest possible time, she stressed. This called for a prioritised plan of action, she added. On the National Capital Regional Plan 2001, Ms Dikshit said a major impediment in its timely and effective implementation was the delay in completion of public transport projects connecting Delhi to towns like Ghaziabad, Sahibabad and Gurgaon. Delhi Government had financed the feasibility cost of the Integrated Rail and Bus Transport (IRBT) project connecting Delhi with these fast developing towns in the National Capital Region, she said. Though the Delhi Government was keeping provision for the IRBT project each year, no concrete action had been taken yet by other parties concerned, she added. “Delay in implementation of this project is a matter of serious concern for all of us,” she said. The NCR Planning Board had prepared a number of transport projects as part of the National Capital Regional Plan 2001. But two such projects —construction of the Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways — could be taken up recently only with the intervention of the court. Delhi Government had already released an amount of Rs 147 crore during 2004-05. “We are willing to release the balance of our share. However, I would like to urge all concerned with these projects of Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways to expedite its implementation and even reduce the project duration so that its benefits may help in improving environmental conditions of the area along with better movements of inter state goods and passenger traffic in the region.” A large number of projects of the State Government were facing cost overrun problem on account of delay in allotment of adequate and suitable land by the Delhi Development Authority, the Chief Minister said. “We request for an urgent intervention by the Union Government in those cases.” Commenting on the present system of giving special dispensation towards disadvantaged areas/backward states, Ms Dikshit said that while there could be no two opinion that in a federal structure, the disadvantaged areas/backward states deserve special dispensation, yet the states who perform well on fiscal measures also needed to be rewarded so as to induce
the other states to perform better. “In this regard, Delhi Government will like to point out that the grant, which is given to the State Government in lieu of share in Central taxes, has been kept stagnant for the last four years.’’ Further, based on 12th Finance Commission’s recommendations, certain other facilities available to the states were not extended to Delhi, she said, adding that “this needs to be looked into”. Another issue that needed mentioning was the unilateral cut by various ministries after the plan allocation/assistance had been agreed to in meetings between the states and the planning commission, Ms Dikshit said. On this issue also, there was a greater need for deliberation in the NDC, particularly keeping in view that the planning commission desired to see itself in a more pro-active role in championing the cause of the states with Central ministries, she added.
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City court frames charges in ’84 riots case after 20 yrs
New Delhi, June 27 Observing that a prima-facie case was made out, Additional Sessions Judge Sunil Gaur charged Harprasad Bharadwaj, R P Tiwari, Jagdish Giri, Kamlesh and Suraj Giri under various sections of IPC including 148 (rioting), 302 (murder) 436 (mischief by fire or explosives). Former Union Minister and Congress leader H K L Bhagat, who was also named as an accused in the case filed by the CBI, has already been discharged for ‘lack of evidence’ against him. The FIR in the case was lodged on November 28, 1996, when the complainant Harvinder Kaur, who was rescued by the Army and later left for Punjab, returned after 12 years and approached the Jain and Banerjee Committee constituted to look into the anti-Sikh riots . Framing charges against the accused, the judge said he was of the view that an effective opportunity ought to be given to the prosecution to prove its case as there was a strong suspicion in the mind of the court regarding active involvement of the accused in the case. Kaur’s husband Niranjan Singh, a Head Constable posted at Shahdara railway station, 17-year-old son Gurpal Singh and son-in-law Mahender Singh were stabbed to death and their bodies later burnt near the railway station by a mob allegedly led by Bharadwaj on November 1, 1984.
