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BSES warns against part payment of bills
IT industries in Noida relocating to South
No check on mushrooming brick kilns in Faridabad
‘Visit to Moscow a great success’
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DU streamlines admission norms by changing policy
Farmers refuse to hand over land to UPSIDC
XEN held while taking graft from contractor
Married woman raped by colleagues
Depressed over result, girl falls to death
Govt rapped for ignoring Urdu schools
Maximus starts operations in Delhi
Pleasant weather expected
to hold
Three killed in road mishaps
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BSES warns against part payment of bills
New Delhi, June 2 Cautioning its consumers against some vested interests who advocate payment of 50 per cent of their electricity bills, a BSES spokesperson said “BSES has no mandate to receive any payment if a consumer unilaterally deducts 50 per cent of the billed amount. Each and every consumer has to pay for the electricity he has consumed and as per tariff fixed by the honourable DERC”. Saying that these people’s reason – ‘Why should a honest consumer pay for power theft done by others’ — as skewed and irresponsible, the spokesman said: “The tariff is fixed after considering many parameters, including theft. We would appeal to the consumers to help us eliminate the menace of theft, more so because Delhi, despite our efforts to minimise theft, remains the country’s power theft capital”. It may be mentioned that power theft in Mumbai and many other cities is in single digit whereas it is around 35 per cent in Delhi, down from over 60 per cent in 2002. Saying that BSES is committed to minimise power theft, the spokesperson further said: “Since
privatisation in July 2002, BSES has undertaken around 37,000 anti-power theft raids and an electricity load of more than 1.9 lakh KW has been booked. BSES has also over achieved the AT and C loss reduction targets fixed by the DERC - both by minimising theft and through improvements/ modernisation of its distribution system. Since the menace of power theft is a social issue, all stakeholders should come together to jointly fight the evil. Thus BSES appeals to its honest
and paying consumers to join the crusade against power theft”. The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) is the statutory authority to determine tariff in accordance with the provisions of Electricity
Act, 2003. DERC determines the retail supply tariffs payable by consumers. DERC determines the tariff after a due process of inviting responses from the public and holding public hearings etc and taking into account all relevant factors including the reduction in the loss levels. This practice is followed by other State Electricity Regulatory Commissions also. The retail tariff is determined for an entire licensed area of a licensee and not parts of it. All consumers in a licensed area will have to pay the same tariff charge. The distribution companies have to recover the electricity charges as per the retail tariff fixed by the DERC in terms of the Electricity Act and DERC regulations in force. Therefore, the right forum for taking up any matter relating
to tariff charges is the DERC, the BSES said in a statement. |
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IT industries in Noida relocating to South
Noida, June 2 There are some 700 IT units in Noida out of which 300 are large units while 400 are smaller and medium-level units. All these have earned for the country Rs 574 crore foreign exchange up to March 31 this year. The IT industry here is also giving employment to 60,000 to 80,000 workers. The
STPI, Noida, exports have crossed Rs 17,500 crore. These are quite formidable achievements in themselves. After setting up North India’s first technology park and earth station in Noida, there was no looking back. But now the main grouse of the IT industry is the state government has failed to enforce its policies in UP so far. Most of the big entrepreneurs have set up mega projects in Noida. These industrialists claim that IT industry has also given a fillip to hotel, entertainment and tourism industry in Noida. The state government had introduced the UP information technology policy in 2004. But nobody was made accountable for this policy so it was nobody’s concern to see whether the facilities promised in this policy were actually made available to entrepreneurs or not. More influential and resourceful entrepreneurs had learnt how to avail those facilities. Others left to fend for themselves had to go around offices for setting up their units. The state government had declared that it would not leave any stone unturned in providing facilities for starting IT industry units. They were promised land on priority and on concessional rates. Call centres were promised 100 per cent exemption in stamp duty and assured power supply. IT entrepreneurs felt the state government had allotted land to new entrepreneurs on a large scale in Sectors-126 to 132 along the Expressway. But even after two years of allotment, facilities like power, water supply, sewerage etc were not seen to have been provided. As against assured power supply only 10 hours power supply had been provided to all big units. Big units were allowed to have captive power plants of 5 KV each. A policy was also announced for giving 15 years’ exemption in trade tax to big units with investment of Rs 50 crore or above. An interest-free loan up to 10 per cent of turnover was also promised. Land price of 25 per cent less than the sector rate was also promised. Even excise and octroi were exempted. But now officials and government employers were exploiting these units in a big way. Another main grouse of the owners of IT units was that their representatives were not invited for the Udyog Bandhu meetings. No state-level officer came to inquire about their problems. The main problem, they said, was the all-pervasive corruption in the state at all levels. A prestigious firm like Computer Science Corporation had decided to put up units in Hyderabad as against expanding its base in Noida. Dr Sunil Kumar Agarwal, Director, Software Technology Park, stressed the importance of single window system for tackling the problems of software industry in Noida. That would ensure that entrepreneurs were able to get their problems solved. There would not be any need to run to a number of departments where nothing ever seemed to get accomplished. |
