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CGHS scam: HC warns CBI against dilatory tactics
Experts put together new building code to enhance safety
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IT Dept to get Rs 1,425 cr from Gurgaon, Faridabad
March for
girl child in Haryana
RWAs tie up with elected panchayat representatives
School readmits sisters dismissed for non-payment of fees
Camp for bone and joint problems in Noida
Five projects cleared by EFC
Effort at ‘rationalising’ parking on JNU campus
Farmers to gherao Noida Authority offices tomorrow
Khurana’s defamation suit against Prem Singh dismissed
‘Delhi Residents’ Conference’ to be held on Feb 19
Workshops on hearing rehabilitation
Man gets 10-yr RI for killing friend
Double suicide in hotel, infant found in room
Two men crushed by minibus
Pregnant daughter accuses father of rape
Police post torched by irate mob
Panchayat chief’s Qualis taken away at gunpoint
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CGHS scam: HC warns CBI against dilatory tactics
New Delhi, February 13 A Division Bench of Justice Vijinder Jain and Justice Rekha Sharma granted four weeks time to the CBI to file a “status report” on the role of 97 housing societies that were revived after year 2000. The Bench directed its ire against the CBI after its counsel Harish Gulati failed to furnish any report on the 97 societies as directed by the court on January 9 this year. When the matter, being dealt on a PIL, came up for hearing, Gulati took the plea that the agency would not be able to expedite the probe as it was grossly understaffed. However, the Bench refused to buy the arguments and warned it would summon the Director if the preliminary report is not filed before the next date of hearing on March 21. Earlier in its status report, the CBI submitted that out of 152 societies revived prior to 2000, 22 were found genuine, while 97 were found engaged in criminal misconduct and rest 13 others were responsible for procedural irregularities. The Bench also directed the Registrar of Cooperative Societies to initiate steps for allotment of land to the 22 genuine societies following the clean cheat given by the CBI.
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Experts put together new building code to enhance safety
New Delhi, February 13 This new code signifies a major review effort made after 1983, where the stress has been on fire prevention strategies, life safety technology and fire protection. Mr S.K. Dheri, former chief fire officer of Delhi and convenor of a committee of experts and involved in this marathon effort, told ‘The Tribune’, “This huge document is really an advisory for all building activities and is the first major review effort in this direction after 1983. The document is entirely different with new concepts and strategies as compared to the older one.” “Our attempt here has been to incorporate fire prevention strategies, life safety techniques and fire protection strategies. An attempt has been made to cover all grounds for swift and safe evacuation of people and also to contain fire down to the smallest unit,” he added. “Through this code, a departure has been made with many earlier practises. For instance the older code looked only into protection, now for the first time emphasis has been laid on preventive measures,” says Virendra Paul, Assistant Professor at the School of Planning and Architecture. “Special preventive measures have been incorporated to limit the spread of fire like the requirements for corridors and staircases, said Paul. An informative seminar was also held at the SPA recently on the new building code and teams of experts from the nation deliberated on the subject. The code is an advisory for state governments and is not mandatory unless adopted by the state government. The code has been adopted by the Government of Delhi and many other states are likely to follow suit, Mr Dheri added. Some of the recommendations of the new code include glazing of bricks for use in staircases as this gives an increased fire resistance rating of 2h, walls of lift enclosures to be given a fire rating of 2h, landing doors in lifts to have a fire resistance rating of not less then 1h etc. Still other recommendations include that the staircase of the basement to be of enclosed type having fire resistance of not less then 2h, intake ducts at all multi-storyed basements.
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IT Dept to get Rs 1,425 cr from Gurgaon, Faridabad
Gurgaon, February 13 The Chief Commissioner, Faridabad, Mr S. C. Kapil, informed mediapersons here today these two districts in Haryana contributed more than 60 per cent income tax of the whole state.
