New Delhi, June 28
The Supreme Court today refused to stay the eviction of the jhuggi dwellers of Indira Nagar and Sanjay Nagar in Bhatti Mines area here who had sought protection in view of the Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2006 which provides for moratorium on demolitions in the Capital for a year.

A Vacation Bench of Justice A R Lakshmanan and Justice Altmas Kabir simply reiterated the court’s earlier orders passed on February 7 and May 5 this year directing the MCD to relocate thousands of people living in illegal slum clusters in the Southern Ridge (known as Bhatti Mines) to Bawana, Holambi Kalan, Savdaghevra and Dera Mandi areas here.

The main order was passed by a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Y K Sabharwal which had asked the civic agency to ensure that the evicted families were provided necessary basic amenities at the relocation sites.

The petitioners had pointed out that the residents of Nangla Manchi slum cluster near Pragati Maidan here, who were earlier ordered to be evicted, got the benefit the new law and the apex court stayed their eviction last week.

However, the Bench did not oblige them. Senior counsel Colin Gonsalves had submitted on behalf of the slum dwellers that the court should ask the agencies to ensure that the families were shifted only after basic amenities were provided at the relocation sites.

According to the earlier order, about 1,112 families are to be shifted to Bawana in four weeks while 509 families would be shifted to Holambi Kalan in eight weeks as MCD has almost completed the preparations for shifting the slums. The remaining families are be shifted to Dera Mandi.

The court had asked the MCD to insure that as far as possible one cluster should be shifted to a particular place so that families and neighbours are not separated and the social bond is maintained.

The court is seized of a PIL seeking direction to relocate slum clusters from the Southern Ridge area of the city. 

New Delhi, June 28
The Delhi High Court today stayed its order directing the police to register an FIR against two former CBI officials for allegedly attempting to “coerce” the brother of an accused into withdrawing a complaint filed against them.
A Division Bench of Justices Mukul Mudgal and S N Aggarwal, while admitting an appeal filed by the CBI against the order, directed that the order would be stayed till the appeal was disposed of.

Appearing for the CBI, Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam submitted that investigators would not be able to function if such false criminal cases and FIRs were filed, a contention which was accepted by the court while admitting the appeal.

On June 26, a single bench of Justice R C Jain, who retired the same day, had passed the order for the FIR to be registered by the Special Cell.

He was acting on a petition filed by one Vijay Agarwal, the brother of suspended Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Ashok Agarwal, who alleged that the two officials had summoned him to CBI headquarters on June 6 and 11, 2001, illegally detained him for several hours and coerced him to ask his brother to withdraw a criminal complaint filed against the two officials.

Ashok, against whom the CBI had filed a disproportionate assets case and a case of forgery, had earlier filed a complaint before a CBI judge alleging that the two officials had resorted to forgery and fraud to implicate him in the case. 

New Delhi, June 28
The MCD has blacklisted 18 NGOs receiving funds from the civic body but were found to be existing only on paper in an inquiry ordered by the Municipal Commissioner.

Eighteen NGOs out of
a total of 356 that had applied for MCD grant were found to be fake in a verification inquiry conducted on the orders of the Commissioner, Delhi Mayor Mr Farhad Suri told reporters today.

He said the MCD has blacklisted the 18 NGOs and would send their details to other civic agencies and Delhi government to prevent any repeat of such cases.

The NGOs had been receiving funds from the MCD for carrying out social works for the last few years.

“MCD received applications from 386 NGOs for grants. Thirty-one applications were rejected right at the start, while after inquiry 18 were found fake and were blacklisted,” Mr Suri said, adding that inquiry against 45 other NGOs was still pending.

The Mayor said MCD would see what action could be taken against those who indulged in bungling of funds in the name of fake NGOs. 

New Delhi, June 28
The MCD and the Delhi Metro seem to be heading for another legal tussle as the civic body today sent a legal notice to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), asking it to remove all advertisements visible from public places. It also warned of an action if the DMRC failed to do so.

An MCD official said the DMRC had been given one week’s time to remove “all illegal advertisements”, adding that “If they fail then MCD will remove those advertisements at the risk and cost of the DMRC”.

The MCD’s point of view is that all advertisements which are under the jurisdiction of MCD need the permission of Commissioner while advertisements displayed by DMRC that are visible from public places do not fulfill the criteria and thus violate the DMC Act, 1957.

