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CGHS scam: HC orders probe by special team
in parliament
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Committee rejects DDA’s privatisation plans
DDA pulled up for delay in building Games Village
Noida officer suspended for abetting land sharks
Pollution board seals 12 units
Row over fee hike by Delhi University college
Police pulled up for faking arrest date
Seven Tihar officials held for graft
Another land scam worth Rs 200 cr
Deaddiction centre raided
Wanted criminal shot dead
Another prostitution racket busted
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CGHS scam: HC orders probe by special team
New Delhi, August 2 Observing that its apprehension about the builders taking over the cooperative movement in Delhi has been found to be true after yesterday’s raids
conducted by CBI, the court asked the agency to conduct a through probe in the matter of 135 CGHS, whose names were cleared for allotment of land. A Division Bench of Justice Vijender Jain and Justice Manju Goel felt that forming an SIT with adequate staff under an officer not below the rank of DIG was necessary in “view of the enormous amount of money invested and involvement of
influential persons, nature of crime and voluminous records”. The SIT should submit a report by August 31 with regard to the office bearers of these 135 societies vis-a-vis their present profession as well as their past profession, it said. The Bench wanted to know “whether these presidents and secretaries (of the societies) were some contractors or sub- contractors by profession.” The court also directed the Secretary, Department of Personnel and Delhi Chief Secretary to provide adequate staff for the probe as the work was voluminous. The court rejected the Centre’s affidavit on housing policy for economically-weaker section of the society and asked it to file a fresh affidavit considering the court suggestion to auction land at market rates and reserve 15 to 20 per cent of the sale proceeds to be used for housing schemes for weaker sections. The court also directed DDA to file an affidavit giving details of expenditure of the corpus fund of Rs 25,000 each collected from the members of Group Housing Societies within four weeks. Earlier, CBI SP Piyush Anand told the court that to carry out the investigation into alleged takeover of 135 housing societies by builders in connivance with the officials of DDA and Registrar of Cooperative Societies, the agency needed adequate personnel for investigation and verification of documents seized yesterday. The court, however, made it clear that the agency should not take any help from any officer in the office of the Registrar of Cooperative Societies. “If you want, you can seek the help of Satya Gopal, the Registrar himself” the court said. The Bench asked advocate K. C. Mittal to assist it in the matter. The court wondered how a scam of this magnitude was taking place in the Capital right under the nose of the President, Prime Minister, Supreme Court and the High Court. “We talk of morality and probity in public life. We must address this issue,” the Bench said. When the CBI counsel submitted that the agency with the present manpower at its disposal can not undertake a probe of this magnitude, the bench said “if you cannot, you better close down. We will hand over to some other
agency.” The court observed that it was unfortunate that the cooperative movement had been hijacked by the builders in connivance with officials of Registrar of Cooperative Society and DDA. It ordered the CBI to verify the names and profession or occupation of the office bearers of the 135 cooperative group housing societies whose names had been cleared for allotment of flats. The court made it clear that it would monitor the investigation in the matter on a regular basis.