Till January 31, Rs 1085 crore had been collected in these two districts, which was around 50 per cent extra compared to the corresponding period last year in the range. Gurgaon had the highest target in the state — Rs 940 crore in 2005-06 while Faridabad had a target of Rs 485 crore in the same financial year, informed Mr Kapil. The officer further informed that just a couple of days ago during a survey in the north-eastern states the department traced income tax evasion of Rs 7.5 crore from a person. One more person was found with income tax evasion of Rs 3 crore. Both the parties had paid penalty of Rs 3.5 crore and Rs 1 crore, respectively, added the officer. The first party was engaged in trading of garment clothes while the second party was running a handloom and furnishing showroom in Gurgaon, explained Mr Kapil. Mr D. S. Kalyan, Additional Commissioner, further elaborated that Faridabad had the largest number of income tax payees — 1.04 lac persons while Gurgaon was second with 67,000 persons who had filed returns till January 31 this year. Till February 10, the department had carried out 43 surveys in these two districts. These surveys had yielded an undisclosed income of Rs 30.17 crore on which income tax amounting to Rs 7.5 crore had been collected from the evaders, informed the Additional Commissioner. Out of the total 1.71 lakh returns filed in these two districts till January 31, nearly 1.5 lakh had been processed.
All returns, which would be filed up to March 15, would be processed by March 31, claimed Mr Kalyan. He added that 27,000 refunds had been issued to the assesses till date.
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March for girl child in Haryana
Faridabad, February 13 This is the gist of the campaign that has been on in the state for the past about 10 days. Launched by the Arya Samajists under the banner of Sarvadesik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, Haryana, this march has been given the name of ‘Sarva Dharma Jan Chetna Yatra’, with active involvement of Arya Samaj leaders like Swami Indervesh and Swami Agnivesh. The yatra was started from Narwana on February 2 on Chhotu Ram Jayanti and ended today in Rohtak on the occasion of Guru Ravidass Jayanti. According to organisers, the yatra covered a majority of the villages and towns of the state and got an overwhelming response from the residents, especially the people connected with social activities. Addressing a meeting here, Swami Agnivesh said that though the government had come out with an Act to check the pre-netal sex tests in the country and 10 years had passed since it was introduced, it had hardly made a difference, as people had found means to circumvent the Act. He claimed that it was only the education and social awareness that could bring a change in the mindset of the people and it was high time that such trend be reversed immediately as it was threatening the very existence of the girl child. He said though over 300 cases had been registered under the Act so far, nobody was punished. Asking the government and other social bodies to come together to fight the ‘menace’, he said the fallout of the reducing sex ratio could be dangerous and bring several ill-effects. There was a need to educate the people, especially the women in this regard, he added. A former minister and president of the ‘Ved Prachar Mandal’ here, Mr Rajender Singh Bisla claimed that the problem could assume serious dimensions and if steps were not taken on time, it could wipe out generations. He said abortion of a girl child foetus, illiteracy, exploitation of women in several ways were major challenges before society which could deter the overall development of the country. He said though the state government had announced to observe this year as the ‘Year of the girl child’, a long-term strategy needs to be formulated to ensure that the girl gets due respect in society. He said the campaign should go on endlessly till a proper balance comes into place. The organisers said they would also involve the students in this drive.
