New Delhi, January 18
The officiating Lt. Governor of Delhi, Mr A. R. Kidwai, today assured that the Master Plan for Delhi - 2021 would be finalised by the DDA tomorrow and thereafter it would be submitted to the Central government for ratification. The Central government will probably notify the Draft Master Plan before January 31.

“Planning for development of the national Capital has been taken care of while preparing the Draft Master Plan. The DDA has consulted the RWAs, civic body authorities and Delhi Government before finalising the draft. Special session of Delhi Assembly was convened to discuss the plan. Municipal corporators have also offered their suggestions on the issue,” Mr Kidwai said.

Around 70,000 objections were received by the DDA and while finalising the Master plan, all aspects would be taken care of, he claimed.

When asked about the status of unauthorised colonies, he said that all unauthorised colonies would be regularised in the Master Plan. The residents reside in colonies developed on government land might be asked to deposit some amount after approval, he added.

Referring to villages, he said that Mathur Committee was constituted to conduct a survey of ‘Lal Dora’ land. The committee report had been submitted to the Central government, he claimed.

“Big and small industries should not be established in separate industrial areas. They should be mixed in one area. This policy will encourage the trade in the Capital,” he said.

“Delhi is growing at a fast pace. New development should be made according to new norms so that the city looks beautiful. People from other states come to Delhi in large number for education or in search of jobs causing a burden on the city’s water supply, power and other civic amenities. To decongest the Capital, the authorities concerned should develop NCR and the neighbourinmg states – Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan should help in this regard,” he said.

For spreading Delhi and developing NCR, the Rapid Transport System that exists in cities like Mumbai is a must. “If Rapid Transport system is developed, residents of NCR like Meerut, Bulandshahar, Panipat, Mathura will not stay in the Capital. They will prefer to live in their home towns,” he said.

He also expressed his willingness to review the Master plan after every three or four years.

Talking on the Delhi Government’s demand that the DDA should be brought under its purview, Mr Kidwai said that its Central government’s department. “If DDA is brought under the Delhi Government, it should be extended,” he advised.

On the Municipal elections, he said that the polls would be held in the first week of April. He added that he had given instructions to the state Election Commissioner to make arrangement for the elections in time. 

New Delhi, January 18
The failure to frame timely Zonal Plan is the crux of the present problem being faced by Delhi Traders on account of sealing and as such the Draft Master Plan 2021 should be drafted in such a way that puts emphasize on need for Zonal Plans simultaneously, observed trade leaders from different parts of Delhi at a meeting here today.

Speaking at the meeting, trade leaders said, “Five elements namely Man, Nature, Structures, Network and Society coupled with physical and finance components form the basis of a sound Master Plan, but unfortunately, the proposed MPD 2021 does not have any mention of financial management which is one of the major draw back.”

They said that keeping the present scenario in mind, the parking management was the fundamental requirement of the day and if such thing happened, then most of the problems of traders would be solved to a great extent. They stressed on the need of framing of Local Area Plan of each road. The re-development scheme should be on second priority, they added.

The trade leaders further said that size of Delhi metropolis required formation of a Metropolitan Planning Commission which should be empowered to implement the Master Plan and framing and implementation of 17 Zonal Plans and 250 Local Area Plans, if really the issues were to be addressed in an effective manner.

They said that all plans must be made available on the net and people should have free access to it. They also said that location of commercial establishments in a residential area was always done prior to designing of a residential colony. The trunk infrastructure, which amounts to about 55 per cent, should be the responsibility of the government, whereas the rest of 45 per cent development should be assigned to people.

Participating in the meeting, several senior trade leaders said that policy of amalgamation should be allowed in MPD 2021 and all such establishments, which were likely to be displaced, should be given alternate space for rehabilitation. “An aerial map of Delhi must be drawn and on the basis of available space, the government should develop commercial infrastructure in Delhi. The categorisation of areas is baseless and needs to be removed.”

New Delhi, January 18
Aiming to boost its revenue collection and net tax defaulters, the MCD will make property tax collection in the Capital an online process from April one.

Though primarily aimed at public benefit, the process will also help the civic body fill its coffers as the online process would help them find defaulters, who deliberately fill the wrong categories to pay less tax.

“Besides ensuring less mistakes while filling forms, the online process will also see to it that residents do not deliberately fill the wrong categories to pay less amounts,” the MCD Assessor and Collector, Mr A K Ambasht, said.

The online form would have the categories specified and the computer would accept only those which have filled in the correct category, he said.

The new process will also require less manpower thus giving relief to the hard-pressed tax department, which has come under fire for not being able to tighten up its revenue collections.

“The preparation for launching the scheme are almost over and the system would be ready in a week, but we still have to work out the modalities for tax collections for vacant land,” Mr Ambasht said.

