New Delhi, July 22
Brushing aside rumours that water was going to be privatised in the Capital, Delhi Chief Minister Ms Sheila Dikshit today categorically asserted that her government was not in favour of that move. She also said the government was in the process of inviting experts to ascertain how to harness water and use it more effectively.

At a ‘Meet the Press’ programme organised by the Press Club of India, Ms Dikshit said that four years ago, the World Bank had approached the Delhi Government to prepare a report on water situation in Delhi, but that did not imply anything. “The World Bank report does not mean that the government is in favour of privatisation,” she said, adding that it was “too precious a commodity to privatise”.

Ms Dikshit said that Delhi is not going to be supplied with enormous water from its neighbouring states and the people of Delhi should understand how to use water efficiently. “We also faced reluctance from the northern states in this regard since we don’t have a system to generate water in Delhi,” she added.

About the power situation, she said that even though the power situation has improved after the privatisation, there were some grey areas which need to be tackled. Also, the competition among the power distribution companies did not pay any dividends to “our satisfaction”.

Ms Dikshit had recently written to Reliance Energy Chairman Mr Anil Ambani informing him about the present situation and sought a road map in two days time to solve the existing problems relating to power.

The government is trying to give the choice to the consumers to pick what they want. “We have told the Discoms that there should not be any harassment to the consumers at any cost and the ‘consumer-friendly’ attitude should not turn to ‘terrorism of electricity” she said.

She also said that the Delhi Government was in touch with the Ministry of Urban Development and the DDA to construct houses for the marginalised section of society so that they could be accommodated inside the Capital.

She had also suggested to the Centre to develop ‘holding areas’ for contract workers coming to Delhi on temporary basis.

Turning to the subject of the law and order situation in the Capital, the CM expressed her concern at the rising crime against women and the elderly, but said she was powerless to do much about it since Delhi Police did not fall under her jurisdiction.

“I know that people, especially the women and the elderly are feeling unsafe, but I can’t do anything as the police is under the control of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Lt Governor of Delhi,” she said.

The Chief Minister said she has suggested to the Centre that the number of women constables should be increased and they should be deployed in patrolling to instill confidence among women. She also called for a change in the laws to provide for stricter punishment for rape. The Chief Minister also spoke on many other subjects of interest to the city.

Speaking about transport woes, she said the city needed to look at modes other than the metro.

On housing, she said the state government was in touch with the Delhi Development Authority and the Union Urban Development Ministry on housing for the ‘marginalised’ and ‘in-situ’ upgradation.

Delhi Government was also making efforts to increase the number of hospitals as well as number of beds in the existing ones, she said. The standard of education in government schools was being given a boost so that it could be at par with that imparted in public schools, she added.

About the city’s forest cover, the Chief Minister said it had increased from 57 sq km in 1997 to 278 sq km at present.

Ms Dikshit said the 2010 Commonwealth Games would prove to be a landmark in the history of Delhi by giving a major fillip to its infrastructure, sports and otherwise.

She also mentioned how moving public transport fleets to CNG had helped reduce pollution.

Rueing multiplicity of authorities in the city, she felt only developing counter-magnets in the National Capital Region around Delhi could help solve the problems faced by the city and its bulging population in the long term.

New Delhi, July 22
The Delhi Commission for Women today announced an interim relief of Rs 10,000 for Wednesday’s gang rape victim and said that in rape cases, the Zero FIR provision should apply to all victims irrespective of whether they are from Delhi or outside.

The Commission’s Chairperson Prof. Kiran Walia said, “a rape victim has already gone through so much of trauma that she cannot and should not be traumatized further. Whichever Police Station the victim goes to should register the complaint and initiate prompt action, and then sort out internally as to under whose jurisdiction does the case fall.”

Prof Walia also counseled the victim for almost an hour and also spoke to her husband who said that the victim can identify the driver of the car whose face she had seen clearly. He also told her that the victim’s ‘payal’ and her slippers were left in the car.

He complained to Prof. Walia that despite his requests, the PCR van on the scene of crime wasted time in unnecessary details rather than chasing the speeding car.

Prof Walia spoke to Police Commissioner K K Paul and demanded immediate identification of and action against the patrolling PCR at the time of the incident. She also spoke to DCP (South West) R S Yadav and requested that the girl be sent to a government-run Short Stay Home from the Dhaula Kuan Police Chowki for the night and thereafter have the vaginal swabs sent to the forensic laboratory immediately for testing of semen traces.

Meanwhile, the Delhi BJP President Dr Harsh Vardhan accompanied by office bearers and workers of party’s Mahila Morcha today met the victim of Mayapuri rape incident to express their sympathies.

New Delhi, July 22
The day after the second attack on the London tube, the air is surprisingly calm and things quite normal in the Capital’s prized mass transit system.

