New Delhi, April 3
Five Congress MPs from Delhi, including Union Science and Technology Minister Mr Kapil Sibal, have appealed to the Centre to bring an ordinance or introduce a Bill in Parliament to stop the demolition drive being carried out by the MCD for the past six months.

“This will not only give relief to the affected people but also give ample time to the authorities to sort out the matter,” Mr Sibal and four other MPs said while addressing a press conference here.

Mr Sibal said within this period, the authorities would notify Master Plan 2021 and prepare a strategic plan with respect to each zone, keeping in mind the needs of the community and the extent of unauthorised constructions.

This would exclude premises built on public and municipal land and as well as ongoing unauthorised constructions, Mr Sibal said.

“We believe that before carrying out such sealing and demolition drives, it is important to keep in mind that the larger public interest is served,” Mr Sibal said. “The interests of the community are paramount and all other interests are subservient,” he added.

Mr Sibal, who addressed the conference in his capacity as an MP from Chandni Chowk, emphasised that certain issues needed to be made clear to the people before the demolition drive was carried out.

These issues concerned the exact nature of unauthorised construction or use of premises — whether residential or commercial — which would be subject to sealing or demolition orders, the date after which all illegal or unlawfully used premises would be targeted and their numbers. There was also the need to clarify whether adequate administrative machinery was available with the government or the MCD for carrying out the drive and the requirement for prior notice required before such sealing and demolitions were being made.

Making it clear that the MPs had the greatest respect for the judiciary and that in passing judicial orders the courts did have the larger public interest in mind, the Minister asserted that the PIL in which the MCD was the only respondent without any representative of the lakhs of citizens affected was not the best way of handling issues. This was so because neither the voice of the Union Government nor that of the representatives of the people or the affected parties was being heard.

Mr Sibal said the MPs had already met Union Minister for Urban Development Mr Jaipal Reddy seeking relief for the people being affected by the sealing and demolition drive of the MCD and had sought time to meet Prime Minister Mr Manmohan Singh in this regard.

Regretting that people’s representatives were feeling helpless in the complex issue of the ongoing demolitions, he appealed to the Union Government to help resolve the crisis by bringing an ordinance or a legislation in Parliament to stop the sealing and demolition drive. “In such a situation, we are inhibited in performing our duties as representatives of our people,” he said.

“In the absence of a constructive, comprehensive solution, keeping in mind the community interests, we consider ourselves incapacitated and inadequate,” the Congress MP said, pleading the helplessness of the people’s representatives.

Mr Sibal, in reply to a question, clarified that they were not against the demolition of unauthorised constructions but against the sufferings of the people who had bought the flats and houses from others and were living in them.

The other four Congress MPs who were present at the press conference were Mr Jagdish Tytler, Mr Sajjan Kumar, Mr Krishna Tirath and Mr Sandeep Dixit.

Later, Delhi Mayor Mr Satbir Singh welcomed the MPs’ appeal to the Centre to bring an ordinance to regularise commercial units in residential areas with 80 ft or wider roads and to stop MCD’s sealing drive for a period of six months.

“The appeal is a step in the right direction. The issuance of an Ordinance to regularise commercial activities in areas with 80 ft or wider roads is the only way to resolve the present state of confusion that has arisen following the Supreme Court order,” the Mayor told mediapersons.

The BJP, however, said it was too late to bring in an ordinance as demanded by the MPs to reverse court-ordered demolitions and sealings in the Capital.

New Delhi, April 3
The Delhi Cabinet, at a meeting here today, gave the nod to setting up of 43 corridors with 575-km route length for Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System for public transport.

The Cabinet also gave its nod to the parking policy to be implemented by the DDA, the MCD, the NDMC and the Delhi Police. The policy is in accordance with the report of the Environment Protection and Control Authority (EPCA). The meeting was presided over by the Chief Minister, Ms Sheila Dikshit.

Talking to the media after the meeting, the Chief Minister said that the Cabinet had considered a study report submitted by RITES for development of an integrated multi-modal system for public transport consisting of 43 corridors with route length of 575 km.

The study was commissioned by the Delhi Government in June 2005 in order to identify all such corridors where public transport demand during peak hours exceeded 5,000 passengers per hour in each direction. The study was part of the action plan to increase the public transport ratio from the current 60 per cent to above 75-80 per cent.

The study recommends an additional 132-km route length where Metro needs to be constructed in Phase III and IV. This is an addition to the 120-km Metro network that will already have been constructed during Phases I and II.

