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Demolitions: Centre asks HC for time to prepare plan
BJP demands
Passenger tax to be levied on school buses
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Beware of property pre-launch offers
Fog foxes Met office
Woman gets life term for abetting niece’s gang-rape
Priest roughed up as woman goes missing
Heads may roll in probe into co-op
society scam
Model held captive for days, rescued
Man suspected of killing wife, daughter
Flesh trade flourishes in bird sanctuary
Court shootout case: Councillor among 2 held
DDA to hold Lok Shivir on Feb 25
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Demolitions: Centre asks HC for time to prepare plan
New Delhi, February 23 In an affidavit filed along with the MCD, the Union Urban Development Ministry urged the Court that in the coming three months, three categories of major violators — encroachments on government land, ongoing illegal constructions and commercial establishments in residential areas — be targeted in the demolition drive. The Centre stated that residential buildings housing commercial establishments in half or more than half of their areas along roads wider than 80 feet be targeted as per the Supreme Court’s directions. The Court was informed that the Centre has formed an experts’ committee to assess the magnitude of the problem and suggest a comprehensive strategy to deal with it. The committee, it said, would be submitting its report in three months time. The affidavit is likely to come up for hearing tomorrow. “We clearly don’t want the major violators to be spared. We should catch the big fish. But we definitely want to give relief to small violations in houses,” Minister of State for Urban Development Ajay Maken told reporters. Maken said the five-member committee formed by the Centre recently, which is headed by former Lt Governor of Delhi Tejendra Khanna, will among other things assess the different types of violations and put them in broad categories, also suggesting how to deal with them. He said the committee, which was formed earlier this month, will also recommend policy guidelines for regulating construction activities in Lal Dora areas of the Capital. The committee, apart from Khanna, comprises former chief town planner S S Shafi, prominent architect E F N Rebeiro, Delhi BJP chief Harsh Vardhan and Congress MLA S C Vats. The terms of reference of the committee also include making an assessment of the magnitude of the problem of unauthorised constructions and misuse of premises, identifying the underlying causes of the violations and recommending measures to prevent recurrence of such violations. MCD began a demolition drive against illegal constructions in the capital following the High Court’s directions that action be taken against 18,000 illegal structures that came up during 2001-2005. Meanwhile, after taking demolition action against malls constructed in Lal Dora area at building number 1 and 2 on Mehrauli Gurgaon Road, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) today began demolition action at number 13, the biggest mall in the area which houses shops of some of the country’s leading fashion designers. Demolition work at MG 13 mall began this morning here amid tight security, an MCD spokesperson said. The demolition of the mall comes after the Delhi High Court last week expressed anguish over the “cosmetic demolition” carried out by the authorities in the Lal Dora area. Today’s demolition action comes close on heels of the MCD carrying out demolition work on MG 1 and MG 2 malls that boasted outlets by some of the country’s leading fashion designers. The action followed the High Court order on January 31 asking the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to strictly carry out demolitions in the Lal Dora area notwithstanding political pressure. While the mall at 1 MG Road came up in 2001, the adjoining sprawling complex on 2 MG Road became operational in 2004. Seeing the growing popularity of these two malls, other similar complexes recently came up in the area making Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road a major traffic bottleneck due to heavy rush of shoppers and unauthorised parking by the roadside. Over the years, almost a dozen malls and complexes have illegally come up on MG Road that fall under the Lal Dora area. Similarly, most of the 350-odd Lal Dora villages have witnessed the mushrooming of illegal shopping arcades, with south Delhi being the worst violator. The BJP yesterday demanded the restoration of the 1963 notification which “clearly stipulates that building bylaws are not applicable in the Lal Dora villages” so as to save properties under Lal Dora from demolition and to stop “cruelty” on rural folk. The BJP moved a resolution to restore the notification at a meeting of the MCD Standing Committee here today.
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BJP demands
New Delhi, February 23 He said that at present the condition of all urbanised and rural villages of Delhi was pathetic. Employment resources of the villagers were being destroyed on the “Tughlaqi” orders of the MCD without considering the human aspect and the fact that houses, business and industries were being ruined. The villages of the Capital were lagging behind due to lack of basic civic amenities. Dr Harsh Vardhan said that building bylaws made for the Delhi villages during British rule and thereafter by the MCD had lost their relevance now. The government machinery was exploiting and adopting corrupt practices against the villagers due to these age-old bylaws, thereby blocking the path of development of the villages. Differences were also being created in the villages due to politics of votes. As such, he underlined the need that a comprehensive survey may be conducted of all Delhi villages keeping in view the human aspects. The problems of every village should be heard separately by inviting people from 10-12 villages in groups. After listening to them, a comprehensive plan may be made to solve the problems village-wise in a time-bound manner and be implemented with full will power and sincerity. Dr Harsh Vardhan demanded that all present exploiting laws and bylaws should be done away with. It may be ensured to provide basic amenities at homes, shops, business, industry, living standard, environment, livelihood, employment under Delhi Villages Protection and Development Act. The villages be kept free from heavy taxes and license fees etc. Green area line may be earmarked and notified by extending the Lal Dora and keeping in view the need of the villagers in every village. He said all problems of the villages can be solved by constituting a high-level committee of villages and public representatives and the Union Urban Development Ministry, the Union Home Ministry, the Delhi Government, the DDA, the MCD and the Delhi Police. He underlined the need to hear the viewpoint of the villagers by adopting a human approach. At present, the MCD is exploiting the villagers by treating them as enemies of development as well as of Delhi as a whole. This behaviour was totally unexpected in any democratic set-up, he added.