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DGP orders arrest of wanted criminals
Greater Noida, June 27 Most of these dreaded criminals, carrying awards on their heads but roaming free, are wanted in cases of heinous crimes like murders, dacoity and kidnapping. A classic example is that of dreaded criminal Lala alias Bishamber, a resident of Bulandshahar under Besarakh police station area who is wanted in cases of murder, loot etc. and is carrying an award of Rs. 2000 on his head. A number of heinous cases are registered against Lala in Ghaziabad, Bulandhshar, Meerut and Delhi, but the police is clueless about his whereabouts. The gangster is so clever that about an year ago, he used a look-alike to stage his own murder in a marriage ceremony in Bulandshahar. To convince the police that he was dead, he had actually dressed the dead body in his clothes. Even his family member had identified the dead body as his. It took police six months to realize that Lala Bishamber was still alive and kicking. Similarly, Dankore police are quite at sea regarding the whereabouts of Chand alias Pappoo, another dreaded criminal wanted in heinous cases of murder and dacoity. Even he was reported as dead about an year back, and the police is still investigating if that’s true. He carries an award of Rs. 2000 on his head. The list goes on: Bheema, wanted in Dankore police station for sensational dacoity and murder, carrying an award of Rs 2500 on his head; Harkishen, wanted for murder and dacoity in Kakode police station, carrying a similar award; Sohanpal, Ghani, wanted in kidnapping and loot in Rabupura police station, carrying awards of Rs 2000 each; Eta’s Vijay Pal, s/o Kalicharan, who has many cases of murder, abduction, looting etc registered against him in Kasna police station, carrying an award of Rs 1000 on his head. Thought the state DGP has issued strict orders for arresting all these criminals at the earliest, it remains to be seen when or if this happens.
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Power tariff hike deferred
New Delhi, June 27 Earlier, Delhi Power Minister Haroon Yusuf had stated that people in the Capital would have to pay more for electricity from July 1 and the DERC had announced that the new rates had almost been finalised and might be announced by June 28. However, the proposal is reported to have been shot down by the Chief Minister Ms Sheila Dikshit for the time being. Sources said the government was not in favour of any hike at present in view of the bad power supply situation. Last year, the average power tariffs had been hiked by almost 10 per cent. This year again, the DERC was believed to have decided on an average increase of 10 per cent. ‘’The hike will not be very steep but it will have to take into account the increasing cost of inputs,’’ DERC Member K Venugopal said. He said the different power distribution companies had in their submissions to the DERC shown a revenue gap of over Rs 500 crore each and the Transco had put its gap at Rs 1582 crore, with the cumulative difference coming to Rs 3000 crore.
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Set back to Congress and INLD
Gurgaon, June 27 While Mr Suresh Dua was supported by the local Congress MLA, a ginger group of the party associated councillors backed Mr Ravinder Kataria and saw the election through safely with the support of INLD associated councillors led by Mr Naresh Sehrawat. Mr Sehrawat is said to be opposed to the stalwart of the INLD and former Deputy Speaker of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, Mr Gopi Chand Gehlot. While Mr Kataria secured 17 votes in the House having effective strength of 31,Mr Suresh Dua secured 16. The two MLAs from Gurgaon and Sohna, Mr Gauba and Mr Sukhvir Jaunapuria also cast their votes in addition to the 31 elected councillors. In a quid pro quo, the ginger group of Congress related councillors supported Mr Naresh Sehrwat to win the election for the post of Vice Chairman of the civic body. While he secured 15 votes, Ms Reena Bharati, supported by Mr Gauba got 13. Ms Aaha Yadav, who was in the fray for the post of Vice President got five votes. The INLD councillors close to Mr Gopi Chand Gehlot are said to have given their votes for Ms Yadav as they were against Mr Naresh Sehrawat. In fact, the development is seen as personal defeat of senior leaders in local politics of both the Congress and the INLD. Before the election, the Gauba camp in the Congress was jubilant, counting on the support of at least 20 councillors, including the two associated with the BJP. Till yesterday night, when the councillors had met the local MP and Union Minister of State for Foreign Affiars, Rao Inderjit Singh, there was no division in the Congress. This did crop up when Mr Gauba insisted on the name for the post of President.
