New Delhi, March 3
The Election Manifesto and the Publicity Committees, constituted by the DPCC president Ram Babu Sharma for municipal elections to be held on April 5, are consisted of known party leaders in the national Capital, except Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

When asked about the non-inclusion of the Chief Minister in the committees, the DPCC president replied “She is like my sister. Her name will be mentioned everywhere.”

The names of Municipal Councillors who are known as supporters of the Chief Minister and the Mayor of the city are also not included in the list, while the name of the Leader of the House has been included in the list.

There are 20 members in the Election Manifesto Committee: Jagdish Tytler, MP, Kapil Sibbal, Cabinet Minister, Sajjan Kumar, MP, J. P. Aggarwal, MP Dr A. K. Walia, Delhi Finance Minister, Haroon Yusuf, Delhi Power and Transport Minister, Subhash Chopra, Jai Kishan, Parvez Hashmi, Dr S. C. Vats, Ramakant Goswami, Mukesh Sharma, Vijay Singh Lochav, Anjali Rai, all MLAs, Hasan Ahmed, Ajit Singh Chadha, and Dheerender Tyagi, all vice-presidents of the DPCC, Jitender Kumar Jitu, Leader of the House, MCD, Sanjay Puri councillor and Purshottam Goel.

Jagdish Tytler has been appointed as Chairman of the committee.

The Publicity Committee has been constituted under the Chairmanship of State Urban Development Minister Ajay Maken. The committee consists of 21 members: Sandeep Dikshit, Krishna Tirath, MPs; R. K. Anand, former MP; Arwinder Singh Lovely, Mangat Ram Singhal, Raj Kumar Chauhan, Delhi Ministers; Bhisham Sharma, Zile Singh Chauhan, Surender Kumar, Shadi Ram, Anil Bhardwaj, Mahabal Mishra all MLAs; Raj Kumar Kohli, Darshna Ram Kumar Vice-Presidents of the DPCC; Mahmood Zia, Suresh Malik, General Secretaries of the DPCC, Jaikishan Sharma, Chairman, Standing Committee, MCD, Bansi Lal Mehta, J. P. Goel and Vijay Mohan.

Mr Sharma said that all issues on which basis the Congress party would contest elections would be prepared by the Election Manifesto Committee and everything would be mentioned in detail in the manifesto. He said that office of the DPCC was like a temple for the Congress workers and ticket seekers would have to deposit their application forms themselves. “If they do not deposit their forms themselves, their applications would be rejected,” he said. 

New Delhi, March 3
Smooth distribution of two of the most consumed pulses, Chana and Arhar, at 25 per cent subsidy on market price to the poor families in Delhi was found to be quite satisfactory as the stock of the pulses have reached Fair Price Shops under the Public Distribution System (PDS) in the Capital.

This was observed during a surprise check conducted to verify the distribution of subsidised pulses to the actual beneficiaries putting up in ‘Jhuggi Jhopri’ clusters and resettlement colonies and BPL families. It was also observed that smooth distribution of pulses was in progress and quality of the supply was also found to be superior. The Fair Price Shop (FPS) owners were also found to be maintaining proper record of the supply.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit along with Development Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan and Commissioner, Food and Supplies, were present during the surprise checks at number of FPS’ in Trilokpuri where FPS No. 5741, 4903 and 5314 were inspected. More surprise checks are expected during next few days to ensure distribution to the weaker sections. The actual beneficiaries reported their satisfaction and submitted certain suggestions.

The Delhi Government has been making available Chana Dal at Rs 21.35 and Arhar Dal at Rs 23.60 per kg to the BPL Antyodaya and Jhuggi Ration Cardholders (JRC). The Arhar and Chana Dal are being supplied through PDS. Four kilogram of pulses, two kilogram each Arhar and Chana, per card per month on subsidised rates are being made available. In all, 5,04,336 families are likely to be benefited which includes 3,78,947 BPL families, 57,336 AAY families and 68,053 JRC families. 