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RWAs tie up with elected panchayat representatives
Gurgaon, February 13 A group of RWAs and elected representatives met for the first time and passed a resolution urging the government to bridge the gulf between the rural and urban pockets with regard development works. They also demanded that the money collected as tax should be spent properly, only after the schemes were devised. They regretted that tax payers’ money was spent in an improper way by the government bodies in the name of development works. The predominant view that emerged in the meeting was that the government was acquiring the land of villagers for development works. But the villagers whose land was acquired, and who were robbed of their traditional occupation of farming business, do not have anything to fall back on. Hence, the government must provide an alternative to them for the livelihood. Another sore point in the meeting with regard to the government’s policy was of not expanding the limits of ‘Lal Dora’ in the villages. The rules of Lal Dora were fixed by way of an Act framed in 1870. With the passage of time and increase in population, the residents have built houses on the outskirts of the villages. Although this was against the existing law, which has now become antiquated, the villagers have no choice. Rather than the government increasing the ‘Lal Dora’ limits and taking a sympathetic view to the violation of rules, it was demolishing the houses. They demanded that the government must increase the ‘Lal Dora’ in the villages. The encouraging signs in the meeting was that local leaders of different political parties, including Mr Ram Chander Yadav of the BJP and Mr Anant Ram Tawar of the INLD, were also present on the occasion. The speakers in the meeting alleged that the those in power also try to divide the rural and the urban society on emotive issues in order to weaken the collective voice of the people. According to them, there was no difference in the aspirations and demands of the rural or urban society. The demands for good life and better civic amenities are universal. The RWAs, the Peoples’ Action Group—a voluntary organisation, and the elected sarpanchs and panches have decided to work together to strengthen the
community’s demand.
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School readmits sisters dismissed for non-payment of fees
New Delhi, February 13 The girls, students of class VI and VIII, were not accepted back even when the parents managed to pay the dues. However, on the intervention by the Right to Education Task Force the girls are now back in school. Narrating the experience of the two sisters, who come from economically weaker sections, the Convenor of the RETF said that since their parents were unable to pay their fees, it was their retired grandfather who has taken on the responsibility. “The maternal grandfather of these girls is a retired person and his only source of income is his pension. The payment of pension was delayed for last few months, resulting in non-payment of the school fees in time for the quarter from December 2005-March 2006. In December, their mother requested the school to grant them some time to deposit the fees,” said the Convenor, RETF Mr Ashok Agarwal. On January 31, 2006, the headmistress asked the sisters to leave their classes and go home. “When the school informed their mother that they are being taken off the rolls, she went there with a cheque, which the school refused to accept,” Agarwal said. The students went to school on February 1 to take their unit tests, but were forced to sit idle in the library. When their mother came to the school, this time with cash, the school still refused to accept it and sent them letters informing them that the names of the students have been struck off the rolls. “Despite the fact that their mother had sent bank drafts on February 4 towards fees along with a letter of request to the school and copies thereof to the Director of Education, the students were not allowed to attend classes and the school was adamant on not changing their decision. We were apprised of the case on February 7 and we sent the school a telegraphic notice,” said Agarwal. Having been pulled by the RETF, the school has now agreed to allow the sisters to attend classes.
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Camp for bone and joint problems in Noida
Noida, February 13 “During this week, we will be holding camps for bone and joint problems. Consultation will be free and a discount of 50% given on all in-house investigations and physiotherapy services during the camp. There will be special packages at a reduced cost for the patient attending the camp for surgical problems,” says Dr V S Chauhan, Managing Director of the hospital. For elderly patients who find it hard in coming to the hospital for physiotherapy; the hospital is launching a mobile physiotherapy clinic which is fully equipped and managed by a well-qualified physiotherapist. This facility will reach the door of patients at an affordable price. Dr Chauhan said, “Though we are already doing joint replacement surgeries in this hospital, we are now coming up with a dedicated centre for joint replacement. We will be having a dedicated O.T. equipped according to international standards for such cases. As life expectancy is increasing and lots of technical advancements are taking place in this field, we see more and more patients opting for joint replacement,” he added. The Managing Director of the hospital said, “We are committed to providing joint replacement surgeries at an economical price. Dr Pradeep Sharma, who is an eminent joint replacement surgeon, trained in the UK, is joining as head of Joint Replacement Team.” In the last five years, Prakash Hospital claims to have treated about 2.5 lakh OPD patients and about 20,000 patients have been admitted. “We have performed about 6,000 major surgeries and 15,000 minor surgeries with excellent results. The emergency services have been kept free for the needy. We have also played our role in Disaster Management in this town whether it is a major road accident, fire in jhuggi clusters or hooch tragedy,” Dr Chauhan said. During camps the for physically handicapped children, the hospital claims to have performed free corrective surgeries and distributed free calipers, wheel chairs, tricycles from time to time. Cataract surgeries have also been performed free for the poor. “We have regularly participated in Polio Eradication Programmes. We work with other social organizations for Community Welfare Programmes,” Dr Chauhan said. Dr Pradeep Sharma, who has performed 2500 knee joint and other operations in Delhi and abroad, said rheumatism of knee is very common in India as our joints wear out very fast. Joints of hip, knees and ankles are comparatively brittle, he added.