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‘City population growth down by 5 per cent over last decade’
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 2 Mr Azad said it is for the first time since Independence, the decadal growth of population in the Capital had been less than 50 per cent. It was 47.2 per cent in 1990-2001 compared to 53 per cent in the previous decade, he said. The Minister told the House that the government is exploring the possibility of extending the regional transport network to NOIDA and Gurgaon. To a question on whether the minimum requirement of drinking water is being met, he said the DJB is supplying 675 million gallons of water for a population of about 140 lakh per day. This works out to approximately 120 litres per capita per day. Mr Azad, replying to a question on the city’ law and order situation, said he had discussed the issue with the Delhi Chief Minister, Ms Sheila Dikshit and stressed the need for enhancing resources and manpower for security purposes. Admitting that incidents of rape were on the rise in the National Capital, Home Minister Shivraj Patil today said more women constables would be recruited as part of the measures to be taken to put a stop to the rising crime against women. The Minister told the House that at present, the police-population ratio is 1:600, with women constables constituting only 2.5 per cent of that ratio in the country. Though the percentage in the Capital is four, it is still less and the government wants to raise it to at least ten, Mr Patil said. He said the incidents of murder, riot and theft had decreased over the years in the Capital, but the number of rapes were on the rise. Supporting the observations made by a member on the increasing obscenities indulged in by teenagers in parks and pubs, and seen in cinema, television and the internet, Mr Patil said the centre and the state governments need to launch educational programmes to tackle the menace. Mr Patil said the government planned to spend Rs 10,000 crore on the modernisation of the police force. He said a study conducted in the Capital had found that rapes occurred mostly in slum clusters where the population concentration was more and people slept in the open with little privacy. The Union Government is considering creating additional hostel accommodation in Delhi for students from the North East Region, the Lok Sabha was told today. In a written reply, Minister of Development of North East Region P R Kyndiah said the North East Region was the farthest land-locked region of the country. Addition of hostel accommodation facilities for the students from that region, most of whom can not afford to stay in rented hoses, would help them in pursuing higher studies in Delhi. The Minister said the Government had no proposal under its consideration to set up separate hostels for the students from the Southern and Western States. Minister of State for HRD, Mr MAA Fatmi told the Lok Sabha that reemployment of teachers in Delhi University is being done on the basis of merit. He said re-employment cases of college teachers are considered by the university on the specific recommendations of the Governing Body of the respective colleges. There is also an Advisory Committee consisting of the Pro Vice Chancellor, Director, South Campus and Dean of Colleges and subject experts to examine all cases before these are placed before the Vice Chancellor for approval.
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Committee rejects DDA’s privatisation plans
New Delhi, August 2 Participation of private builders at a large scale would lead to escalation in the cost of dwelling units and such houses would go beyond the purchasing power of the common urban population in Delhi, states the Eighth Report of the Standing Committee on Urban Development, which was tabled in Parliament today. The Committee, chaired by Mohd Salim, expressed the apprehension that in view of the repeated complaints about the alleged nexus between DDA officials and the private builders, the construction of houses by the private parties may not be in accordance with the Zonal and Master Plans. “The Committee is of the firm view that the DDA must be primarily responsible for the residential housing development in Delhi,” it said in the report. DDA had recently announced its plans for engaging the private sector in land development for housing projects in the capital. It said it was sending its proposals regarding the same to the Union Urban Development Ministry. The Committee recommended that the DDA and Delhi Government give a fresh look to the decision for opening up the housing sector to private builders. Mohd Salim said the issue of proposed entry of private builders in the housing sector figured at the fag end of the discussions of the Committee. “The Committee has taken note of it and expressed apprehensions,” he said. In view of the increasing number of people migrating to Delhi, the Committee recommended that DDA should develop proper sanitation facilities and re-locate people living in squatters and slum tenements to appropriate areas. It recommended that a suitable policy framework be adopted so as to curb cropping up of new unauthorised colonies. The Committee, meanwhile, also noted with concern that in many resettlement colonies for slum dwellers, the houses were “grossly sub-standard” and appeared to be in a dilapidated condition. “The Committee desired to know as to why it was so and what steps were proposed to repair these houses,” the report said. On the issue of autonomy for DDA, it said it was imperative that the officers and staff of the Authority should be highly professional, with more and more autonomy. “As such, it is imperative that top posts in DDA, i.e. Vice Chairman etc. should be manned by the professionals who might be absorbed in the organisation itself,” it said. The Committee also observed that it was high time to see whether DDA can be given the status of ‘navratna’ with more functional autonomy.
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DDA pulled up for delay in building Games Village
New Delhi, August 2 The Standing Committee on Urban Development, in its report tabled in Parliament today, expressed concern “over the fact that only five years are left for the commencement of Commonwealth Games and construction of the Commonwealth Games village at Akshardham was yet to begin”. Noting that a portion of the land for the construction of the Games Village belongs to UP government and negotiations are still going on to acquire it, the committee recommended that matters should be
sorted out expeditiously and construction of the village in Akshardham in East Delhi commence immediately. The report further said “prudent and scientific techniques should be adopted in the construction in line with international standards”. It also said the facilities created should be such that they can be made use of even after the Commonwealth Games are over.