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No check on mushrooming brick kilns in Faridabad
Faridabad, June 2 The underground water-table in the city and the district has already gone down sharply, thanks to the indiscriminate sinking of tubewells and private companies and individuals digging up land to check the water level for any purpose. “A large number of brick kilns and private tubewells in parts of the city and district where there had been low and limited resources of sweet water were an example of how the depletion of water table had been going on”, claimed an official of the Central Ground Water Board, a premier agency of the central government in the field. Adding that there had been inadequate and unsatisfactory response from the government and people regarding the need for and importance of proper use of water resources and rainwater harvesting, he said a thorough awareness drive at all levels, including the school and college level, was required. According to a survey conducted recently, the number of brick kilns registered with the district and food supply office had gone to 212. Several kilns had come up in the district after a ban was imposed by the apex court in Agra district with a view to save Taj Mahal from pollution. Interestingly, in Faridabad, which is one of the poorest districts in Haryana, as far as sweet water resources is concerned, a majority of brick kilns have been set up in the eastern belt adjoining the Yamuna river. Almost 65 to 70 per cent of underground water in the district was brackish. Reports from many villages where the brick kilns had been functional for years indicated a clear-cut rise in respiratory diseases, including asthma and tuberculosis (TB). According to experts, the use of chemical and toxic wastes in the heating process resulted in poisonous fumes which mixed up in the air around. Hardly any guidelines or pollution control methods were in use or enforced by the authorities concerned. “The pollution in and around the brick kilns had adversely affected the growth of plants, crops and even vegetables”, claimed Virender, a resident of Dayalpur village of Ballabgarh subdivision. He said dozens of brick kilns had appeared in the area in the past few years. Though they were rewarding to the land owner, they could bring miseries in future due to acute pollution and damage to agriculture. A former panchayat samiti member from Bhukharpur village of the subdivision claimed that the panchayat or residents of the village had no say in setting up of any such venture. Demanding a ban on brick kilns in the area, he said they could sound the death knell in the coming years for poor and unaware rural people. Fast depletion of water-table due to indiscriminate use of water for brick kilns had resulted in the failure of hundreds of irrigational tubewells in Ballabgarh subdivision, claimed Subhash Dagar, a resident of Sagarpur village. |
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‘Visit to Moscow a great success’
New Delhi, June 2 With Chief Minister, Ms Sheila Dikshit, having signed an agreement with the government of Moscow, the two countries are aiming to strengthen and develop mutually beneficial bilateral relations. Consequently, both sides have agreed to take proactive steps towards development of co-operation in the areas of healthcare, water supply, recycling of used water, city transport, education, culture, tourism, social security, women and youth affairs and IT. Both the national Capital and Moscow have also expressed willingness to organise exchange programmes for teachers and school children and explore possibilities for organising children’s games. It was also agreed that the ‘Days of Moscow in Delhi’ would be organised in year 2007-08 in the run up to the year of Russia in India. Delhi Chief Minister, Ms Sheila Dikshit, who headed a seven-member official delegation to Moscow to represent the city at ‘The Days of Delhi in Moscow’ described the visit as “great success”. |
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DU streamlines admission norms by changing policy
New Delhi, June 2 The University of Delhi, in an attempt to streamline the admission process, has become more stringent with the rules. Earlier, students who registered themselves in a college but failed to complete the admission formalities, were allowed to seek admission in the next academic session. This year, however, the university has directed all colleges to refrain from following this practice. Now students who fail to take admission will no longer be eligible for admission in the next session on the basis of their registration alone. The move is to ensure that seats in the university, which receives an astounding number of application forms, do not go waste. “The seats, which were earmarked for the registered candidates would invariably go waste. They would turn up in the following academic session and seek admission on the basis of this registration number, which deprived many deserving candidates of a seat,” said a senior university official. He added that “Many students for various reasons do not take admissions even if they get the course and college of their choice, but because of them many students are left out. This is why we have insisted on colleges becoming stricter”. Taking note of the rush for the too-few seats in colleges, the university has now decided to cancel the registration numbers of those students who fail to take admission and bar them from applying in any college in the future. |