For the remaining corridors, the RITES study has recommended construction of 294 km of dedicated bus lanes through Bus Rapid Transit Systems, commonly known as the High Capacity Bus System (HCBS).

In other areas where adequate road width is not available, or the projected demand is more than what Bus Systems can carry, the study recommends considering Light Rail Transit (LRT) or Monorails.

An important recommendation contained in the study relates to establishment of interchange points where the passengers can conveniently change over from one mode to the other.

The implementation of the entire project is proposed to be undertaken in three phases, with the first phase completed before the Commonwealth Games 2010. In addition to the existing plans of HCBS corridor from Ambedkar Nagar to Delhi Gate and Phase II of Metro, a number of corridors will be completed and made operational in the first phase itself.

The Delhi Cabinet gave its in-principle approval to the recommendations contained in the RITES study and issued instruction to the Transport Department to pursue the conduct of detailed feasibility studies in a time-bound manner. The execution of these projects will be done by the newly-created Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) by the name of Delhi Integrated Multi-modal Transit Systems (DIMTS).

The CM further said that her government had given final shape to the parking policy after comprehensive consultations with agencies concerned.

Noida, April 3
Social activist Medha Patekar, on a fast unto death in favour of her ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan’ campaign, has agreed to support the farmers of Noida and Greater Noida.

She would raise the problems of Noida farmers as well as those of Gujarat who would be displaced after the construction of Narmada dam, she said.

A delegation of Noida and Greater Noida farmers under Dehat Morcha national president Babu Singh Arya had apprised Ms Patekar of the plight of Noida farmers in New Delhi yesterday.

Ms Patekar agreed that the farmers throughout the country were being discriminated against.

She said even in the Lok Sabha and Vidhyan Sabhas, no decision was ever taken to protect the rights of the farming community.

Beg Raj Gujjar of Dehat Morcha said that even 100-year-old abadis were being razed, ostensibly for development. People were being evicted from their ancestral homes. In Noida and Greater Noida, abadis were being demolished for “industrial development”.

The farmers have been deprived of even 10 per cent of their land out of the land acquired by the government.

Ms Patekar said there was a striking similarity in the problems of farmers of Narmada area and those of Noida-Greater Noida farmers. She assured the Noida delegation that the problems of Noida and Greater Noida would be raised together.

Those who met Ms Madha Patekar, included Leela Pradhan, Rajesh Upadhya, Daya Ram, Satya Prakash Awana, Baba Horam, Sonu Chauhan, Teja Kashyap, Roop Kishore, Verinder Fauji and a large number of farmers from the area.

New Delhi, April 3
A delegation of Delhi BJP leaders, led by the Leader of the Opposition in the MCD Mr Subhash Arya, today met former party president Mr L. K. Advani to discuss with him various issues related to the sealing of commercial units in residential areas of the Capital as per the order of the Supreme Court.

During the meeting, the BJP leaders urged Mr Advani to help clear the confusion arising out of the sealing of shops by the MCD, an operation which has led to widespread protests by traders in Delhi.

The delegation members demanded that the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha should appeal to the Prime Minister to take a six-month reprieve from the court. During that time, the government should pass an ordinance to regularise shops in residential areas. The government should not wait for the new Master Plan as it was for development and not for unauthorised constructions, they said.

The corporation continued to seal shops in residential areas even after the notification of 229 road on which commercial activities can be carried out. The roads were notified by a special committee constituted by the Mayor, Mr Satbir Singh, to collect the details of such roads. After the notification, the report was sent to the LG for approval.

Mr Arya said Mr Advani assured the delegation that he would meet Prime Minister Mr Manmohan Singh to urge him to ensure that the government issue an ordinance to allow mixed land use in residential areas of Delhi to bring some relief to the traders and their employees.

New Delhi, April 3
As Delhi Government contemplates moving court to get water from Uttar Pradesh, the Centre has asked the neighbouring state to release 300 cusecs to help the Capital tide over its summer crisis.

Union Minister of Water Resources Mr Saifuddin Soz, who spoke to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav yesterday, asked him to release 300 cusecs of water from the Tehri Dam to meet the “urgent and genuine” requirements of the people of Delhi.

Chief Minister Ms Sheila Dikshit had yesterday met Solicitor General Mr G E Vahanvati to explore the legal options to get water from Uttar Pradesh for its Sonia Vihar Treatment plant, which is yet to start operations. Soz’s move is seen as an attempt to avert any possible legal conflict between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

“The provision of drinking water was a crucial human responsibility of all governments, and we must jointly strive to help the citizens of Delhi by way of augmenting the water supply,” Mr Soz told Mr Yadav during their telephonic conversation, an official release said here today.