Faridabad, March 3
The Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF) is all set to get over 50 acres of land costing between Rs 75 and Rs 100 crore, free from the clutches of ‘land mafia’. It has issued notices to various individuals and bodies to either vacate this land lying on Surajkund-Badkhal Road or face action.

The MCF has also written to the police to register criminal cases against several persons or companies which occupy the land ‘illegally’.

The persons who have been served notices include certain influential political persons. It has been brought to the notice of the MCF that several acres of land belonging to village panchayats or the civic body have been used for parking of containers and private trucks for the past several months, while such an activity is banned under the various provisions of the MCF Act and the Forest Act.

It may be recalled that a petition has been pending in the Supreme Court over the development of residential and commercial buildings in the area, which is reserved for the forest only. But according to reports, hundreds of acres of land belonging to various village panchayats in the area or located within the limit of the MCF had been encroached upon by the land mafia, active for the past many years.

The price of one acre of land in the region is stated to be somewhere between Rs 1.75 crore and Rs 3 crore per acre, claimed a property dealer here.

He alleged that despite the ban on such activities, there had been a spurt in the building and construction activities in the region for the past few years, thanks to political patronage and involvement of influential persons. However, he added that hundreds of encroachments on the MCF land had been removed in the past couple of years.

The Commissioner, MCF, Mr Mahtab Singh, said that no such activity would be tolerated and a strict action would be taken against the encroachers.

He said the residents should cooperate with the MCF in tackling this problem. 

Faridabad, March 3
There is a hefty increase in both the annual plan outlay and the 11th five year plan of Haryana, finalized by the Union Planning Commission this year. While the annual Central assistance for the state has been raised from Rs 3,300 crore to Rs 5,300 crore, Haryana would get around Rs 35,000 crore for the five year plan period of 2007-12.

Stating this, a spokesperson of the Haryana government said here today that the annual and five year plan allocation was finalized between the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Mr M.S. Ahluwalia, and the state Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh, in a meeting on Friday.

He said while the Commission lauded the state government’s performance in the fiscal sector which includes revenue growth and expenditure realization, the development in the past two years is described as an example to be followed by others.

It is revealed that while the overall increase in the annual plan outlay this year (2007-08) is 61 per cent higher than that of last year, the state’s allocation for the year 2005-06 is just around Rs 2,000 crore. Thus the plan outlay is almost three times more than what it was about two years back, which itself is a kind of record.

Similarly the plan outlay which is Rs 12,000 crore for the tenth plan period (2002-07) has been raised to Rs 35,000 crore for the 11th plan period, a hefty increase of around 192 per cent. The annual outlay includes one-time additional Central assistance of Rs 80 crore for the priority projects of the state. Stating that while the highest priority would be given to the social and infrastructure development in the state in the annual plan outlay for year 2007-08 with around 46 per cent of the plan expenditure, he said the remarkable rise in the budget would help in achieving various development targets and make the state a front-runner in overall development in near future.

Announcing that the state government would spend a whopping Rs 350 crore on rural infrastructure through the marketing board and the rural development funds in the next 12 months, a sum of over Rs 2,800 crore is being used to improve the power supply system in the state.

It is reported that the Chief Minister also batted for immediate expansion of the Metro rail to Faridabad, Bahadurgarh and Sonepat towns in the NCR in the second phase expansion, on the pattern of phase II of the Delhi Metro.

It is claimed that the financial health of the state government has improved drastically in the past two years and it would be achieving several milestones in various sectors of development, including the power generation which is likely to be doubled in the next two to three years.

The spokesperson also claimed that the hike announced in the minimum wages was not only a historic step but had been instrumental and would benefit several lakh people in Haryana.

New Delhi, March 3
Beware, the staff playing games and listening to songs on computer in district courts here. If caught doing so, strict action would be initiated against them, the district judge has warned.