As commuters go about the business of boarding and getting off trains rather nonchalantly, there appears to be no fear in anyone’s mind of the possibility of the episode repeating itself in the Delhi metro as well.

“What has to happen will happen. Moreover, what is the guarantee that buses are safe. At least, the metro ensures that I get to office and back home in time and air-conditioned comfort,” says an official working in the Central Secretariat, traveling to Delhi University after finishing office.

The metro has made life easier and for her and an average 1.5 lakh commuters, most of them being daily users of the underground stretch between Central Secretariat and Delhi University.

In the heart of the Capital at the Chawri Bazar station, Delhi police personnel posted there go about the job of frisking and searching commuters rather seriously, checking each and every article in hand baggage carried by them.

Even at the peak of rush hour at 5.30 p.m, there is no chaos at the entrance of the station, which is quite unrecognisable except for a big blue board with the station’s name written on it. Though down under, it is a different world all together.

The Delhi police, which continues to be in charge of the security of the metro, increased its deployment at Metro stations after the Ayodhya terrorist attack and the July 7 London blasts. But the security of the prized showcase of the Capital has been a major concern of the Centre as well as the state government, especially after the two incidents.

With the number of commuters using the metro increasing by the day, any laxity in the security can prove disastrous. Interestingly, while on July 7, the day the first blasts took place in London, 2,30,999 passengers (1,04,074 on Line-1 and 1,26,925 on Line–2) used the state-of-the-art metro facilities, on July 8, the figure rose up to 2,51,530 (1,14,417 on Line-1 and 1,37,113 on Line-2) and has been going up since then.

It was with this in mind that after specific intelligence inputs to the Union Home Ministry about terrorist plans to attack the metro, specifically the underground section between Delhi University and Central Secretariat, a decision was taken by the ministry to provide a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) shield for the Delhi metro for taking charge and providing backup security at stations as well as metro premises

The eight-member task force recently recommended spotters in plainclothes, besides explosives detectors on all stations and scanners for baggage besides an effective relief and rescue plan in case of a terrorist attack on any metro installation.

For ensuring foolproof security, it recommended posting at least 2,500 CISF personnel since around 500 Delhi policemen presently deployed were not sufficient to guard the Delhi metro. It asked for the Delhi police to be completely withdrawn from the security arrangements and only register cases in the case of any criminal activity.

So a foolproof security arrangements in the Delhi metro is likely to be place in the very near future. And till the time that happens, the Delhi police, aided by the DMRC’s private security, comprising 250 guards for round-the-clock monitoring, continues to look after the metro security.

Searching, frisking and monitoring had been stepped up on all stations and sniffer dogs are being taken from one station to the other to check for any explosive device.

Ghaziabad, July 22
The Ghaziabad Mahanagar was rocked by three murders, including one of a woman within 15 hours. One of the victims was reportedly stabbed to death in the presence of Loni police.

In Hindon Nagar, the throat of the wife of a transporter was slit. The woman had allegedly been raped before her murder. In the third event, the guard of a factory in Kavi Nagar was mercilessly done to death.

All the three murders within 15 hours had stunned the residents of Ghaziabad.

In Loni, some criminals stabbed to death a youth who was a police informer for some bandits who were absconding from Muzzafarnagar.

According to a report even the policemen had to flee to save themselves from the wrath of Muzzafarnagar gangsters.

In Harban Nagar, under Sihani gate police station, bandits had looted a transporter’s house of cash and valuables and killed his wife by slitting her throat.

In the third incident, a guard was murdered in a broad daylight.

One Asif had come from Budena village in Muzzafarnagar along with his cousin Arshad in connection with the arrest of three bandits, including Babu who carried a reward of Rs 2,500 on his head.

On Loni Road, Asif was stabbed to death by Babu, Gayur and another accomplice.

Ironically, three policemen and Arshad fled from the place to save themselves from the assailants. By the time the Loni police reached the spot, the criminals had escaped. The police said Babu had abducted Asif’s sister and brought her to Loni four months ago. Though the girl had been freed from the criminals, Babu managed to escape, the police said.

The second incident took place in Bagapat. Transporter Rajveer Singh lives in Harban Nagar, Ghaziabad, with his wife Nirmala and three children. He runs an inter-state carrier transport company.

On the day of the murder, his three children returned from school and found their mother in a pool of blood in the storeroom. Rajveer was in his office at that time.

The assailants had taken away Rs 2,500, jewellery and valuables.

In the third case, the security guard at Carbon factory in C Block, Kavi Nagar, was killed by some assailants who had scaled the boundary wall of the factory at night.

There is a considerable panic after three murders in the city.

New Delhi, July 22
It is strange that 288 modern dwelling units constructed on Kirchana Road in Chanakyapuri area during Mahatama Gandhi’s centenary celebrations in 1969 exclusively for the permanent rehabilitation of safai karamcharies working in the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) area, are mostly occupied by non safai karamcharies for years and all genuine allotees of that four storey flats are shuttling from pillar to post for their legitimate ownership right since then.