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Five projects cleared by EFC
New Delhi, February 13 The Finance Minister, Dr A. K. Walia, said that the foot over bridges with provision of escalators in the future for pedestrians across Ring Road would be commissioned within four months after award of work. This would help in curbing road accidents due to pedestrian crossing the Ring Road and would also enable smooth flow of vehicular traffic at these two junctions, he added. The Mother Dairy and Madhu Vihar roads would be strengthened within 18 months after the award of the work. Upgradation of these roads is urgently required as these are not in good condition and are unable to bear the load of traffic. The project of Irrigation and Flood Control Department, which received the nod of the EPC, relates to widening and improvement of existing road on the right bank of Najafgarh drain from Kakrola regulator to outer Ring Road at an estimated cost of Rs 2.16 crore. The road is presently serving as a convenient bye-pass for the villagers travelling from Najafgarh and adjoining villages to west Delhi and other areas of the Capital. The EFC has also sanctioned an amount of Rs 5.77 crore for meeting the additional cost of land due to enhancement in compensation for land acquisition for construction of Delhi College of Engineering in West Delhi.
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Effort at ‘rationalising’ parking on JNU campus
New Delhi, February 13 The Campus Development Committee (CDC) has shifted its attention to the need for rationalising parking space. “There are too many vehicles on the campus and with an increase in their number there is a demand for more parking space. To provide more parking space means cutting trees to clear the areas for construction, otherwise they encroach upon space near schools and libraries, which leads to noise and distraction,” said a member of the CDC. The JNUTA too has raised the issue of controlling vehicle population on the campus. Drawing attention to the problem, it has put forth, “in the recent past, there has been an explosion in the use of cars and motorbikes on campus. Much of the parking has become haphazard and ad hoc. Many drivers have felt at liberty to park as and where they feel like. The main library has, in fact, become the classic metaphor of the siege by cars and bikes”. According to the president of the JNUTA, Dr Rupamanjari Ghosh, “motorbikes and cars have literally wrapped themselves around the library and the library users are treated to a constant roaring of engines and the repeated unpleasant noise of honking. Similar problems are witnessed near Kamal complex. The University is also witness to the abandonment of a large number of motorbikes, notably around Brahmaputra hostel”. Distressed by what they call is the “marginalisation” of those who walk or cycle, in terms of space, the JNUTA has assembled a committee of experts, from both outside and those from JNU, to suggest and outline a course of action that will enable an environmentally sensitive map for JNU’s developmental route.
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Farmers to gherao Noida Authority offices tomorrow
Noida, February 13 This was stated by Ch. Bihari Singh, Chairman of Noida Jan Sehjoy Samiti and a farmer leader here today. Ch. Bihari Singh said a large number of farmers of the area would gherao the authority offices on Wednesday in Sector-6, Noida. Though the area has been developed and big factories, roads, institutions dot the area, all this has been done at the cost of the farmers who have been exploited by the authority as well as the revenue officials. The Noida Authority, the farmer leader said, has a dubious record of favouring the rich, influential and the builders in matter of allotment of invaluable plots. The administrations and the authority are not serious about the welfare of the tillers of the soil. Even the promised 5 per cent land has not been handed over to the farmers. The officials and employees of Noida and Greater Noida authorities were functioning like property agents, he alleged. In UP, Bihari Singh alleged, the Government was acquiring land at throw-away prices, denying the farmers remunerative prices while in Punjab and Haryana, farmers are selling their land at Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh per acre. After the gherao of the authority office on February 15, a farmers’ Mahapanchayat will be held in Surajpur to chalk out further programme of agitation, Bihari Singh said.