The civic body also plans to begin a digitised mapping plan. The corporation is working with city mapping experts as part of an initiative, which will include an integrated system for land records and property tax as well.

Faridabad, January 18
The annual Surajkund Craft Mela, being held here from February 1 to 15, may have attained the national and international fame, but it is losing its charm as far as the prices of craft items available here are concerned.

The high end rates of art and craft products in this fortnight long extravaganza may have raised the number of stall seekers, but not the buyers as expected from this kind of event.

Though the craftsmen here are provided a free boarding and lodging facility, besides not being charged any rent for putting up the stalls, but so far there has been no mechanism in place to decide the competitive prices of the products here and to ensure that the prices of items do not range too high. It is a fact that the craft products being sold from here do not attract any sales tax and the sellers are free to sell without an invoice.

“The organisers have already started making preparations to hold this event, which will be 21st in the chain held so far since it was started in 1987. However, no effort is being made to raise the number of participating craftsmen to a level where the pricing of the craft items could be brought to a competitive level and the visitors could have more choice to buy a product of their choice without paying more than the required,” claims a local resident, who has been visiting the Mela for the past 15 years.

He said most of the craft items had been more or less same as were on display during the past many years, but the rates of the products had been going up continuously. The ranges were now out of reach of common man, he added.

He added that the majority of the buyers of these products are foreigners and the rich people most of whom visit the site for the first time. He said that the number of participating craftsmen could have been increased several times in view of the available space, but the number of persons allotted stalls had been hovering around 300 for the past several years.

Though the organisers claim that majority of the participants had been state or national award winners in various categories and the participation of artistes from SAARC and other countries has brought a new attraction to the fair, it is however contended by the experts that pricing factor had been ignored. The experts say this could be checked by expanding the purview of the Mela, as there had been no tax on the sale here.

According to sources, the selection process of craftsmen is also an issue of dispute as there have been reports of alleged discrimination and favoritism.

It is alleged that due to vested interest of some of the officials concerned, a drinking water bottle (mineral), which was available not more than Rs 10 in the open market was sold for Rs 15 or 18 in the Mela premises.

“The cost of eatables and drinks had been on higher side,” said another resident. “The Mela organisers should take steps to widen its scope and provide more facilities to the visitors, which include a large number women and children,” said Ms Archana Sharma of Greenfield colony here.

She said there was no sitting facility for the visitors and the number of chairs provided in the Chaupal was very less as compared to the number of visitors thronging there. About five lakh visitors came to the Mela last year, claim the organisers.

Ghaziabad, January 18
The condition of National Highways in UP may improve soon, as the Union Surface Transport Ministry is being approached to grant a package of Rs 360 crore in this regard.

The Central government, according to sources, has already agreed to grant Rs 180 crore for the first stage of this work.

Besides, it had also approved in principal to provide an equal amount (Rs 180 crore) for the second phase, the sources said.

According to a senior officer of the state PWD, in case the Central government gives a green signal to the state government’s proposal for Rs 360 crore for the purpose, the condition of the national highways in UP, which are in a bad shape, will undergo a sea change and that, too, in a short span of time.

The state government officials are reportedly holding detailed discussions with senior officers of the Central Surface Transport Ministry for the last few days.

The PWD Suptd. Engineer of Bareilly Division, Mr I.S. Yadav said the installment of these funds was likely to be made available in the current financial year. The chief engineer of the UP state PWD, in a letter to the Divisional heads, has asked them to submit their proposals in this regard at the earliest but not later than January 30.

According to Mr Yadav, the work on the highways having single lane will be commenced first. At the same time, the roads with thin carpets and which are in a bad shape will be attended to immediately.

According to sources, among the proposals received from all over the state only those proposals will be accepted which pass the technical scrutiny and are found to be technically sound.

Among others, some roads of Dehra Dun-Saharanpur national highway will be broadened. Besides, NH-91 from Ghaziabad to Bulandshahar and NH-58 between Delhi-Meerut will also be improved. Roads in Gorakhpur, Etawa, and Jhansi Divisions would also undergo extensive improvements, the sources said.

New Delhi, January 18
A Delhi court today adjourned the hearing in the Nitish Katara murder case to February 8 for recording the testimony of Bhavana Yadav, older sister of key witness Bharti Yadav.

Additional Sessions Judge Ravinder Kaur also posted the matter for deposition of other witnesses to February 1. Bhavana Yadav’s counsel today sought more time stating that her son was ill.

Her counsel yesterday moved an application before the court seeking an early date for recording of her statement. The court had earlier fixed February 1 for recording her testimony. Besides Bhavana, Uttar Pradesh Police Sub-Inspector Anil Samania and a HDFC bank official were summoned on January 12 to record their statements on February 1 in the case.