According to general secretary of the Harijan Samaj Sudhar Samiti, a registered body of these deprived safai karamcharies Mr. Faquir Chand Chauhan, 3.167 acres of land had been allotted on Kirchana Road for the construction of 288 such quarters for the sweepers/scavengers of the NDMC area on the directive of the Ministy of Works and Housing.

The total cost of the project was financed by the Social Welfare Department of Delhi government with the collaboration of the Ministry of Home Affairs under the slum clearance scheme launched by the government of India at that time.

Interestingly, the inauguration ceremony of these flats was performed by the then President of India Mr V. V. Giri on April 4, 1970 with much fanfare. Mr. Giri had even said on the occasion that those 288 flats were like a token of love for those sweepers of the NDMC.

Later on, the construction agency of these flats, the NDMC, deviated from the objective and started allotting these flats to even non Harijan, non safai karamcharies of the council.

One of the conditions of allotment of these flats was that the allottees of these flats would have to first demolish and dismantle their jhuggies or clusters. The whole demolition operation was inspected by the civil engineering staff of the NDMC, and after issuing valid certificates in this regard, they were allotted the flats in the Bapu Dham complex.

Almost all genuine allotees of these flats have already paid more than the developing cost of these flats (Rs. 6,750 per flat at that time) in the shape of deduction of house rent and other modes of deduction.

“The NDMC has built houses for washermen at Hailey Road and those washermen have been given the ownership right. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has granted the ownership right to the allottees of Nimri Colony, even the Ministry of Urban Development has given ownership rights to the allottees of the shops located in the Lodi Road, Sarojani Nagar and R. K. Puram areas, then why are we being deprived of our legitimate rights,” Mr. Chauhan said.

When contacted, a senior official of the NDMC said that the issue of granting ownership right to those allottees had always been given special priority in almost all resolutions cleared by the council from time to time. “However, the Urban Development Ministry has the power to grant the ownership right to these allottees; we cannot do any thing in this regard,” he said.

New Delhi, July 22
Facing the ire of Delhi Government over its unsatisfactory performance, Reliance Energy-owned private power distributing company BSES is going in for a major public awareness campaign.

This initiative comes after the meeting of a senior Reliance Energy official with Delhi government yesterday, BSES sources said.

In the meeting yesterday, chaired by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and attended by Reliance Energy AGM Satish Seth, the government had directed the power company to launch a public awareness campaign within a week.

The government has been unhappy with the company’s consumer redressal mechanism, saying there was a lack of ‘consumer and provider understanding’.

The power discom was asked in the meeting to offer the consumers five alternative meters, approved by the DERC, to choose from.

It was also asked to stop its employees and contractors from “harassing” consumers with regard to changing the meter.

The discom today said that consumers were now going to be given a choice of meters approved by the DERC which they can procure on their own. Their specifications as well as the vendors from whom they can be bought are being put up on their website.

Gurgaon, July 22
The local administration here has decided to go all-out to collect revenue in the district. The focus, however, is on the collection of house tax, especially within the municipal limits of the city.

The office of the Deputy Commissioner has issued a directive to the authorities concerned to be proactive in collection of the dues and recovery of the pending ones.

According to an administration source, the dues will be collected to give boost to developmental works in the city. Some of the proposed projects are said to be utilitarian in nature, including repair of roads.

Many of these development projects would be undertaken immediately after the monsoon.

According to an officer in the local Municipal Council, after the government decided in June-end that house tax would be computed as per the policy in 2001-2002, the civic body collected Rs 50 lakh. It has set up a target of Rs 3 crore to be collected as house tax over the next two months.

This year was a “block year” in the parlance of Urban Estate department of the state. In a block year, the government examines the tax structure of the existing house tax policy. As the last policy came into effect in 2001, the government, as per the convention, studied the house tax structure in June and decided to continue with it.

New Delhi, July 22
The Supreme Court has declined to interfere with an order of the Metropolitan Magistrate (MM) directing it to register a case of murder against a DCP and SHO for the custodial death of a person in north-east Delhi two years ago.

A Bench comprising Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice P P Naolekar declared dismissed as withdrawn, the Special Leave Petition (SLP) of the two police officers – Vivek Gogia, DCP, FRRO and Gurcharan Dass, SHO, New Freinds Colony – challenging the order of the Delhi High Court.

The High Court had dismissed their appeal saying that there was no bar on the Magistrate issuing a direction to the police to register a case and investigate into the offence.

The Magistrate had ordered the registration of case against Gogia, then DCP, north-east Delhi and Dass, then SHO of Seelampur for the alleged custodial death of one Akbar on March 21, 2003.