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Allegations of irregularities in HEWO schemes
Faridabad, June 27 The housing scheme, launched under the name of HUDA Employees Welfare Organisation (HEWO), is already under a shadow due to allegations of violation of rules and regulations concerning the 250-odd flats it constructed in 1998 in posh sector 16. Though the flats were meant only for HUDA employees, some allottees allegedly went on to sell them or let them out on rent. Moreover, some allottees were said to be still occupying government houses despite getting a flat in this scheme. The value of the plot in which this colony is located is several crores. Now, the HEWO has announced building of a similar housing society in sector 21 C here and released a list of allottees after drawing of a lot. This has attracted severe criticism by the HUDA Public Health Karamchari Union which terms the exercise of drawing of lots as improper and illegal and is seeking its cancellation. According to Amarjit Kataria, Circle Head of the HUDA Public Health Karamchari Union, the draw – held on June 18 – was supervised by an official who stood transferred to Hisar on June 8. As such, according to the relieving orders, he was to have been on duty at Hisar on the day of the drawing of the lots. Alleging that no proper sanction was taken from the Chairman of the HEWO, he wondered said how the authorities could decide the names of the allottees when it was still not known where precisely the housing project would be located. Moreover, he added, the site mentioned in the scheme had been notified as the land of Forest Department and a case was already pending in the Supreme Court in this connection. He pointed out that as per rules, only serving or retired HUDA employee who had no other flat, house or plot in any other society or sector could apply for HEWO’s membership. However, he said, some of the allottees did not fulfil this requirement, including an HCS officer.
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Acharya Mahapragya’s ‘Ahimsa Yatra’ reaches Delhi
New Delhi, June 27 The pontiff and scores of his followers were received at the Delhi-Gurgaon border by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. He then proceeded to the Adhyatma Sadhna Kendra in Mehrauli in south Delhi where Lt Governor B L Joshi addressed a civic reception for him in which hundreds of devotees were present. Joshi emphasised on the need to imbibe values of non-violence, peace, discipline and tolerance for the development of the family, society and nation, according to an official release. Acharya Mahapragya had started the ‘Yatra’ three years ago from Rajasthan and has covered several states including Gujarat and Maharashtra on foot. The Lt Governor said the ‘Ahimsa Yatra’ would inspire people to lead an austere life and practice discipline, sacrifice and dedication. Acharya Mahapragya said poverty and hunger were two main causes of violence. He also advocated minimising the gap between haves and have-nots. Former Delhi Chief Minister and Union Minister Sahib Singh Verma and city Mayor Satbir Singh were also present on the occasion.
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Campaign launched against commercialisation of education
Faridabad, June 27 At a meeting held here yesterday, the Manch announced the formation of a Joint Action Committee to run this campaign, to be chaired by Mr O.P Sharma, president of the Abhibhawak Manch, Haryana. According to Mr Kailash Sharma, a JAC member, the newly constituted body will ensure constitution of parents’ association in every district of the state and a representative of parents in every ward of the Municipal Corporation here. He said they proposed to launch an awareness campaign in both rural and urban areas of the state to motivate parents to take s stand against ‘exploitation’ by educational institutions, and pressuring the state government to take proper measures for reforms in the education sector, including action against institutions flouting rules and regulations. He said the Manch and the JAC would build up pressure on the government and its concerned agencies to put Education Policy of 2003 in place and take steps to improve the standard of education in government schools. The meeting lamented that an ‘Education Mafia’ was ruling the roost in the state and expressed concern over the present government’s failure to implement its own education policy.
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Firm plans afoot to link Delhi airport by metro rail
New Delhi, June 27 Top DMRC officials met Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and officials of his ministry as well as those from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) today and discussed several proposals to connect the airport, including East and West Delhi and Barakhamba Road, official sources said. Among the funding proposals for the project was a suggestion for the DMRC and AAI spending 20 per cent of the cost each and the remaining to be raised from the market, they said. The sources said the proposal would be fine-tuned in accordance with
the suggestions made
by the Ministry and presented before the Infrastructure Committee of
the Planning Commission on Thursday.