“It is a serious misconduct. The staff is directed not to listen to songs or music or watch/play games on the computer, failing which strict disciplinary action would be initiated against them,” the district judge said in a recent letter addressed to all the presiding officers and judges-incharge of Karkardooma, Tis Hazari, Patiala House and Rohini courts here.

The staff posted in different courts could be seen listening to songs and watching and playing games on the computer during and after the office hours, the letter said.

The district judge also asked the technical staff to remove such programmes from the computers installed in the courts.

Gurgaon, March 3
A local court today listed April 30 for personal appearance of former Deputy Prime Minister L.K.Advani in a defamation case filed against him.

The complainant in the case is Mr Abhishek Verma, son of a former Congress MP. Mr Advani is alleged to have publicly levelled charges against Mr Verma of acting as middle man in Scorpio Submarine case related to the Defence.

Mr Verma, a resident of Gurgaon, alleged that Mr Advani’s charge was baseless and defamatory. Mr Advani had failed to appear in the case before the court.—TNS

Ghaziabad, March 3
Four armed robbers, atop two motorcycles, stopped a Santro car on Jhajhar-Javer Road last night and looted cash and jewellery from the four occupants, including a newly married woman.

When the woman and a youth resisted the attempt to loot, they were shot at in which the young woman was killed on the spot. The newly-wed had reportedly come to the rescue of her brother-in-law whom the robbers were trying to shoot. He was seriously wounded.

According to information available, Harpal Singh, a resident of Kinderpur in Ferozabad, had married his daughter Suman with Ranvir Singh, son of Prem Raj Singh of Dayanand Colony, Ghaziabad on February 13, 2007.

On Thursday Suman was proceeding to her father’s house with Ajay, alias Ajju, cousin of her husband, to Bindpur. Besides, the driver

Sunder, Ram Prakash, an employee in DM’s office was also in the car which was going from Ghaziabad to Ferozabad.

S.P. Rural, Sudhir Kumar Singh said though police had undertaken a combing operation, they could not nab the culprits.

He said the car was driven via Kakode, Jhajhar Road to avoid the crowded route via Bulandshahr.

Near village Akalpur, four bandits on two bikes overtook the Santro car and blocked it. As the car came to a halt, the robbers surrounded the occupants with guns and tried to snatch the cash and jewellery. When Suman and Ajay resisted, they were shot at. Suman who was hit on the head died on the spot, while Ajay was wounded on the hand.

Somehow driver Sunder, who had slipped away, reached police post, Ranhera, and informed the cops. The police reached the spot and rushed Ajay to Yashoda Hospital, Ghaziabad.

The SP Rural said the statements of Ajay, Sunder and Ram Prakash were at variance.

However, parents of Suman have lodged a report of dowry death with the police. The police have taken Suman’s father-in-law and brother-in-law into custody.

New Delhi, March 3
It will be a hot sunny day in Delhi tomorrow on the occasion of Holi festival.

Bright sunny weather conditions continued in Delhi for the second consecutive day today, resulting in a further rise in maximum temperature to 24.2 degree Celsius. Though the maximum was still three degrees below normal, the mercury rise nevertheless brought some warmth in the air on the eve of Holi, which heralds the onset of summer.

Meanwhile, the minimum, continuing its downwards movement, dropped to 11 degree Celsius, two degrees below normal. 

New Delhi, March 3
Students from Delhi have now joined the protest against Tata’s offer to clean up the Union Carbide factory, the site of the tragic Bhopal gas disaster of 1984.

The students and youth held a demonstration and formed a human chain in front of an office of the Tata group in Connaught Place in the Capital to protest against its offer to clean the toxic wastes abandoned by the Union Carbide in Bhopal.

About 40 students from various colleges in Delhi under the banner of ‘We for Bhopal and Tarunima’, an organisation fighting against the Union Carbide, criticised Tata’s offer to clear the wastes. They said it would clear Carbide’s liabilities and enable it and its new owner Dow chemical to expand their businesses in India.