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Passenger tax to be levied on school buses
Gurgaon, February 23 As per the notification issued by Ramendra Jakhu, Haryana Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Transport Department, the buses of educational institutions may in lieu of the tax chargeable on fare and freight pay a lump sum amount of Rs 60 per seat per month from July to March. The District Transport Officer (DTO), Mr Narinder Singh Yadav, informed ‘The Tribune’ that the local office has already started sending notices to school authorities in this regard. “We have identified 412 buses as per our record, which have been engaged by the school authorities. The tax for a 52-seat bus would be Rs 3,120 per month,” said Mr Yadav. The government has re-imposed the tax on buses of educational institutions as most of the institutions are running on profitable basis and not on charity basis as they used to run earlier, he added. Mr Yadav estimated that Gurgaon and Mewat would have as many as 500 buses engaged by schools. In effect, more than Rs 15 lakh per month extra revenue would be collected on this account, he added. However, a principal of a leading school said that Rs 60 per seat per month would result in an extra burden on the students, as the school authorities were not earning out of the transportation facilities provided to the students. It would be better if the government charged a nominal amount as passenger tax from school authorities, he added.
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Beware of property pre-launch offers
Faridabad, February 23 It may be recalled that advertisements regarding such offers have been appearing for the past several months in some of the leading dailies. According to sources, the Department of Town and Country Planning has objected to some of the advertisements by certain companies, which had failed to obtain the necessary license. According to a local resident who had applied against one of the offers, plots and flats have been oversold even though constructions are yet to begin. When the Deputy Commissioner, Mrs G. Anupama, was contacted in this regard, she informed that she had come to know of certain irregularities in some of the offers and had prepared a detailed report for the higher authorities in Chandigarh. It is learnt that the Department of Town and Country Planning had issued notices to some of the builders and dealers making such offers in Rewari district. According to sources, selling of apartments and plots under the pre-launch category had no legal standing and was a violation of the Punjab Schedule Roads and Controlled Area Restriction of Unregulated Development Act 1963 and the Haryana Urban Development Act 1975. The Administrator, Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), Mr Sudhir Rajpal, said that his office had nothing to do with the offers made by private builders or companies as the license in this regard was issued by the Department of Town and Country Planning.
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Fog foxes Met office
New Delhi, February 23 It happened on Tuesday, on February 17 and the week before that when despite relatively high temperatures in the morning, the city remained enveloped in moderate fog till about 9 am. Needless to add, this sudden development led to a delay in incoming and outgoing flights and also some confusion on roads. But what makes such events an unusual phenomenon is the fact that of the three essentials for the fog formation to take place on all the three days, two were not in its favour. And of them one, temperature that is, particularly so. Fog, which is nothing but low clouds, occurs when three factors favour it: low temperatures, high humidity and no-wind condition. Some weathermen say that any one of these conditions has the power to veto fog. However, despite Delhi recording a relatively high temperature in the morning, low to moderate fog descends upon the city, particularly the relatively open areas. Met officials agree that such occurrences do not happen quite often. They also agree it is unusual, though not a freak phenomenon. “This has happened before,” they say, while admitting that fog usually descends when temperatures are low. They are also quick to add that though the three factors are mandatory for fog formation, it is not as if their contribution has to be equal. In somewhat complicated Met jargon, they explain how unequal combination of three factors can also lead to the formation of fog, They also add that there has been sufficient moisture in the air which is why even while the temperature was high, conditions become favourable for the optimisation process for the formation of fog. Meanwhile, another explanation for occurrence of fog on relatively warm mornings could perhaps be the impact of pollution and urbanisation. Some weathermen say that if condensation nuclei — dust particles or pollutants — are present in sufficient numbers in the atmosphere, condensation of the moisture in the air can comfortably take place around them. With sufficiently high level of pollutants in the city’s air, maybe Delhiites could expect to see more of this phenomenon in the future.