The MM’s order was on a complaint filed by Mohd Iqbal Ghazi, a resident of Seelampur, who had alleged that Akbar’s family members had told him that he was untraceable from March 17, 2003 to March 19, 2003 and in the morning the victim was found lying unconscious next to the door of his jhuggi.

It was alleged that the victim was brutally tortured by the police and died at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital without making any statement.

The complainant had alleged that Akbar was tortured as he had refused to give a statement against his son Mohd Afzal, detained under the National Security Act.

Police had countered that allegation saying that members of Ghazi family were dreaded criminals of the area and Akbar indulged in the sale of smack. They claimed that he had died a natural death.

New Delhi, July 22
Physically disabled students who came to seek admission to the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University have had to return disappointed because the University’s Health Center was not ready to the assess their disability.

Raman Singh (name changed) who has come all the way from Bihar along with a few others, complained he and his companions were forced to run from pillar to post because of the cumbersome admission procedure.

“I am finding it difficult to walk in this heat. First I was asked to go the administration block, then the Health Centre and finally to just go back home. A doctor was to assess my disability at the Healthy Centre, but the doctor has not come,” said Singh who has now been asked to come on August 1.

“Where will I go till August 1; I am staying with a friend today, but I cannot stay there for the next 10 days,” he complained.

The university’s Health Centre is supposed to have a panel of doctors who assess the degree of disability of students applying through the disability quota. “We have to carry out the exercise, because sometimes students turn up with certificates exaggerating the extent of their disability. So we get specialists to verify these cases,” said a JNU official.

But the absence of doctors has irked the students some of who come to Delhi from outside areas. “We have take up the matter with the administration and we are hopeful that it will be resolved by Monday,” said JNUSU President, Mona Das.

“Earlier the orthopaedicians were supposed to come between August 1 and 5, but we have asked the administration to ensure that all specialists are present here everyday so that the students are not harassed,” she said.

New Delhi, July 22
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has handed over the street cleaning, drain upkeep and all garbage collection of Dwarka to an NGO, with ‘night sweeping’ being made mandatory in all commercial complexes. The NGO was chosen after a national tender was floated and six outfits short-listed.

Launching the programme today, MCD Commissioner Rakesh Mehta said, “This is an experiment we have undertaken in an effort to make the RWAs equal partners with NGOs in maintaining cleanliness in the city’’.

He said all garbage collection from the various colonies in Dwarka’s 23 sectors would now be looked after by an NGO called Society for Development Communication (SDC).

“Collection of the municipal solid wastes is still being done by the MCD but somewhere in the future, all collection, segregation into biodegradable and recyclable garbage and the transportation to the landfills would have to be done by other agencies,” he said.

“The monitoring of course would still be done by the Corporation or even an independent body. This is all in keeping with the agenda of urban reform of separating the service provider from the regulating authority to get an efficient system,” Mr Mehta said.

Dr V Aggarwal, Director, SDC, said that the focus is on making Dwarka a model to be emulated and for this the welfare of the man picking up the garbage would be topmost. “If you ensure that, no one will shirk work and diseases will be kept away thanks to cleaner surroundings,” Dr Aggrawal said.

The NGO has already hired 430 employees, with several being daily wage workers.

New Delhi, July 22
With the arrest of two persons, Delhi Police claimed to have cracked the murder cum robbery case in which a businessman was robbed after being shot at by two assailants at Asaf Ali road. The accused have been identified as Shahzad and Ziauddin.

Police said that on July 15, Adil Azim, the deceased, hired an auto rikshaw from Karol Bagh to Golcha Cinema. He was carrying two bags. As he reached near Asaf Ali road, the two assailants blocked the way of the auto rickshaw, fired at the deceased and decamped with the bags. He was admitted to the JPN hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.

Investigations revealed that the deceased was a perfume and currency dealer and was on his way back to his house after collecting a cash of Rs 3 lakh in the two polythene bags.

Police said that one of the accused Shahzad, was earlier a partner of the deceased in the business. But the partnership broke up and he wanted some sort of revenge from the deceased. So he hatched the conspiracy to loot the businessman along with the other accused.

New Delhi, July 22
The CRPF has entered into an agreement with IGNOU to open Regional study centres of IGNOU at seven CRPF Group Centres At Delhi, Chennai, Guwahati, Jammu, Lucknow, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad where the requisite infrastructure and facilities are available to cater to the aspirations of the its personnel to further their level of awareness and thereby better their career prospects in the Force as well.

“The opportunities that will come to our personnel through signing of this Memorandm of Understanding with IGNOU would be truly path-breaking and would be a great welfare measure for the members of the Force. Understanding and wisdom gained through higher education make one’s attitude positive towards their duties and responsibilities in the Force,” asserted Mr J K Sinha, Director General, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) after signing the MoU with Professor Mr H P Dikshit, Vice-Chancellor, IGNOU here yesterday.