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Noida officer suspended for abetting land sharks
Greater Noida, August 2 A departmental action will also be taken against them. Mr Joseph said the names of quite a few government officials have come to light while probing the cases against Moti Goel. The tainted officials include 13 officers of the rank of SDM and Tehsildar against whom charge-sheets were filed last month. Administrative Officer Arun Kumar Sharma of Noida authority while holding the post of SDM Secunderabad during 1996 had helped Moti Goel, his father and 12 members of his family. They together usurped gram samaj land from Haldana and Tughalpur villages, causing a considerable loss to the government. Sharma is thus suspended for his dubious role in the case, Mr George Joseph said. KK Gupta, Registrar Kanoongo of Sadar Tehsil, and KP Gupta of Javer Tehsil have also been suspended. At the time of setting up new district of Gautam Budhnagar, these officials had purposely misplaced 45 ‘khautanis’. These khautanis were seized by the SDM of Dadri Tehsil from a locked room. After the setting up of GB Nagar district, 296 cases were filed in courts, in most of the cases decision had gone against the state government. The government has told its advocates to file fresh cases, the sources said.
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Pollution board seals 12 units
Gurgaon, August 2 An official of the Board, Mr C.V. Singh, said that the process was on to seal the remaining saw units in the municipal limits, essentially now part of old Gurgaon city. There are still about 30-odd units functioning. However, there are 10 other units in the posh DLF City residential area. Mr Singh says that survey is being done to initiate action against all of them. The legal case started in 1995-96 when a resident of Shivpuri in old city area moved the lower court against the functioning of a rubber factory near his house. He lost the case in the lower court, but won it in the High Court. The court ordered closure of polluting units in the residential areas. Primarily, there were electro-plating units, rubber factories and saw units that bore the brunt of the administrative action in the wake of the court’s order. In fact, the local Municipal Council first identified about 600 polluting units. This led to a controversy on the yardstick being adopted by the civic body to place the units in the polluting category. The number was revised to about 100. The then INLD government decided to create separate zones and shift the polluting units in them. Electro-plating units were shifted to Sector 37. The saw units were also given a separate zone in Sector 37. In fact, 64 plots have been carved out in the zone and 56 reserved for the saw units. A saw unit owner, Mr Rajeev Malik, whose unit is among the ones sealed, said that the process for allotting the plots to the saw units was on. According to him, it would take about four months for the formalities to be completed. He lamented that the Board should have allowed the units a leverage as it was just a matter of time before the units wound up in the residential areas.
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Row over fee hike by Delhi University college
New Delhi, August 2 The college has announced a hike of about Rs 890 from this academic session and has done so under different heads including sports and sports ground maintenance. As per the revised fee structure, students opting for B A and B.Com programmes will have to shell out Rs 3,920 and those opting for Science courses will have to pay Rs 4,020. “We are being made to pay Rs 150 as Sports Ground maintenance, Rs 300 for Games and Sports and Rs 200 for electricity repair. This when only a handful of students actually use the sports facilities and a very small number join the NCC. But all of us are charged for these. This is unfair. In the last 10 years the college has increased the fees six times,” said Bharti, a college student and the General Secretary of Democratic Students’ Union. The fact that the college has revised fees over the last one decade, says the administration, vouches for the fact that the recent hike is justifiable. “We are not the stock market, with daily ups and downs in figures…fee revision is carried out once and then only when the need arises”, said Dr GP Agarwal, Principal, Shyam Lal College, Evening. “Our fees structure compares with the rest of the colleges in the university and even after this hike, we still are charging much less. As for the reason for the hike, we have to meet the expenditure that is being incurred in setting up new labs, construction of the building and for strengthening the infrastructure,” he said. With UGC maintaining a tight hold on its purse strings, college authorities claim that it is for the colleges to raise funds to meet their requirements. “The UGC pays us a mere Rs 2500 for maintenance, which is just not enough. If we do not increase the fees, how will we provide computers for the revised courses and set up labs. Where will we get the funds for the ongoing construction of a new building,” Dr Agarwal questioned. Not convinced with their explanation, the students are adamant that there should be a roll back. “They will have to revise their decision and revert to old structure. We have always been paying under various heads, but there are no facilities, how can we be sure that things will change,” complained students.
