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Move to reshape MCD
decried in House
Illegal commercial premises sealed in Gurgaon
Notice to govt after Bharti Yadav plays truant again
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MCD may hike tax on commercial property
Fire in chemical unit, major tragedy averted
‘Senior citizens deserve special consideration’
‘Congress worried about
MCD drives’
HC grants temporary reprieve from demolition
Member DJB demands Rs 50 lakh as bribe
Warrant against Dhaula Kuan rape victim
Bonded labourers freed in Rabupura
Youth gets 7-year RI for rape
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Move to reshape MCD
decried in House
New Delhi, April 27
“If at all any such committee had to be set up, it should have been
done three to four years ago. Announcing the setting up of the
committee just when the polls are around the corner seems to be a
politically motivated move,” he said. As reported yesterday, the
committee, which will study the issue of restructuring of the MCD and
suggest an appropriate model, is headed by former Delhi chief
secretary Mr Omesh Saigal. It has the following as members: union home
secretary, union urban development secretary, Prof. V.N. Alok from
Indian Institute of Public Administration and West Bengal’s
secretary, municipal affairs. Mr O.P. Kelkar, principal secretary,
urban development, will be the member secretary. The committee has
been asked to submit its report within a period of two months. “The
financial and administrative viability of setting up smaller bodies in
place of the MCD should have been worked out before announcing the
formation of the committee,” Mr Arya said. In this context, he
pointed at the “woefully inadequate” collections by the MCD by way
of house tax. “Out of a target of over Rs 1500 crore, the actual
house tax collection last year was just about Rs 500 crore. All
such facts should be considered while taking any decision on
restructuring of MCD,” he said. Speaking on the issue, leader of the
House Mr Jitender Kochar said he would present his views to the
committee when called upon to do so. “It is quite possible that
the committee could come up with a suggestion or two on ways to manage
civic services efficiently,” he said. According to one school of thought, instead of restructuring the MCD, a better solution to the present woes of the Corporation might be to grant more powers to deputy commissioners of the respective zones to enable them to manage civic facilities efficiently. Meanwhile,
councillors cutting across party lines objected to the use of English
language by Mr Farhad Suri while conducting the election of various
committees of the Corporation. Some councillors protested that they
were unable to understand the “foreign language” However, the mayor, who represents Nizamuddin segment, continued using the language during election of the committees. He assured the members that other proceedings of the House would be conducted in Hindi, Urdu or Punjabi.
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Illegal commercial premises sealed in Gurgaon
Gurgaon, April 27 Yesterday, the team had sealed 53 residential premises in the same colony. The sealed buildings included a preparatory school, property dealers’ offices, daily provisions stores and
electronic goods showrooms, said Mr Gupta. Initially, there was some resistance by residents, but the protests soon subsided due to the heavy presence of police force and senior officials. Mr Gupta said that the Senior Town Planner Office (STP) had identified 794 house owners in private developers’ colonies who were using their residential premises for commercial purposes illegally. All identified violators had been issued notices for the irregularities, added the administrator. DLF City has 192 cases in Phase I, 230 cases in
Phase II, 123 cases in Phase III, 47 cases in Phase IV and one case in Phase V while South City I has 13 cases and South City II has three. Sushant Lok I has 108 cases, Sushant Lok II 37 cases, Sushant Lok III two cases, May Field Garden two cases, R D City one case, Saraswati Kunj two cases, Green Wood City three cases and Palam Vihar 30. The Senior Town Planner, Mr P. K. Sharma, would himself supervise each and every case sector-wise and phase-wise so that no illegal construction remained in the city. The administrator further added that in HUDA developed sectors, the department had already identified and sent notices to 177 occupants of various residential sectors for carrying on commercial activities in their houses and thereby violating the Haryana Urban Development Authority Act, 1977. The notices were sent to 40 houses in Sector 46, six houses in Sector 27, one in Sector 28, eight in Sector 14, five in Sector 17, seven in Sector 5, five in Sector 15, 32 houses in Sector 10A, three in Sector 12-A, four in Sector 21, 17 in Sector 45, 14 in Sector 40, two in Sector 9 & 9 A, 20 in Sector 4 and 13 Some occupants had shut shop after getting the notice, revealed the officer. The deputy commissioner, Mr R. P. Bhardwaj, said the commercial use of residential property not only disturbed the lives of the nearby houses but the commercial sites of the sectors were also affected due to the illegal use of the residential areas. The whole planning of the sector and the colony got affected as the illegal commercial use of residential areas needed extra power, water, roads and sewerage system. The administration had to take harsh and stern actions against the violators, added the officer.