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Farmers refuse to hand over land to UPSIDC
Greater Noida, June 2 The farmers say the UPSIDC will not pay them compensation at the rates at which the Greater Noida Authority pays them. Neither will the UPSIDC undertake development work in the villages. They will, therefore, give their land to the GNIDA. With farmers’ stiff attitude, the fate of the Ambuja and Grasim cement project seems to be hanging in balance. The UPSIDC had planned to acquire land in Manakpur village for the Ambuja cement plant and the Grasim plant in Ranauli Latifpur village. Land compensation at the rate of
Rs 245 per sq yd had been paid to the farmers. Besides, the UPSIDC has also sent another proposal to the government to acquire land in Bapura and Chithola villages. But villagers have clearly stated that they will not hand over their land to the UPSIDC. The farmers say the Greater Noida Authority develops villages on priority basis. They prefer to give their land to the Greater Noida Authority. |
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XEN held while taking graft from contractor
Gurgaon, June 2 The Superintendent of Police, State Vigilance Bureau, Gurgaon Range, Mr Rajbir Deswal, informed that a contractor, Usman, a resident of Malab village in Nuh, complained to the bureau that XEN Sunil Kumar Malhotra was demanding Rs 5000 from him for issuing the water pipelines to be laid by the contractor at Meoli village. Today, as Usman gave him Rs 5000 in the Public Health Department office in Nuh in the evening, the vigilance team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Om Prakash raided the office and found Rs 5000 from the XEN’s possession. He was arrested immediately and would be produced in court tomorrow, informed Mr Deswal. The Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Nuh, Mr Rakesh Yadav, acted as the duty magistrate in the raid. |
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Married woman raped by colleagues
Gurgaon, June 2 Her husband, who is a three-wheeler driver, usually comes home late at night. On the complaint of the woman, the police lodged the FIR against three persons and arrested them from their residences at Rajiv Nagar. The victim and the three accused worked in the same garment factory at Udyog Vihar here, informed the officer.—OC |
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Depressed over result, girl falls to death
Gurgaon, June 2
She reportedly got compartment in Maths. Monika, daughter of Subedar Dayanand Sehrawat, a resident of Delhi Cantonment, reached Ridgewood Estate apartments, DLF City, here and went to the top floor in a lift. She fell to her death in the afternoon. She died on the spot. Senior Superintendent of Police Hanif Qureshi informed that she had written a suicide note in which she mentioned that she was going to commit suicide of her own will and no one should be held responsible for her act. She was going to commit suicide as she had got compartment, she stated in her note, added the SSP. She also mentioned her brother’s name and his phone number in the suicide note for contacting him after her death, informed the officer. |
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Govt rapped for ignoring Urdu schools
New Delhi, June 2 Citing the inadequate supply of books as one of the main causes for the poor result, the commission has noted that “Inaction on the part of Government in providing Urdu books to the students of the schools and allowing the posts of Urdu teachers to remain vacant for the last eight years amounts to deprivation and violation of the educational rights of the minorities guaranteed under Article 30 of
the Constitution”. Notices have also been issued to the principals of Zakir Hussain School, Hakim Azmal Khan Girls Memorial School, Anglo Arabic School, Fatehpuri Muslim School, Joint Secretary, Friends of Education and the Secretary, Confederation of Muslim Educational Institutions of India for assisting the Commission. The case has been posted for hearing on July 20. |
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Maximus starts operations in Delhi
New Delhi, June 2 Continuing its swing for expansion, Maximus has recently tied-up with India’s leading integrated media and entertainment company UTV as its educational partner. The tie-up aims at building a platform for facilitating definite technical education to UTV technical staff ranging from television content to post-production and from broadband to animation. With more than 600 titles under UTV operations, their animation programming is seen on channels across the world including Disney, Teletoon, France 5, ORBF, ABC Toon Disney etc.—TNS |
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Pleasant weather expected
to hold
New Delhi, June 2 After several days of sweltering heat and humidity, Delhiites woke up to showers and squall which caught morning commuters unawares and caused minor traffic snarls at several places. Delhi received 1.4 mm of rain during the day. The maximum temperature was recorded at 31.7 degree Celsius and minimum 27.7 degree celsius, the Met department said. The Met office has predicted a partly cloudy sky with more rains and thundershowers in some areas of the Capital in the next 24 hours.—TNS |
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Three killed in road mishaps
Noida, June 2 In another accident in Beel Akbarpur, a Canter (HR 63-A-0107) and Tata-407 (UP-14 B-0517) had a head-on collision. Rakesh, son of Kiranpal, resident of Bulandshahr, died on the spot while Vinod was seriously injured. The injured had been admitted to Dadri’s Navin Hospital. |
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