Bharti, a key witness in the murder case, had recorded her testimony on November 29 before the court. Bharti’s brother Vikas and cousin Vishal are accused of kidnapping and murdering Nitish with whom she allegedly had an intimate relationship.

While Vikas and another accused Sukhdev Pehlwan are in jail, Vishal has been granted bail by the Delhi High Court. Nitish Katara was murdered on the night of February 16-17, 2002, in Ghaziabad, where he had gone to attend a marriage party. 

New Delhi, January 18
The Delhi High Court today directed the Delhi Police Commissioner and the Chief Secretary to file a detailed report on the number of deaths caused by road accidents during 2005-06.

It also appointed Additional Solicitor-General Gopal Subramaniam as amicus curiae to assist the court in the matter. The court took suo motu action on a report published in a newspaper on November 3, 2006, on the issue of rising number of deaths in road accidents in the Capital.

A Division Bench headed by Mr Justice Swatanter Kumar observed it had a very strong view that lane driving had to be introduced in the city. 

New Delhi, January 18
A four-day-old infant was allegedly “stolen” from Kasturba Gandhi Hospital in Central Delhi today.

According to the police, the 22-year-old mother, Soma, a resident of Gandhi Nagar in East Delhi, had gone to the bathroom early in the morning and asked an unidentified woman in the adjoining bed to look after the child.

However, when she returned after a few minutes, she found the woman and the toddler missing.

The police said a case had been registered at the Jama Masjid police station and efforts were being made to trace the child.

New Delhi, January 18
A 32-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly killing his computer professional wife in Bangalore, the Delhi Police said today.

According to the police, Mohammad Nazran, alias Ashish Malhotra, had murdered his wife Brijlata Das in front of their six-year-old daughter on January 12 at her home in Bangalore.

“Nazran was arrested from near the electric crematorium on Outer Ring Road in Delhi yesterday. He had allegedly killed his wife in front of their six-year-old daughter,” said a police official. The case is entirely based on the eyewitness version of the couple’s six-year-old daughter who told a local court in Karnataka her father stabbed Brijlata 15 times after an argument.—TNS

New Delhi, January 18
A group of ministers (GOM) will now look into the design of the half-completed police memorial at Delhi’s Chankyapuri area, which is alleged to be in inappropriately located thus blocking the view of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

“The GOM will look into the design and structure of the memorial, and will submit its report soon,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi told reporters after the meeting of the cabinet which referred it to the GOM.

Asked whether the court will decide on the matter, Mr Dasmunsi replied in the affirmative.

In July 2005, Delhi High Court had stayed the construction of the 150-foot steel structure on a suit filed by six prominent citizens of the city. 

Gurgaon, January 18
The Haryana government has constituted a Core Committee, headed by the Minister for Health, Ms Katar Devi, with the Minister for Forest and Tourism, Ms Kiran Chaudhary as its Convenor, to draw up an action plan for conducting a campaign to empower women through awareness on available avenue of Panchyati Raj institutions.

A local Congress leader, Ms Suman Dahiya, who has also been appointed on the Committee, said that units would soon be constituted at district levels in the state.

In fact, the circular announcing the appointments of the members of the Committee reads that the body has been constituted to prepare a state specific charter of demands and to draw up an action plan for conducting Panchayat Mahila Shakti Abhiyan in the state.

The scheme is of the Centre, and all the states will be undertaking the campaign to spread awareness among women on the concept of Panchyati Raj, the opportunity available to empower themselves.

Ms Dahiya claimed that the Congress government had initiated a good number of policies to empower females in the state.

She said that the proposed campaign, which has been institutionalised by the Haryana government under the directive of the Union Ministry, would a go a long way in spreading awareness among the females of their role and power.

She said though there were a lot of many Acts and policies of the Union and the state government, but the females as collectivity should also take the initiative to avail the opportunity.

New Delhi, January 18
A Washington-based research scientist has called for a dramatic change in humankind’s treatment of animals in light of new discoveries about their physical and emotional sensitivities.

In his book ‘Pleasurable Kingdom: Animals and the Nature of Feeling Good’, Jonathan Balcombe from the Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine, a non-profit organisation, has tried to establish that animals live lives like human beings and are strongly motivated to seek good things in life.

Balcombe says that his book is full of examples from scientific studies, personal observations and the experience of people.

The animal behaviour expert, who is on a three-week visit to India to lecture at 14 medical and veterinary schools, says “I think it is really important that we appreciate animals, their capacities for emotions, their perceptions and their feelings.”