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Protest against DU’s fee hike
New Delhi, June 27 They demanded a rollback in the fee hike. “There has been a hike of more than 50 percent and students will have to pay as much as Rs 5000 an year. We want the management of the college to withdraw the decision to hike fees,” said Rohit, a senior SFI activist. The college accepted the memorandum submitted by the SFI. “We will put the issue before the governing body and it is for them to take the final decision,” said a senior college official. The SFI has decided to continue its protest against the fee hike after the colleges reopen in July.
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Bhadana elected INTUC president
New Delhi, June 27 Mr. Bhadana has taken the place of Mr. J. S. Dara who had expired here on June 22. Soon after being appointed, Mr. Bhadana said that he would try to lead the organisation on the path shown by the late Mr. Dara. He promised to fight for the poor and the downtrodden and the overall development of the labour organisation and the party. An alumni of the Jamia Millia Islamia here, Mr. Bhadana was active in the university politics before joining his father, a trade union leader, in fighting for justice for the working class. He was also active in the Congress party and in 1994 was elected as the general secretary of the Delhi Pradesh Youth Congress. He was also the permanent member of the Delhi Government’s State Advisory Contract Labour Board and convenor of the Labour Cell. Thirty six year old Bhadana is credited with securing the minimum wages for the daily labourers in the National Capital Territory of Delhi. He was also in the forefront of the fight against removing the dreaded Red Line buses from the Capital’s roads. Bhadana was the first Congress leader to have launched a dharna and fast in November last year to persuade Rahul Gandhi to contest elections.
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CBI finds excess cash at RTO during surprise check
New Delhi, June 27 The joint surprise check was conducted with the help of Senior State Transport officials, during which it was found that a Sub-Inspector (enforcement) had an excess amount of Rs. 126, a constable (enforcement) had excess cash of Rs 1050 and another constable (enforcement) Rs 435. A lower division clerk (enforcement) was found with an excess amount of Rs 505, an official spokesman said. Similarly, a lower division clerk (RTO) had Rs 3700 in excess and yet another clerk had an excess amount of Rs 110. It was also detected
that none of the above
officials had made their personal declaration of cash which is required while handling cash as per procedure. No explanation could be given by these officials about the excess amount which is above their oral declaration. CBI is now examining the matter to initiate proper action against the officials. CBI had earlier received reliable information
that officials of the Regional Transport Office, Anand Vihar, especially the
officials of the Motor Licensing Office and
the Enforcement Department, were indulging in corrupt practices for
issue of licences, fitness certificate, issue of clearance certificate of challans issued, transfer of ownership and registration of auto rickshaws and other vehicles by allegedly demanding bribe.
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Power situation improves due to rain
New Delhi, June 27 The demand came down from the peak of 3490 MW to 2900 MW after rains, due to which the shortfall of 330 MW supplied by the plant will not affect the people in the capital, a senior official said. “Last night, the situation became very comfortable and we even asked the Badarpur and Dadri power plants to cut down production, and no load shedding took place yesterday,’’ he said. The Nathpa Jhakri plant had stopped power production twice last supply, leading to power cuts in the
Capital. The Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd had to stop power generation in the 1500 MV Plant yesterday after the silt level in the dam increased to 8,000 ppm (parts per million), which is caused due to increase water level in the Sutlej river. However, despite Transco’s claims, many parts of the Capital continued to reel under heavy power cuts, which the company conveniently attributed to local faults. Parts of the posh Inderprastha Extension area in East Delhi went without power for several hours this morning because of some fault in the area transformer. Reports of prolonged power cuts were also received from some parts of South, North and West Delhi.
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Tax exemption for village residential properties
New Delhi, June 27 They said that residential properties situated within the limits of rural and urbanised villages have been exempted from property tax from this year. The properties which have been rented will also be exempted. However, commercial properties, whether owned or rented, will have to pay the tax. Welcoming the MCD’s decision, Mr Sajjan Kumar said that a majority of people living in rural and urbanised villages had meager sources of income. Their lands had been acquired at low prices and they have been deprived of their livelihood. As such, it was unjustified to burden them with property tax. The Mayor said the decision had been taken in view of the new system of Unit Area Method in the Capital, which meant that villagers were obliged to pay double or triple of the tax they used to pay under the earlier system. A number of representations had been made by villagers in this connection to the Municipal Commissioner and senior leaders of the corporation. Under the circumstances, a meeting was held in presence of the Municipal Commissioner and the decision to exempt villagers from the tax had been taken. The Mayor also announced that the age of senior citizens eligible to avail rebate of 30 per cent had been reduced from 65 to 60 years.