While DMRC spokesman Anuj Dayal admitted to having received the legal notice, he clarified that it was the Delhi Metro Operations and Maintenance Act 2002 that was applicable on the Delhi metro.

“Under the Section 29 of the Act, the metro administration may use its premises, land, buildings, posts, bridges, structures, vehicles, rolling stock like train and other property for displaying commercial advertisement and for that purpose may erect or construct or fix hoarding, billboards, showcases and such other things for the display of posters and other publicity material,” he said.

He said the DMRC would legally examine the notice and send a reply to the MCD soon. “Besides, it is the Union Cabinet’s decision that the metro should raise money through property development and advertisement. Moreover, if we do not raise money through advertisements, passenger fares will have to be raised, ” he added.

In February too the MCD had sent a legal notice to the DMRC, demanding payment of property tax arrears of over Rs 400 crore within a month. The DMRC had contended the notice, saying that it was covered under the Indian Railway Act and thus not liable to pay any tax in aid of funds to any local authority. Later, the High Court ordered a stay in the matter.

In another controversy, the DMRC stopped construction work at the integrated station building at Inderlok following MCD’s threat to seal the premises. The MCD had in May issued a notice to Metro asking it to stop ‘illegal construction’ at the site.

Now the MCD demanded 25 per cent of the revenue generated by these advertisements, saying that if DMRC agreed to this condition then the dispute can be settled.

The MCD also said that if the civic body had to remove these advertisements then it would also recover removal charges from the DMRC as per advertisements by-laws and that instructions in this regard had already been issued to field staff concerned.

New Delhi, June 28
Describing waterlogging in the Capital’s streets following the season’s first showers yesterday as an ‘embarrassment’, Delhi Urban Development and Public Works Minister Dr A K Walia today cracked the whip and fixed the responsibility on land owning agencies for any road cutting in their area.

Blaming the various development projects being carried out in different parts of the city for interrupting the flow of water on the streets, he said PWD, MCD, NDMC and DDA would be held responsible for any cutting on roads under their jurisdiction.

“There shall be no slackness henceforth so that such incidents do not reoccur,” Dr Walia said.

No road cutting would be allowed between July 1 and September 30, the Minister said.

He had held a meeting with representatives of PWD, MCD, NDMC, Delhi Jal Board, Delhi Metro and Delhi Police late yesterday.

Dr Walia told the agencies not to shift responsibility to each other but conduct joint inspections after identifying all the sites where waterlogging occurred yesterday, and finish the work required before July 1.

Dr Walia also instructed the PWD to go in for large-scale water harvesting on all its major roads in view of the fast depleting underground water level in Delhi.

The MCD, meanwhile, accepted that there was a delay on its part to initiate the annual drive to de-silt/clean storm water drainage pipes in the Capital this season.

“I accept that there was a delay in starting the annual drive to de-silt/clean storm water drains this time,” Additional Commissioner K D Akolia said and added that there were some payment related problems and the contractors refused to begin work before it was settled.

New Delhi, June 28
Faced with complaints relating to water supply in his constituency, Delhi Assembly Speaker Prem Singh today asked the DJB chief to take immediate remedial measures.

Mr Singh called a meeting of DJB officials, including its CEO Mr Arun Mathur and RWA representatives from his constituency areas such as Madangir and Ambedkar Nagar.

He said in the meeting that DJB officials should be sensitive towards the grievances of the people and carry out their responsibilities with sincerity.

“Any lackadaisical attitude on part of the officials will not be tolerated,” he warned.

He gave instructions that adequate number of water tankers be provided to the residents of his constituency, also asking the DJB CEO to improve the sewage system in the area within a fortnight.

Earlier, Mr Singh had shot off a letter to the Chief Minister, asking her to resolve the water crisis in his constituency immediately. He has asked the Chief Minister to “tighten screws” on DJB. — TNS

New Delhi, June 28
After yesterday’s pre-monsoon showers, Delhi today witnessed a hot and humid day with the relative humidity touching 86 per cent.

The Meteorological department said the same conditions are expected to prevail over the next 24 hours.

The Met office said about 17.2 mm rains had been recorded till 8.30 a.m. today.
It predicted the arrival of monsoon as “per schedule” on June 29.

Generally cloudy sky with rains or thundershowers is forecast for the next 24 hours. The maximum temperature is expected to rise touch 35 degrees Celsius.

