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Panel for free seats for poor
in all
Ban on plastic carrybags not practical, govt tells HC
Chief Secy takes stock of work in five dists
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Tihar Jail to have two primary schools
Former SP district
secretary shot dead
Now, it’s your right to get info about jailbirds too
While waiting for mantriji, kids fall unconscious
Dwarka housing society: HC orders probe into misuse of funds
Artscape
Special court at Tihar disposes of 33 cases
Three held for betting
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Panel for free seats for poor
in all pvt schools
New Delhi, May 21 Justifying the recommendation, the committee felt that such a step needed to be viewed as a long overdue systematic reform, rather than merely as a step to establish a means whereby beneficiaries of a land grant policy could fulfil their social responsibility. The committee was appointed by Shiela Dikshit government early this year on the direction of the Delhi High Court on a PIL alleging that none of the private schools enjoying public land were implementing the freeship quota. In the PIL filed by advocate Ashok Aggarwal on behalf of Social Jurists, it was alleged that over 300-odd private schools in the Capital had availed government land at throwaway prices on the promise of providing 25 per cent seats free to the children of economically weaker sections but backtracked subsequently. The panel also cautioned against any move to pool the beneficiaries of the free seats into a separate section or into afternoon shifts as sought by some of the school management since it would create inferiority complex among the poor children. As for the criteria to pick the beneficiaries, the panel suggested that the eligibility criteria for availing the freeship quota should be the possession of BPL cards, or an income certificate establishing that the annual family income is below Rs 1lakh. Another important recommendation of the committee was the suggestion to introduce lottery system for filling the freeship quota instead of picking the beneficiaries for their intelligence. It felt that the goal of providing for a freeship quota in private schools would be seriously compromised if the quota was filled by selectively choosing candidates in terms of stereotyped notions of brightness or intelligence. Noting that gender gap continued to be a major ailment in the country’s education system, the panel observed, “It will be highly appropriate to ensure that at least half the children who are admitted to private schools under the freeship quota are girls.” Allotting 50 per cent of the freeship quota to girls would reflect the government’s commitment to the Constitution which guaranteed gender equality in all spheres of life, the panel added.
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Ban on plastic carrybags not practical, govt tells HC
New Delhi, May 21 However, the government assured it was considering the possibility of making it mandatory in certain sectors which used a huge quantum of ubiquitous plastic bags everyday. In an affidavit, Mr R. T. L. D’Souza, Deputy Secretary, Department of Environment, stated that the government in order to check the indiscriminate use of the plastic bags had decided to extend the provisions of the Delhi Plastic Bag and Non-Biodegradable Garbage Act 2000 to all restaurants and eating joints with more than
50 seats, fruit and vegetable outlets of Mother Dairy, shopping malls and
liquor vends. At present, the ban on the use of non- biodegradable plastic bags was being implemented by the government at five-star hotels and hospitals with 100-bed
facilities.
According to the government, non-biodegradable bags were comparatively cheaper than biodegradable bags and as such any ban on the former would jack up the prices of carrybags here. The government’s response came in the
wake of a direction by the Delhi High Court seeking a reply as to why no serious effort had been made by it to ban non-biodegradable plastic bags despite the Act coming into force from 2000. Mr Vinod Kumar Jain of Tapas, an NGO, had earlier filed a PIL complaining that the government had failed to implement the Act, thereby causing serious environmental pollution in the national Capital.
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Chief Secy takes stock of work in five dists
Gurgaon, May 21 Officers of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Mewat, Rewari and Mahendragarh districts were called for the joint meeting. Eight Financial Commissioners and Principal Secretaries, Government of Haryana, and other department heads from the state headquarters took part in the meeting. The meeting was convened by the Chief Secretary to take stock of deveopment works in the districts. It may be recalled that a few days back Mr Prem Prashant during his meeting with officers of Gurgaon district had mentioned that the government had decided to review the development works in all the districts once a month. This would be later done once in every three months. Hence, the meeting of officers of Gurgaon Division was a followup of that announcement. Taking account of the progress of development works, Mr Prashant said that four committees had been constituted at state level to monitor the work in the districts. He reiterated that projects should be devised keeping the next 20 years in mind. The Deputy Commissioner, Gurgaon, Mr R. P. Bhardwaj, informed the Chief Secretary that the district administration was devising projects while keeping in mind the possibility of 32 lakh population by the year 2021. The visit of the Chief Secretary to the districts and divisional headquarters was with a view to expedite the ongoing developmental projects and implementation of the policies and programme of the government in a proper way. The field visits of the presiding officers of the state bureaucracy would help the government to have first hand information and feedback about the functioning of administrations in the districts. This is in keeping with the government’s larger goal of injecting transparency and sensitivity on the part of the administration in their public dealings.
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Tihar Jail to have two primary schools
New Delhi, May 21 A committee has been constituted. Headed by the Director General, Prisons, its purpose is to evolve modalities for running the primary schools on the jail premises. The four-member committee will visit the jail tomorrow and chalk out the strategy for implementing the project. “The Delhi Government has sanctioned Rs 73 lakh towards recruiting teachers and procuring stationary items for the proposed two primary schools,” Tihar Jail sources said. However, it is still not clear who would provide funds for construction of the school buildings and the committee is expected to take a decision on this. The Director General of Tihar Jail had recently submitted a proposal to the Delhi Government in this regard. The Delhi High Court had also issued a notice to the jail authorities seeking information on what programmes were being taken up for the education of the inmates. The Tihar authorities have also submitted their plan of starting schools before the court which had directed setting up a committee for proper implementation of the project. At least 30 regular teachers would be recruited in both the schools and separate buildings constructed for the purpose. The schools would look after the education of 800 adolescents and 400 women prisoners. The move has been initiated in view of the fact that nearly 50 per cent the inmate here are illiterates.