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Notice to govt after Bharti Yadav plays truant again
New Delhi, April 27 The notice was issued after the court observed that despite the NBW being issued, “neither is the witness present, nor is there any report received from the Ministries of Home and External Affairs as to what is the status of the NBW issued against the witness”. During the proceedings today, the state prosecutor placed on record a photocopy of an order dated March 7 whereby the Indian High Commission in London had revoked Bharti Yadav’s passport subsequent to communication from Delhi. The court had issued the NBW against Bharti, currently residing in London, who is a key prosecution witness in the trial and sister of prime accused Vikas Yadav, after the state moved court for the same, stating her examination was essential to dispose the case. An earlier NBW against her had been issued in July 2004, but it could not be executed as she was dropped as a prosecution witness in March 2005, a move which was set aside by Delhi High Court in October last year. According to that order, Bharti was an important and essential witness and to drop her at this stage would damage the case, and amount to failure of justice. Earlier, in April 2004, the court had refrained from issuing a bailable warrant against Bharti after her uncle submitted an undertaking to produce her in court in about a month. Vikas Yadav, son of former Rajya Sabha MP DP Yadav, his cousin Vishal, and one Sukhdev Pahalwan are facing trial on charges of having murdered business executive Nitish Katara, besides abduction and destruction of evidence. While Vikas and Sukhdev are presently in judicial custody, third accused Vishal was granted bail by the Delhi High Court on October 6, 2004. Katara was allegedly kidnapped and murdered on the intervening night of February 16-17, 2002 from Ghaziabad where he had gone to attend a marriage.
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MCD may hike tax on commercial property
New Delhi, April 27
“It is difficult to meet the target of Rs 1200 crore for property tax collection. We should discuss increasing the tax rate of commercial and industrial properties. There were more industries in Delhi in 2004. Now, there are fewer industries. It will not be proper to reduce the tax structure,” he said. Answering the questions posed by the municipal councillors for not collecting the estimated amount of property tax, he said that now the corporation should adopt new method to assess and collect property tax. Each inspector should be given a target for tax collection. Apart from this, the corporation should announce certain date to deposit the tax with terms and conditions. A proposal has been prepared for a discussion on levying tax against the properties in urban and rural villages. Earlier, the House had passed a resolution to keep them out from the tax net, he said. The Municipal Commissioner also assured to simplify the property tax forms. A BJP councillor from Shahdara objected to the Commissioner’s idea of increasing the tax rate of commercial and industrial properties. He said the MCD was not a profit-making body. Its duty was to serve the citizens of the national Capital. Another BJP councillor, Mr Vijender Gupta, asked what kind of method was to be adopted to assess and collect the property tax. The UAM was implemented two years back by the ruling party in the corporation assuring that tax collection would be improved. The MCD target was to collect Rs 1200 property tax this year. But so far, it had collected only Rs 800 crore. Leader of Opposition Subhash Arya also criticised the corporation’s functioning for not meeting the target of the property tax collection. Mr Roshan Lal Ahuja, Congress councillor, appealed to the Mayor to constitute a committee to discuss to find a way to meet the target of collecting property as this was a major source of revenue. The current pace of tax collection may affect the development work in the MCD areas.
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Fire in chemical unit, major tragedy averted
Faridabad, April 27 The local administration has announced booking of a case against certain officials of a petroleum company for not cooperating with the officials try to contain the fire. According to officials concerned, the fire broke out around 2 pm when a tanker having about 12,000 litres of a chemical was in the process of being transferred to the underground tank of the factory. The unit had been engaged in preparing paint and colour used for helmets and other similar products. The factory is located on plot number 19/6 just adjacent to Mathura Road, which is also known as National Highway 2. All employees of the chemical unit and the neighbouring factories were taken out safely before the flames could cover the premises and which threatened to destroy the buildings and property of the adjacent units. Around 25 fire engines reached the spot within an hour. Controlling the chemical-filled tanker fire parked in the factory was as important as the fire in the main factory as any blast in the tanker could have been very risky and dangerous. The place is densely populated, said a fire brigade official. Interestingly, there are about eight industrial units located on one big plot, basically meant for a single unit only. The plot had been illegally and unauthorisedly subdivided into smaller plots and this issue had been highlighted in a legal notice served on the district administration and the state government by a social activist based here. Allegedly, fire safety norms and regulations were being violated by the particular unit and a majority of the units located here. There was no regular check by the department concerned. It is alleged that there were hundreds of units that were functional in the non-conforming zones or the residential areas and it was not possible for the fire engines to reach many of these congested and densely located areas and any such incident could take a heavy toll of lives. A school has also been functioning in the vicinity of the factory where the fire incident took place today. The SDM of Ballabgarh said an inquiry would be conducted in the case.