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UGC reverses decision on hiring of ad hoc staff
New Delhi, June 27 In a letter dated July 14, 2005, the Commission had asked all colleges to not employ any temporary staff and restrict their intake to the strength specified and till ‘a decision of the Gnanam Committee is being taken in this regard’. “The letter had cast a shadow on the future of the 1000 plus ad hoc teachers. The decision of the UGC to ban recruitment amounts to interference and also affects the functioning of the University,” said DUTA President, Aditya N Misra. “And the ad hoc teachers were not the only sufferers. What about the colleges that are short of staff, how were they to manage, just on the basis of guest lecturers?” “You cannot run a college unless the faculty is in place; besides even guest lecturers are not easy to find. Considering that they are paid a mere Rs 250 per class and nothing as travel allowance, it is hardly lucrative and naturally will not attract many,” explained Misra. The UGC has, however, maintained that no college will exceed the sanctioned staff strength.
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It’s official: The monsoon is here
New Delhi, June 27 The Met Office confirmed that the South West monsoon today hit Delhi well on time as it advanced further westward and northward. Even though the normal date of arrival of the rain system in the Capital is June 29, up to 5 days delay or advance arrival is taken as normal, the Met Office said. The showers were a relief to the Capital’s residents who had been suffering a long spell of blistering heat and intense humid conditions for the last two weeks. Their plight had worsened due to a short supply of water and electricity. Yesterday’s pre-monsoon showers helped mitigate the heat and for once, there was hardly anyone complaining of waterclogged roads or traffic disruptions. Referring to the monsoon’s arrival, officials at the Met Office said that the intensity of currents that arrived in the Capital yesterday is continuing today, which qualifies it to be called monsoon. It was pointed out that rains are called pre-monsoon when the current comes for a while and goes, but when it stays sustained for a certain period, it is called monsoon. Delhi is fed by both the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea branches of the monsoon.
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New fire station at Tikri Kalan
New Delhi, June 27 Of these projects, one is to be executed by the Home Department and the other two by the Public Works Department (PWD). The estimated cost of these projects would be Rs 7.75 crore. Besides, a six-lane Marginal Bandh Road will also be constructed within the next four months by PWD at a cost of Rs 1.40 crore to facilitate free movement of traffic from Akshardham temple to Pandav Nagar in Trans-Yamuna area. PWD Minister Dr A K Walia said that the initiative is being taken to improve traffic movement in the Trans-Yamuna area and also to meet traffic challenges during the 2010 Common Wealth Games in Delhi.
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Dacoity bid foiled, 5 held
New Delhi, June 27 The accused persons who were arrested have been identified as Rajender Singh alias Raju (27), Dalip Singh (23), Sunil Kumar (22), Sachin Kumar (20) and Jagbir Singh (22), all residents of Govindpuri.
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Inquiry into slip-up on PWD website
New Delhi, June 27 PWD Minister A K Walia today said that the PWD Chief Engineer had been instructed to immediately correct the error and trace the firm which had created the site. ‘’I was not the Minister of PWD when the site was formed. Nevertheless, I have ordered that the firm concerned be blacklisted and that necessary action be taken against the guilty,’’ he said. It was unfortunate that such a major error had occurred and had gone unnoticed this far, he added.
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HP body elects office bearers
New Delhi, June 27 According to a release, the elected members are Chairman G S Bali, Minister of Transport and Tourism, Himachal Pradesh, General Secretary Sonu Ram Verma, Sr. Vice-Chairman R K Sharma, Vice-Chairman S D Chauhan, Secretary Rattan Lal and others.
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