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Former SP district
secretary shot dead
Ghaziabad, May 21 Kanti Prasad Kashyap was sitting outside his house in New Vikas Nagar Colony last evening when three youths alighted from a red-coloured Maruti car. They walked over to Kashyap and pulling out a gun fired at him from close range. As the ration dealer slumped in a pool of blood, the assailants sped away in the car, all along firing in the air. The family of the critically injured Kashyap informed the Loni police who rushed him to SGTB Hospital, Delhi, where Kashyap succumbed to his injuries after some time. The police said the murder was related to a 150 sq mt disputed plot. The deceased was managing a fair price foodgrain shop in the colony itself. Till a year ago, Kashyap was a district secretary of the ruling Samajwadi Party also. The Loni police station in-charge said raids were being conducted at different places to arrest the assailants.
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Now, it’s your right to get info about jailbirds too
New Delhi, May 21 The commission directed the Director-General of Prisons to furnish within two weeks all information pertaining to the imprisonment of one Naresh Kumar Sethi as sought by appellant A. S.
Lall, a resident of the Capital’s Kirti Nagar area. Mr Lall had urged the prison authorities to provide him details of the number of times Sethi had undergone imprisonment in Tihar Central Jail besides the nature of offences for which he was jailed. However, the prison authorities refused to grant his plea on the ground that it was personal information, the disclosure of which had no relationship to any public interest and may cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual concerned. The commission, comprising Mr A. N. Tiwari and Mr M. M. Ansari, observed, “The lodgement in jail of an accused, whether on conviction by a court of law or as undertrial, cannot be classified as personal information or invasion of privacy.” It further observed, “The lodgment in jail of an accused or a convict is an information which properly belongs to the public domain and every citizen has a right to access it.” The commission rejected as “hypothetical” fears of the jail authorities that disclosure of such information of every prisoner would create an excessive and unmanageable burden of work on the staff.
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While waiting for mantriji, kids fall unconscious
Greater Noida, May 21 The minister was scheduled to arrive at 10 am but the children had been brought in tempos and matadors at about 7 in the morning. The kids were then made to undergo vigorous rehearsals for about three hours at the venue before the arrival of the VIP guest. The minister was delayed by another three hours and reached the venue only at 1 pm, forcing small kids to stand in the hot weather all the time without any refreshment or rest. As a result, a number of students had started feeling sick. At least six children collapsed due to heat and exhaustion. A group of NCC students had also been called to present a salute to the minister. While the officials were waiting in the Collectorate building for the VIP to arrive, schoolteachers and students were all made to wait in the open. Besides, no arrangements for drinking water or snacks had been made for the small kids. The District Magistrate, who said it a was a serious matter, has ordered an inquiry.
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Dwarka housing society: HC orders probe into misuse of funds
New Delhi, May 21 A Division Bench of
Mr Justice M. K. Sharma and Ms Justice Reva Khetrapal also ordered the Registrar to hold immediate elections of the new office-bearers of New Jai Bharat Society. The order was passed on
a petition filed by some members of the society through their counsel Surat Singh alleging that over Rs 1 crore had been “misappropriated” by the former office-bearers and no elections had been held to the managing committee of the society though its term had expired. “In our opinion, the
Registrar of Cooperative Societies cannot shut his eyes to such non-action on the part of the managing committee, as it is his statutory obligation to see that the elections are held regularly according to the requirements of the statute,” the Bench observed while directing the Registrar to commence the election process within two weeks.
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Tomorrow sees ‘Back to Nature’ crusader’s
gems on canvas Ravi Bhatia Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 21 Entitled “Back to Nature”, the exhibition is scheduled to be inaugurated by the former secretary of culture and senior vice president, Osian’s Connoisseurs of Art, Mr M. Vardarajan. Sibal has been highlighting the issues of environmental concern with a single-minded dedication for the last several years and has established himself as a crusader for the cause. He feels that if the current trends of cruelty to nature and unsustainable development are not checked, these could lead to deeper environmental crisis. With this exhibition, the artist tries to revive the hidden fear within all of us and make us understand the effect of our actions in and on the ecological relationship. Manuja Jain’s artwork at IHC Manuja Jain, an upcoming Delhi artist, held an exhibition of her paintings at the Open Palm Court, India Habitat Centre, from May 16 to 18. The exhibition was inaugurated by Ms Ramaa Anand , Founder Director of the Delhi Art Gallery.
French film fiesta From May 26 to July 7, the Embassy of France and Alliance Francaise de Delhi will screen seven outstanding feature films under the banner of “Women in French Cinema” on seven Fridays. The screenings will take place at the Alliance auditorium in Lodhi Estate.
Delhi darshan on ink drawings The DOD Foyer at the India Habitat Centre here is the venue of a unique exhibition titled “A Journey Through Delhi”. The exhibition comprises pen, ink and watercolour creations by artist Soumen Datta. The exhibition will remain open till May 30.
Feast for art aficionados “Parallel”, an exhibition of the recent works of artists Mini Sivakumar and Charuvi Agarwal is being held at the Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre on May 24. On May 27 and May 28, Shridharni Art Gallery here is presenting “Sounding the Depth”, on exhibition of the recent works of artist Sarla Chandra.
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Special court at Tihar disposes of 33 cases
New Delhi, May 21 The settled cases were screened by the finger print bureau of the Delhi Police to eliminate the habitual offenders. This was the 68th The courts were being held on a regular basis on the Tihar premises on the direction of the Supreme Court, he said.
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Three held for betting
New Delhi, May 21
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