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Police pulled up for faking arrest date
New Delhi, August 2 The court’s order came on an application filed by Nazar Ali, a resident of Loni, alleging that the police picked up his son Kalu alias Nadeem and daughter-in-law Kusum from their house in the
wee hours of July 24 in a fake case but their arrest was officially indicated to have taken place on July 27 morning. Ali alleged that after arresting the couple, the police demanded Rs 50,000 for releasing them and threatened them that if the amount was not paid, they would be implicated in a false case. “Prima facie, it appears that the accused was detained by the police prior to his actual time and date of arrest shown in the their file; the report of Investigation Officer (IO) along with this order be sent to the office of Commissioner of police to conduct a separate inquiry in this case,” Metropolitan Magistrate Amit Kumar said. “It is highly unbelievable that a person can apprehend his arrest by police a day prior to his actual arrest,” the MM said perusing the application, which was filed on July 26. “The present application was filed in the court on July 26 and simultaneously a fax at 04:00 PM was also sent to the Commissioner of Police that the accused and his wife have been apprehended,” the court said, pulling up the IO for coming up with a different version of events. The IO had claimed that the police never apprehended the daughter-in-law but the father-in-law had alleged that she was released on July 27.
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Seven Tihar officials held for graft
New Delhi, August 2 The arrests came after more than two-month long probe against them by the local police and the ACB, according to a senior official. The officials were found guilty of offering facilities to criminals, arranging meeting with their relatives and providing information to them in Tihar Jail, Asia’s largest prison. Among those arrested are Assistant Superintendent (Prisons) Jagannath, Head Wardens Devidayal Bharti, Ran Singh and Virender Dutt and Wardens Krishna Kumar, Anil Kumar and Digambar Singh. They were caught by the channel giving assurance of facilities to criminals in the jail or giving information about them. In all, 23 people had been named in the May 5 ‘expose’ by the channel, which also led to suspension of six officials earlier.
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Another land scam worth Rs 200 cr
Ghaziabad, August 2 Senior IAS officer and Revenue Board member T George Joseph has ordered District Magistrate Santosh Kumar Yadav to initiate necessary action. Prem Kumar Gogi had got planted the name of a Delhi resident in the revenue records. This name was entered in the records, vide a fictitious order purported to have been issued by the Tehsildar. The fraud was detected while scrutinising the records. The District Magistrate has placed the whole matter before the Revenue Board member T. George Joseph, who has ordered that the whole land should be returned to the government and an FIR against Prem Kumar be registered.
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Deaddiction centre raided
Greater Noida, August 2 The centre for Drugs, Narcotics and Rehabilitation Centre at Dhumanakpur, GT Road, Dadri, had become a byword for illegal and immoral activities. On Sunday, those at the helm of affairs at the shady centre: Franklin, Sachin, Satyapal, and Brijender fled after locking the premises. People saved about a dozen ‘addicts’ after breaking open the door. The police raided the centre on Monday and seized records which are being examined. They are also collecting information from the neighbours. SP, Greater Noida, MP Singh said the police had come to know that the patients were being exploited by the centre.
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Wanted criminal shot dead
New Delhi, August 2 The accused, who has 17 cases of murder, attempt-to-murder and kidnapping among others, was challenged by the UP police to surrender. This led to an encounter, which led to him being shot dead, said the police. The police claimed to have recovered a .30 revolver and a motorcycle from his possession. Involved in the March 2005 extortion call of a Delhi businessman which led to the arrest of two of his associates and the shooting down of Ranbir Rathi, a suspended Delhi Police constable, Janmejaya had also been involved in the killing of a Faridabad-based advocate.
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Another prostitution racket busted
New Delhi, August 2 The crime branch of Delhi Police got the information about the racket and a team led by an ACP sent a decoy customer to the spot, following which the three girls and the pimp were arrested. During interrogation, the girls disclosed that they were working as prostitutes with other beauty parlors simultaneously. They were in the age group of 19-23 years and were getting a small share of the total amount being charged from the customer. Police said that Rahul was a college drop out from Rajasthan. He lured a number of customers by giving advertisements in newspapers.
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Two robbers get 7 yrs RI
New Delhi, August 2 The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 each on the convicts. Adarsh Kamra, residing in an apartment in Janakpuri area of North Delhi, had opened her doors to the duo on March 7, 2003 after they introduced themselves as cable TV staff.—TNS
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DUSU elections on September 2
New Delhi, August 2
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New Delhi, August 2
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