New Delhi, June 28
As many as 34 cases of cholera were reported in the Capital in the week ending June 23, taking the total number of cases to 503 this year.

This was stated by Delhi Health Minister Dr Yoganand Shastri after chairing a meeting on ‘Water and Vector Borne Diseases’ on Tuesday.

Senior officers from Health Department, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, New Delhi Municipal Council, Delhi Jal Board and the Railways were present in the meeting.

Out of the total, 150 cases were reported from unauthorised colonies, 86 from urbanised villages, 80 from JJ clusters and slums, 81 from regularised colonies, eight from re-settlement colonies, 73 from other states, four from areas under the Railways, six cases from NDMC and 15 cases were ‘untraced’.

The Health Minister said in the current week, 17,826 blood slides were collected and 11,133 houses were sprayed. The MCD inspected 1,69,688 houses for domestic breeding of mosquitoes out of which 682 houses were found positive for breeding. During anti-malaria operations, 675 legal notices were issued and 201 cases were launched for prosecution.

Dr Shastri said as preventive measures, 1,844 water samples were tested by MCD staff during this week out of which 42 were found unfit for human consumption. Under Joint Water Testing with Delhi Jal Board, total 1,040 samples were tested out of which 9 were found unfit.

Ghaziabad, June 28
The Sihani Gate police have arrested six criminals planning a big crime in the area after an encounter. Another four criminals were nabbed by police on the basis of information provided by them. These four used to buy the goods looted by the six.

SP City Govind Agarwal said when thefts in factories in the Sihani Gate area recently increased, the police had come to know that a gang of criminals which stole copper and steel from factories moved in a van.

The police learnt yesterday that the criminals of this gang were hiding near the Nagar Nigam godown on the Meerut road and planning a loot.

CO Atul Shrivastava surrounded the criminals with a police force from the Sihani Gate police station. Finding themselves surrounded, the bandits started firing on the cops, but the police were able to overpower them.

Those arrested included Mukh Lal, Sunny Sharma, Ram Avtar, Sunil, Shesh Nath and Riku. The police claim to have recovered some illegal weapons and the van from them.

Mukh Lal told the police that on January 5, 2001, his gang had attacked the Sihani Gate village to loot Vijay Tyagi’s car and had shot at and wounded many members of his family who opposed them. As a result, Vijay Sharma, his son Sachin Tyagi and Vijay’s mother had been killed.

The police had arrested Mukh Lal, Desh Raj, Karaundhi, Pappu Kaniya and Jabar. Pappu Kaniya carried a Rs 2500 reward on his head. This criminal has since been shot dead by the Barabanki police, the SP City said.

Recently, the gang had shot bakery owner Jugal Kishore during an attempt to loot cash. The police have arrested Tahir, Rahmat, Sanjay and Dinesh on charges of buying stolen goods from these criminals, SP City Govind Agarwal added.

Greater Noida, June 28
The Tuglaqpur police arrested one of the top 10 criminals who was extorting money from traders in the market. This criminal had been exiled from the district by Additional DM (Finance and Revenue) Rajesh Kumar Yadav a few months ago.

The police recovered one kg ganja from him. The Jarcha police also arrested one history-sheeter from the jungles of Chholus village on Sunday night and seized a revolver and ammunition from his possession.

SO Anil Somaniya said Pappu of Haldona village in Tuglaqpur was one of the top 10 criminals who had been exiled from the district. The police have orders to send him to jail after arresting him immediately on seeing him. He was seen collecting extortion money from shopkeepers in the Tugalqpur market and was arrested. Six kg ganja was seized from his person when he was frisked, the SO said.

Pappu did not hesitate to attack the cops and traders felt terrorised by him, Mr Somaniya said.

Jarcha SO Sher Bahadur Singh said a police team had arrested Sunder, alias Surinder, of Moria Chholus village who is a history-sheeter criminal of the police station. The police have seized a revolver and cartridges from him. This criminal is wanted in more than a dozen criminal cases in various police stations. Though on June 21 the district administration had exiled him from the district, he was arrested roaming here.

Ghaziabad/Noida, June 28
Livid people, frustrated by power cuts in Hapur and Garh Mukteshwar, made power staff prisoners and put padlocks on the power substations. In the presence of police officials, the power staff was made to stand in the sun for six hours.