“It is the responsibility of the polluter to clean the wastes. The Tatas should first clear their wastes in different parts of the country,” said Shalini Sharma, student coordinator of the Campaign for Justice in Bhopal.

According to Suroopa Mukherjee, advisor to students-led We for Bhopal group, a government-aided clean-up retains the possibility of recovering the money from the company depending on the outcome of the ongoing case in the Madhya Pradesh High Court. “But the Tata’s offer of a charitable clean-up would make it impossible to pin liability and recover the cost from the company,” she added.

New Delhi, March 3
Delhi University has put in lace a slew of security measures to crack down on anti-social elements on the campus and its affiliated colleges during Holi.

The university in coordination with law enforcement agencies and voluntary organisations has initiated ‘internal and external’ steps to check any untoward incident, particularly harassment of women. Teaching in the university has been suspended. “Some people take advantage of Holi and indulge in hooliganism,” Registrar A K Dubey said. He said anyone who violated discipline and caused harassment would be subject to strict disciplinary action under the provisions of the university ordinances XV-B and XV-C.

New Delhi, March 3
The Delhi Metro will run on curtailed services on the occasion of Holi on Sunday.

Metro services would not be available till 2 pm tomorrow on all three lines of the DMRC from Shahdara to Rithala, Vishwavidyalaya to Central Secretariat and Indraprastha to Dwarka Sector-9, a DMRC spokesperson said.

Metro services would start at 2 pm and continue normally thereafter, the spokesperson added.

New Delhi, March 3
Holi will be celebrated in Tihar Jail here with zeal and fervour by Indian and Pakistani inmates alike.

Stalls are being put up for selling gulal (colour) and sweets to the inmates, who will also be given the special privilege of interviews (meeting) with their relatives on that day, a highly placed official in Tihar Jail said.

Women prisoners are also looking forward to celebrating the festival of colours.

High-profile inmates such as Sharda Jain, serving a sentence in the Atmaram Gupta murder case, and Pappu Yadav, facing trial in the CPI leader Chandrashekhar murder case and lodged in ward no 4 of jail no 3, are also planning to be a part of the festivities and celebrations.

Sushil Sharma, lodged in jail no 2 on death row in the Naina Sahni murder case, will also take part in the Holi celebrations.

The official said, “The Delhi High Court may have upheld the death penalty to Sushil Sharma for roasting Naina Sahani in tandoor (clay oven), but he has expressed his wish to celebrate the festival with customary colour and verve after making obeisance to Lord Shiva. Cultural programmes will also be organised on that day, but one thing that hurts the inmates the most is that they are filled with a desperate craving and longing for their homes. They will also be fed poori and sabzi,” the official added.

Noida, March 3
The G.B. Nagar district administration will come down with a heavy hand on drunkard revellers of Holi.

Those indulging in hooliganism and playing music on roads tomorrow will be booked by the police teams.

The police will be on the lookout for eve teasers. Those driving vehicles under the influence of liquor will also be rounded up. Special mobile teams of police will be touring the main residential sectors, markets, etc. Efforts will be made to ensure a peaceful Holi in rural areas also.

All liquor shops will be closed up to 3 pm on March 4.

Greater Noida, March 3
The 23rd Handicrafts Fair Spring 2007 at Expo Mart in Greater Noida culminated in trade transaction worth Rs 1,250 crore. Handicraft producers from all over the country had participated in the five-day fair spread over 80,000 sq. metre area.

Over 7500 buyers and tourists from Latin and North America, Europe, West Asia and South East Asian countries participated in the fair.

Home décor, wall mart, sofitele Lews stores, Unilever and many other international companies and brands put up their stalls at the show.

Buyers from new markets like Spain, Austria, West Asia, etc had come for the first time. Indian artisans had presented a broad spectrum of handicrafts and vast heritage of Indian culture at the expo.

The clubbing of the display from all south Indian states in an exclusive part of the fair had produced a resounding effect. Most of the foreign buyers and tourists had gone back impressed with the south Indian handicrafts.