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‘Senior citizens deserve special consideration’
New Delhi, April 27 The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Delhi chief minister Ms Sheila Dikshit, which was attended by her cabinet colleagues apart from senior officers and members of the SSCC. Addressing the meeting, Ms Dikshit said her government believed that senior citizens, having given their most active years to the society working in various capacities, now deserved special consideration by society at large and government in particular. While elaborating on her vision of the policy, she disclosed that the policy aimed at tailoring existing services and developing new ones to meet the needs of the senior citizens having regard to their individual and collective needs. It aimed to draw upon the capabilities of senior citizens also to further the betterment of society. She added the policy considered persons of 60 years and more in age as senior citizens. The policy envisaged ensuring welfare of senior citizens and improving quality of their lives. It aimed at providing assistance to enable them to cope with the problems of old age. It also proposed affirmative action by the government departments in collaboration with civil society for ensuring that the existing public services for senior citizens were made more user-friendly and sensitive to the needs of senior citizens. Ms Dikshit said the policy visualised extension of help and support for improving financial security, healthcare, social care, physical security, as well as for meeting other needs of senior citizens. It provided for active participation of senior citizens in fulfillment of initiatives envisaged in the policy for the welfare of senior citizens living in the city. It recognised the need for larger budget allocation to provide for the welfare of senior citizens in the Capital. Ms Dikshit announced that a workshop would soon be organised to facilitate various committees constituted under the council to chalk out their modalities and action plan. As per census 2001, the total population of senior citizens, both males and females, living in urban and rural areas in Delhi was 7,19,650 against a total population of 1,37,82,976. Out of these 3,66,466 (51 per cent) were males and 3,53,184 (49 per cent) females. Delhi Government had decided to establish Senior Citizens Counters in all its public dealing departments. It had also decided to widely disseminate information about the existing facilities — recreation centres, old age homes, parks and other aspects of interests to senior citizens. The government had also announced a liberal scheme of assistance for setting-up of Senior Citizens Recreation Centres with partnership between Social Welfare Department and senior citizens welfare associations/NGOs. The government would provide one time non-recurring grant of Rs 50,000 apart from monthly recurring grant of Rs 15,000 per recreation centre. Basic facilities to be provided at such centres would include library, in-door games, TV, CD player and radio, medical facilities, part time yoga services and link with nearest police station. The centre would be managed by the senior citizens welfare associations/NGOs and other registered organisations working in the field of senior citizens welfare.
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‘Congress worried about
MCD drives’
New Delhi, April 27 “The Congress is worried about the ongoing sealing and demolition drive of the MCD. We reviewed the situation in the Capital,” AICC general secretary in-charge of Delhi affairs Mr Ashok Gehlot told reporters here. Urban Development Minister Mr S Jaipal Reddy was also present during the meeting of the committee, which has Delhi chief minister Ms Shiela Dikshit, ministers Dr A K Walia and Mr Rajkumar Chouhan, AICC general secretaries Mr Janardan Dwivedi and Mr Gehlot as members. “The solution should honour the judiciary and also resolve the issue amicably,” Mr Gehlot said.
Asked about the delay in bringing in an ordinance or a Bill to stop the demolition drive, he said it would be improper to comment on the issue which would be taken up for hearing by the Supreme Court tomorrow. “The Delhi Government is concerned about the matter. I am hopeful of a solution soon,” Mr Gehlot said.
Asked about the alleged discrimination against the poor during the ongoing MCD drive, Gehlot said “whosoever it may be, everyone should be treated equally”. On the relay hunger strike by Congress MLAs against the MCD drive, he said “they are expressing their anguish about the difficulties faced by the people”.
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HC grants temporary reprieve from demolition
New Delhi, April 27 “Let the petitioners themselves demolish the unauthorised portions and comply to the sanctioned parameters within two weeks,” said the order, the first of its kin in the context of the ongoing demolition drive. In a petition, Dr Rajesh Mahajan and his wife Dr Sikha Mahajan prayed that they should be given some time to remove the illegal portions as they were unaware that the structure did not confirm to building bylaws. The court asked the couple to submit an undertaking before the court within three days that they would abide by the court order.
The executive engineer of MCD’s central zone was directed to inspect the building on May 12 and file a report before the authorities. An ‘advocate commissioner’ was also asked to visit the building on May 13 and file a report before the court. If the structure did not comply to the bylaws by May 13, the MCD would demolish the building.
Yesterday, the MCD demolished the fourth floor of the building, which was not constructed according to the plan approved by the local authorities. The builder had bought the land with an old building and after demolishing it, built four stories, flouting the building bylaws.