In Phase-II, Noida, and Surajpur, too, power cuts have persisted for as many as 20 hours in a day, shutting down 700 industrial units apart from residential areas and villages. In a nutshell, this speaks of utter failure on the part of politicians and the UPPC and the frustration of the common man.

Senior officers, who rushed to the Garh Mukteshwar, suspended an assistant engineer on the spot and promised to restore normal power supply within two days. In Hapur, which was getting power supply for only four to five hours daily, hundreds of people marched to the powerhouse alongwith some Samajwadi Party leaders and raised slogans against the power station engineers and staff.

Legislative Assembly Chairman Muzmil Khan and city chief Imran Ali alleged that all UPPC officials were neck-deep in corruption who did not raise a finger without being bribed. These officials had a callous attitude while people were suffering without power, they said.

The livid people had made all UPPC employees prisoners, including SO Ajit Singh Chauhan who had brought the beleaguered power staff outside. All these people were made to stand in the sun for six hours.

In Phase-II and Surajpur, the 40 MVA transformer had tripped, plunging the area into darkness. The 20-hour power cut had brought 700 hosiery units to a grinding halt. Even in Sector 82, 93, Banghel, the GNIDA had also been deprived of power supply.

According to sources, all substations in Noida and Greater Noida had equipment which was installed 18 to 22 years ago. No wonder, the maintenance had not been properly done. While Surajpur substation is the oldest, all these have oil-less breakers. A few days ago, the 220 KV substations in Sector 20, Noida, had also tripped as its feeder no 10 had collapsed.

In Noida industrial and residential areas, too, at least four to five-hour power cuts have become a routine while in the case of rural areas it is a daily seven-hour power cut.

Gurgaon, June 28
A husband today beat his wife to death after an altercation with her over the sale of their land property.

The couple were employees of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).

The two resided in Indira Colony in the Sushant Lok area. While the husband wanted that the property should be disposed of, the wife resented this move.

According to the police, the couple had a son. While they were quarrelling, they sent the son on an errand outside the house. In the heat of the moment, the husband, Ved Prakash, attacked the wife with a bat of their son. She collapsed. She was rushed to the hospital where she was declared brought dead.

New Delhi, June 28
In order to encourage students to undertake conservation efforts and preserve the city’s heritage, the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) has devised a programme for creating awareness among them about the local history.

INTACH has been organising workshops for schoolteachers so that they can spread awareness amongst students about the heritage of the country.

For this, it has been conducting workshops in several cities of India to train teachers to teach heritage, as a subject and has also prepared special tool kit for it, a statement by INTACH said.

A syllabus on heritage education as a subject, which has been made a part of the school curriculum by the Government of India and State governments in secondary classes, has also been prepared.

Under the programme, students will be encouraged to work on projects of their choice, including activities like mapping areas of the city so as to recover social histories and changes, conducting heritage walks and organising exhibitions of photographs showing heritage properties.

The Trust will act as a catalytic agent and provide them resource material and also coordinate their activities with official agencies, if necessary. The students will be encouraged to work with physically and mentally challenged children.

So far, three colleges have planned activities connected with heritage conservation during the next year. They include Indraprastha College, Kamala Nehru College and Jesus and Mary College.

Students from these colleges will conduct groups of visually-challenged children to historic places like Humayun’s Tomb, Siri Fort, Lodhi Garden and Safdarjung’s Tomb, and INTACH hopes that more colleges will join this endeavour. 

New Delhi, June 28
The Vice Chancellor of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Mr H. P. Dikshit, demitted office today after the completion of his tenure. Prof. S C Garg, the Pro Vice Chancellor, took charge as the acting Vice Chancellor.

He is a professor of Physics and had served as the Director of School of Sciences. Prof Garg, also a researcher, was the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation (CFTC) Expert for Distance Science Learning in the University of South Pacific, Suva, Fiji. —TNS

New Delhi, June 28
Loving tributes were paid here yesterday to Bhagat Kotumal Hemrajani, President of the Sant Nirankari Mandal, who breathed his last on Friday. He was 79.

Addressing the gathering, Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj said that Bhagat Ji carried out every responsibility assigned to him in the Executive Committee of the Mandal but he never permitted administration to take an upper hand over Gurmat. He preached the spiritual message of the mission not only by word but action also. Moreover, he inspired everybody who came into his contact to imbibe the principles of truth, love and cooperation. —TNS