He said Delhi’s water requirements were urgent and genuine and something needed to be done, otherwise, there was every apprehension of the water crises deepening further.

Gurgaon, April 3
The local unit of Patanjali Yoga Prasikshan Samiti today denied the allegations in some quarters on the misappropriation of funds collected from the sale of tickets for a weeklong yoga camp beginning here on April 25. The camp would be organised by Guru Ramdeo.

The convenor of the Samiti, Mr Krishan Veer, clarified that the money accruing from the sale of tickets would be given to Patanjali Yoga Peeth which has its headquarters in Haridwar. It would not be spent on holding the camp, he said.

According to him, the local unit of Patanjali Yoga Prasikshan Samiti will bear the expenses with the help extended to it by the residents of Gurgaon.

As regards the camp, he revealed that while Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will inaugurate the camp, senior politicians, including Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Gulam Nabi Azad, Union Ministers Laloo Prasad Yadav and Rao Inderjit Singh have confirmed their participation in the camp.

According to the organisers, security at the camp was not left to the law-enforcing agencies of the government alone. The Samiti will hire 100 private security persons apart from 100 volunteers deputed for smooth conduct of the camp.

New Delhi, April 3
The West District police have arrested a person who was wanted in a number of criminal cases in Delhi, Haryana, UP and other neighbouring states for the past about 15 months. The accused has been identified as Sanjay Tyagi, son of Onkar Singh, a resident of Bahadurgarh, Haryana.

According to the police, Sanjay is one of the most active members of the Krishan Pahalwan gang who operated as a sharpshooter for eliminating the rivals of their gang.

The police claimed to have seized an imported pistol and two live rounds from his possession. The notorious gangster is involved in more than 14 heinous cases of murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping for ransom, murderous assault on policemen and cases under the Gangsters Act in UP, said the police.

There was a search for him by the Haryana and Delhi Police since he was wanted in three sensational murders at Bahadurgarh, Karnal and Sonepat and one case of a dacoity bid at Bahadurgarh.

On October 15, 2005, he had shot dead Narender Rathi, nephew of former Education Minister of Haryana, Ms Shanti Rathi. A case had been registered under Section 302 of IPC at the Ganaur police station in Sonepat, said the police.

Ghaziabad, April 3
There is considerable commotion in the trading circles in Hapur following an extortion call to a sugar merchant for Rs 30 lakh.

Yogesh, a sugar trader in Kaserth Bazaar, had received a threatening call on phone at 11 am a couple of days ago. He was asked to keep Rs 30 lakh ready which would soon be collected from him.

The criminal had repeated the threat at 1 pm. He said if he did not shell out Rs 30 lakh, he would meet the fate of his brother Ashok, who was shot dead in Pilkhua by some criminals on December 7, 2003.

Police, who had later arrested four criminals for Ashok’s murder, are linking this threat with the earlier extortion bid.

The police said the call was made from a PCO in Sehra village of B.B. Nagar. Sunil of Sehra village is one of the accused in Ashok’s murder. He is out on bail these days.

The police are raiding his possible hideouts. The PCO owner has also been interrogated and Yogesh’s family provided with police protection, CO Sanjay Kumar said.

Greater Noida, April 3
Robbers have decamped with cash, jewellery and valuables worth lakhs, breaking into a house in Jal Vayu Vihar and another in Senior Citizen Complex in Greater Noida under Kasna police station. The criminals struck in broad daylight in both the places on Sunday.

Mr Shyam Nandan had locked his house No J-42 in Senior Citizen Complex and left along with his family. When they returned in the evening, he found the lock broken and the house ransacked. A sum of Rs 65,000 and jewellery worth a lakh were missing. The police have registered a case of theft.

In the second incident, the thieves broke into another house in Jal Vayu Vihar and stole cash and gold ornaments. Pankaj Pathak had locked his house No. J-532 in Jal Vayu Vihar and gone out on duty.

The robbers broke open the locks and took out Rs 10,000 and jewellery worth lakhs. The Kasna police have registered a case and started investigations.

Noida, April 3
Coming in contact with a high-tension power cable, a service engineer was electrocuted in Phase-II here.

Pankaj Gupta, resident of Dilshad Garden, Delhi, worked as a service engineer in a generator manufacturing company, Bhasker, in B-137, Sector 2, here.

Pankaj had gone to Phase-II to service a generator. While bringing down the generator, Pankaj Gupta came in contact with an overhead high-tension power cable and died on the spot. — OC