The Mahajans had bought the ground floor in April 2005 without verifying the facts from the MCD authorities. In another, entirely unrelated case, the High Court today expressed concern at allegations of tampering with the evidence put before the lower court hearing Congress MP Sajjan Kumar’s case. Justice B D Ahmad observed that if the allegations were found to be true, it would have serious implications on the judicial system. The court has asked for documents from the lower court to put the record straight. However, the court was informed that the documents had reached every party to the case except the office of the court.
Chhattarsingh Rachhoya, the complainant, has accused Sajjan Kumar of causing injuries and hurling abuses naming his caste. He has since been booked under SC/ST Atrocities Prevention Act. Counsel for Sajjan Kumar had submitted in court that that the complaint, key to the prosecution, had been inserted into the bunch of documents without the knowledge of the lower court by forging it. Counsel for the complainant Chhattarsingh Rachhoya had produced the copy of the complaint before the High Court.
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Member DJB demands Rs 50 lakh as bribe
New Delhi, April 27 According to the police, Subhash Phul, Member of the Delhi Jal Board, demanded Rs 50 lakh as bribe from one Vijay Kumar Kataria, a contractor of the DJB. When Vijay refused to do part with the money, he was allegedly threatened that his company would be blacklisted. The police said Vijay agreed to pay the money in instalments and the first instalment was asked to be given to Subhash’s brother Ashok Kumar in his office at Vikas Sadan, Lajpat Nagar. Meanwhile, Vijay reported the matter to the police which laid a trap. Yesterday, Vijay, along with the raiding team, reached the said office and handed over the money to Ashok Kumar and the police caught him red-handed. The police recovered Rs 8 lakh from the possession of Ashok Kumar Phul. Meanwhile, the CBI today registered a case against an Income Tax Officer (ITO) here for demanding and accepting a bribe from an insurance agent.
Durgesh Kumari, ITO, Ward No 21, was caught yesterday while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 2,500, a CBI release said today. The CBI also recovered Rs 3.46 lakh and gold jewellery weighing 290 grams from two lockers operated by Kumari at Syndicate Bank’s INA and Green Park branches in south Delhi, the release further said.
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Warrant against Dhaula Kuan rape victim
New Delhi, April 27 The counsel appearing for accused Ajit Singh Katiyar had sought that the prosecution be given ‘a last opportunity’ to present the prosecutrix, as she had failed to appear on previous occasions as well. The court also noted that summons issued to two prosecution witnesses had been returned unserved as they were not available at their last known addresses.
The IO, however, submitted that all efforts were being made to trace the two persons. According to the charges framed by the court, Katiyar, along with his three co-accused who could not be arrested, conspired to gang-rape the college student in a moving car by intoxicating her and forcing her to illicit intercourse. The accused had allegedly forced the girl, studying in Delhi University, into a car at about 2.15 a.m. on May 8, 2005, when she was walking to a ‘dhaba’ with her roommate near the Dhaula Kuan area in south-west Delhi. Katiyar, a driver with a private company, was picked up on May 13 from near the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border, and later identified by the victim in a Test Identification Parade.
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Bonded labourers freed in Rabupura
Greater Noida, April 27 The police have arrested kiln owner Ram Veer Singh and his brother Om Veer Singh. Sometimes, they used to beat up bonded labourers with hot iron rods. The labourers complained to the district administration that one of the women, Ram Watti, wife of Rati Ram, who had demanded wages, was beaten to death and her body disposed of in an unknown place. The complaints of exploitation of labourers were made earlier also, but local officials had not taken any action. The owner and his brother were also exploiting women workers sexually, the labourers alleged. The men would hide their womenfolk so that owners could not sexually assault them. Such workers were severely beaten later. Relatives of the bonded labourers had complained to the district authorities. After an inquiry, the labour department had moved in yesterday to liberate the bonded labourers in a raid and arrest the owners. Javer Deputy DM Himanshu Gautam, Deputy Labour Commissioner Roshan Lal, Labour Officers Chanderbhan and A. K. Mishra were involved in the government action and raid.
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Youth gets 7-year RI for rape
New Delhi, April 27 The girl was kidnapped on May 14, 2000 from her residence situated at Nabi Karim area by convict Manoj, who had threatened her that he would kill the victim’s father if she did not accompany him.
The convict had then taken her to a hide-out in Maidan Garhi, where he kept her captive for almost six days while repeatedly raping her. In another case, a Delhi court has sentenced a man to seven years rigorous imprisonment convicting him of forcing his wife to commit suicide by torturing her for not bringing sufficient dowry. Additional Sessions Judge Sanjay Sharma also imposed a fine of Rs 5000 on the convict Karimuddin finding him guilty of offences under sections 498-A (subjecting wife to cruelty) and 304-B (dowry death) of IPC.
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