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Khurana’s defamation suit against Prem Singh dismissed
New Delhi, February 13 Additional District Judge Daya Prakash dismissed the complaint as the parties
had failed to file a fresh suit following a court direction. The court had waited till noon for Khurana or his representatives to appear in court before dismissing the suit with the remarks “dismissed for want of prosecution”. The same court had earlier directed Khurana to file a fresh suit by January 12 after Singh had filed a petition opposing certain averments made by the BJP leader against the Congress party and the Delhi government. “The plaintiff (Khurana) is directed to file a fresh complaint by January 12 after deleting the unnecessary paragraphs,” the court had observed on November 23 last year. The case relates to some “slanderous, misleading and defamatory remarks” made by Singh in the media against Khurana during the run-up to the 2003 Assembly polls. Singh had allegedly said Khurana was using his position as the DMRC chairman to amass election funds by employing coercive methods on the public, industrialists and traders. But in his plaint, Khurana also accused the Congress party and its government entirely of committing misdeeds and also working against the public interest, which Singh challenged in his reply to the court. Khurana has defended it arguing that as “Singh was the DPCC chief then, he was answerable to the misdeeds of the government run by his party”.
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‘Delhi Residents’ Conference’ to be held on Feb 19
New Delhi, February 13 “The ‘Residents’ Conference’ will be an exchange of views among various groups in Delhi and will strive to create a consensus on a common action plan to ensure that interests of the residents are protected in future,” said Ajay Jain, Convenor, People’s Action. On the issue of demolitions, a survey conducted by URJA among Delhi RWAs clearly shows that there is rising resentment among the residents for the way in which demolitions have been managed. Residents are expected to pass a resolution on the issue at the conference. Moreover, the recent admission of the Department of Power, Government of NCT of Delhi, conceding that current tariff levels pass on the cost of power theft to consumers has also agitated the residents, and a suitable action plan to resist this is expected to be finalised at the Conference. The ‘Resident’s Conference’ will be attended by all Delhi RWAs apart from various activists, NGOs and groups who are consolidating against the policies of the government on these issues. Select designers, who faced the brunt of the demolitions, will also attend along with other affected parties on both issues.
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Workshops on hearing rehabilitation
New Delhi, February 13 While he would be holding workshops at the Ganga Ram Hospital for three days from today as part of the ‘Listen to the Children Tour’, he would be speaking at a free public meeting on Wednesday at Vasuki Auditorium, Lok Kala Manch, Lodhi Institutional Area, between 2 pm to 5 pm. He will then be holding workshops in Mumbai (Welingkar Institute of Management, Poddar College) and in Chennai at Little Flower Convent. Mr Estabrooks, director of the Learning to Listen Foundation at the North York General Hospital in Canada, will run three master classes for a small number of professionals in Delhi at the Ganga Ram Hospital, who are training in auditory-verbal techniques. More than 5 million people in India suffer from a hearing impairment and there are more than a million with a severe to profound hearing loss. Mr Estabrooks, the International Ambassador of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, advocates the use of a cochlear implant for those children, who no longer receive benefit from a hearing aid. “Children who receive a cochlear implant young enough and receive the appropriate auditory training, should be able to acquire age appropriate language skills and participate fully in mainstream school and community,” according to Mr Estabrooks. He urges parents and health professionals and teachers to ensure children get the best possible opportunity to learn to listen. “That means we need to be vigilant about understanding the baby’s or infant’s hearing loss and not leaving it too late to provide them with the appropriate aids”.