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Woman gets life term for abetting niece’s gang-rape
New Delhi, February 23 Accused Saroj’s husband, Punnu, who allegedly raped the victim several times, was declared a proclaimed offender. According to the court, Saroj and her husband were given the responsibility of looking after the victim after her father died. Instead of being protected, the girl was raped by her uncle and was “scolded” by her aunt when she tried to complain about him. The couple also regularly sent her for prostitution, keeping whatever monetary benefits thus derived for themselves. One night, Punnu, along with his cronies, even forced the girl to dance naked before them, before gang-raping her, with Saroj as mute witness. “The lurid details unfolded by the victim show how bizarre was this incident of gang-rape and rearing her for prostitution by none other than her real uncle and aunt,” the court said, adding that such incidents were “redolent of primitive societies”. The victim was eventually rescued when she told her employer - where she was working as a domestic help - of the atrocities committed. The employer, a doctor, then led her to appropriate authorities.
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Priest roughed up as woman goes missing
Ghaziabad, February 23 The family of the missing woman is running from pillar to post to lodge an FIR. Uday Raj Singh lives in Peepal Wali Gali in Ganeshpuri Colony under Sahibabad police station. Uday Raj’s wife Kiran, 21, had left the house in the evening on February 19 for going to the temple in Shalimar Garden Extension-II. Since then the woman has gone missing and the family has made a written complaint to the police about it, casting doubt on the intentions of the temple priest. Angry people of the colony went to the temple and beat up the priest. The police somehow rescued the priest from the livid crowd. The family and colony residents say the woman had been lured away by three persons. The victim’s brother had also made a plea for registering a report in the police station on Wednesday. All that the police say is that investigations are on and it is not possible to say at this stage whether the priest has a hand in woman’s disappearance.
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Heads may roll in probe into co-op
society scam
Noida, February 23 The CEO, Noida, Sanjeev Saran has written a letter to the Housing Commissioner of Avas Vikas Parishad in which the need for probing the activities of all the 145 group housing societies has been underlined by him. Mr Saran has also called for the need to examine role of the members of the group housing societies. In case the Housing Commissioner orders such a probe, all the former and current members of the group societies will be subject to such an enquiry. Such a probe will bring out the role of members who had misled the buyers of flats and committed financial frauds amounting to hundreds of crores. The Noida Authority CEO has also suggested to the District Magistrate to order a probe at his level so that the revenue loss to the government running into hundreds of crores could be stopped. Mr Sanjeev Saran has also called for a probe into the flats of defaulting group housing societies which have not been able to sell their flats so far. The authority is likely to take back such flats into its possession. The CEO said some co-operative housing societies are also among defaulting group housing societies. Some allottees have lodged complaints with the Noida Authority against these societies.
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Model held captive for days, rescued
Noida, February 23 After getting her medically examined, the police have got her statement recorded before the city magistrate. Sukriti (name changed), a resident of Lokhandawla, Mumbai, said that she had come to Noida on the invitation of Arun, alias Vinny, a model coordinator. When she reached here, she was put up in House No. C-214, Sector-20, and held there for three days. She told the police that Arun had left her in the lurch and did not come when she had called him. She said Arun had arranged for his stay in the house and called her to Noida for a role in a film, but his intentions and those of other people in the house were not good. They wanted something different, Sukriti told the police.
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Man suspected of killing wife, daughter
Noida, February 23 The man is accused of having fled with his one-year-old son after killing his wife and daughter. The complainant has expressed apprehension about his nephew also. It may be recalled that the mutilated bodies were recovered from a sewer in Harola on February 15. On Wednesday, one Shamsuddin alerted the police that his sister Alimo and niece Asman were missing. His brother-in-law Islam, he said, was also missing along with his five-year-old son from Harola. Shamsuddin had recognized his three-year-old niece when the police showed him her photograph. After this, the police have intensified the efforts to nab the culprit.
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Flesh trade flourishes in bird sanctuary
Noida, February 23 The road from the bird sanctuary to ‘Shani temple’ has become the favourite haunt of pimps and prostitutes. A barrier has been put on this road to protect the birds from pollution and smoke emitted by vehicles. As a result, few people use this road. However, for some it is their favourite route, where women looking for customers can be found. Surprisingly, the flesh trade is flourishing in the area in spite of a number of cops being posted to inspect vehicles.
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Court shootout case: Councillor among 2 held
Gurgaon, February 23 It may be recalled that three persons had entered the court premises dressed as lawyers and fired at Dharmaveer while he was being taken to be produced before the court. The assailants had escaped after the incident. According to the police, an undertrial, Parvesh, had sent instructions for booking rooms in 32nd Mile Stone restaurant here. Accordingly, room number 17 and 18 had been booked before the shoot out. Parvesh, a resident of village Silokhara, is an undertrial in connection with a murder case. The two arrested were also allegedly present in the court premises at the time of the shoot-out. The investigation is still on, the police said.
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DDA to hold Lok Shivir on Feb 25
New Delhi, February 23 At the Lok Shivir, activities such as execution of conveyance deed, sale of conversion application, receipt of conversion application and receipt of other miscellaneous requests relating to conversion, lease etc will be taken up, a spokesman of the DDA said.
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