Since its launch last summer, the book published by Macmillan has sold 11,000 copies across the world. The book is priced at Rs 735 in India and its paperback edition would be available in July.

New Delhi, January 18
It’s wisely said, “There is one thing in this world which is constant. That is change.” GurukulOnline, the pioneer and the leader in e-learning solutions in India, has

brought a revolutionary change in the style and concept of learning in India. Launched in 2001 by Mr Shailesh H Mehta, GurukulOnline Learning Solutions (GOLS) today has more than 150 man years of experience in e-learning.

GOLS’ offerings include specialised solutions to corporate houses in high-end strategy consulting, educational institutions and retail (B2C-students) in numerous spheres, synchronous and asynchronous learning, high-end strategy consulting and customised content development, cutting-edge web collaboration and more.

One of the finest examples of Indian leadership, President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam has himself vouched for e-learning. In his words, “e-learning is definitely a trendsetter of sorts and accepting e-learning is a way to solve the issues of literacy in India.” It, thus, takes a true leader to understand and appreciate e-learning.

Unlike distance learning, e-learning is the use of computer technology to design, deliver, select, administer, and extend learning through the Internet. It basically involves the delivery of a learning, training or education programme by electronic means, i.e. the use of a computer or electronic device to provide training, educational or learning material.

With e-learning, ample online resources are provided with no restrictions on the number of users. The rollout is instant once the courseware is ready. Sessions are recorded. Students can view them again. There are no missed sessions and no loss of continuity. Acknowledgement of query can be organised instantaneously and reply also can be organised expeditiously even when the faculty is travelling. Overall, e-learning provides a very student-centric environment.

New Delhi, January 18
The Amity Tamil Nadu Synergy Forum celebrated Pongal by organising a Pongal feast at The Central Court, India International Centre here, with traditional zeal and fervour. The forum has been regularly organising events like the Pongal feast, the Tamilian New Year’s Day, Varsha Pirappu, and classical dance performances to give a fillip to the culture and traditions of Tamil Nadu.

The forum is a conglomerate established to promote understanding and reverence for the virtues and values of Tamil Nadu. It aims to bring the people of different states closer and nearer to each other, thereby contributing to national integrity and harmony.

Continuing with the tradition, the forum welcomed the harvest season by organising a very vibrant evening, which started with the Tamilian harvest dance, “Kummi,” by a group of ladies led by Padma Shri Saroja Vaidyanathan , a world renowned Bharatanatyam dancer, and was followed by mellifluous inspiring songs portraying the exquisitely devotional religious sentiment that is nurtured in Tamil lands

While talking to the distinguished guests, Dr Ashok K. Chauhan, Founder President, Ritnand Balved Education Foundation and Chief Patron of the forum, divulged Amity, the propagator of “Unity in Diversity”, had taken up cudgels to promote the strengths of each state by establishing synergy forums for various states of the country, like the Kerala Synergy Forum, the Jammu and Kashmir Synergy Forum, the Andhra Pradesh Synergy Forum etc. A number of activities, including festivals of respective states, are organised from time to time under the aegis of these forums.

Ambassador K.V Rajan, IFS (retd), sincerely acknowledged the deep commitment of the Amity Tamil Nadu Synergy Forum in reviving Tamil culture through various brainstorming sessions and other platforms provided to Tamil people across the city to interact with each other and enjoy the festivities of their state under a common roof.

The glittering feast was attended by Tamil crème de la crème from different walks of society, including Mr M. Natrajan, Secretary, DRDO, , Mr V.S. Ramamurthy, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT (Delhi), and Homi Bhabha Chair, Nuclear Science Centre, Mr Karthikeyan, former CBI Director, Mr K. Ramalingam, Chairman, Airports Authority of India, Mr K. Raghuraman, Executive Director, Punjab National Bank, Dr Meera Ramachandran, Principal, Gargi College, Mr R. Viswanathan, IFS, Joint Secretary, MEA, Mr V. Renganatham, IPS, DCP, Delhi Police, Mr Kannan Jagadeesan, IPS, Additional DCP (Env). 

New Delhi, January 18
The Capital woke up to a warmer morning today with the minimum temperature at 7.7 degree Celsius, a notch above normal.

The minimum temperature today was two degree Celsius higher than yesterday’s, making the weather comparatively warmer than the past few days, Met Department officials said. The minimum temperature yesterday was recorded at five degree Celsius and maximum at 21.5 degree Celsius.

The sky was almost clear and train and air traffic were not affected. The flights operated on schedule with runway visibility range at 600 meters early in the morning at Indira Gandhi International Airport, airport sources said, adding that visibility improved to 1500 meters as the day progressed.

The Met Department has predicted a partly cloudy sky with the minimum temperature at nine degree Celsius.