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Man gets 10-yr RI for killing friend
New Delhi, February 13 Additional Session Judge S P Garg also imposed a fine of Rs 1000 on the convict Ram Veer under section 304 Part-I for beating his friend Chander Pal to death after engaging him in a quarrel. Convicting Ram Veer, the court observed that “the accused had not come armed with a deadly weapon hence it cannot be inferred that he intended to cause death in the ordinary course of nature. The occurrence took place all of a sudden”. According to the FIR lodged on the complaint of the Chander Pal’s wife Kalpana Devi, Ram Veer, also related to Chander Pal, came to their house on October 3, 2003 and asked her husband to accompany him to talk something out.
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Double suicide in hotel, infant found in room
New Delhi, February 13 The couple — Jogendra Sharma (25) and Suman (23) — had checked into the hotel yesterday morning. As there was no movement from the room since last evening, the hotel staff got suspicious and informed the police, said a senior police
official. “The couple, who hailed from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan, were found dead in the room while their one-and-a-half-year-old daughter was lying nearby,” he added. They had arrived here from Cuttack, he said, adding that the parents of the boy have been informed and they were on their way. Meanwhile, sources said a suicide note has been found in which no one has been held responsible for the ‘extreme step’. The note also mentioned that the boy worked in a courier agency in Patna.
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Two men crushed by minibus
Greater Noida, February 13 An angry crowd jammed the road, torched the minibus and damaged some other vehicles parked on the road. A lot many vehicles and people were stranded in the 5-km-long traffic jam. People demanded Rs 10 lakh compensation for both the deceased. Sunder, son of Rattan Singh of Tilputta, and Rajeev, son of Hansa, were on their way to Dadri on a motorbike, who were hit by the minibus. Both the youth were run over by the bus and were dragged over some distance. The bus driver abandoned the vehicle and fled. Both the victims were pulled out from under the bus and rushed to Dadri Government Hospital where doctors pronounced them brought dead. The villagers had, meanwhile, jammed the road. They torched the minibus and damaged other vehicles. The CO, Greater Noida, reached the spot with a big force of cops. A fire engine was also summoned, but it could not reach the burning minibus due to the traffic jam. The people insisted on Rs 10 lakh compensation and erecting speedbreakers on the road. The jam continued till late in the night. At this very spot, a container had crashed into a restaurant, killing five persons on the spot in November 2005. Even then, people, including students, had sat on a dharna, asking for speedbreakers. The authorities had assured speedbreakers would soon be constructed, but nothing has been done so far.
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Pregnant daughter accuses father of rape
Ghaziabad, February 13 The matter pertains to a Faqir brotherhood of a village under the Rattanpuri police station in Muzzafarnagar. It is learnt that Seema (not real name) was having an affair with a youth as a result of which she had become pregnant. Whenever family members pressed her to reveal the name of the man so that she could be married off to him, she used to keep mum. At last, the family called a panchayat meeting of the brotherhood so that the young girl could be forced to disclose the name of her lover. When the panchayat members persistently questioned her, she accused
her own father of having raped her. Now, the panchayat and the family are trying to hush up the matter. The panchayat said a decision in the matter would be taken later.
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Police post torched by irate mob
Ghaziabad, February 13 The agitated people even beat up policemen at Nandgram outpost under Sthaniya Gate police station. UP principal secretary (home) Alok Sinha said in Lucknow that the demonstration started after Tillu — a native of Dayalpuri — died in a nursing home under police custody. A probe has been ordered in the case, while the body of youth had been sent for postmortem. The youth was detained by the police for interrogation in connection with a case, but shifted him to hospital after his condition deteriorated last night. Additional police force had been rushed to the spot to control the law and order situation.
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Panchayat chief’s Qualis taken away at gunpoint
Greater Noida, February 13 The Qualis was taken away at Dara village in Greater Noida when Aas Mohd was returning home at 9.30 pm after dropping the Chairman. Another Qualis without a numberplate had overtaken and blocked his vehicle. At least six robbers came out and put a gun on his head, pulled him out, took his watch, cash and cellphone and sped away. Aas Mohd then contacted the Greater Noida police and informed them of the looting.
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