New Delhi, May 20
Delhiites may bear the brunt of increase in power tariff which is likely to go up by Re 1 per unit.

Delhi chief secretary Rakesh Mehta said that it might take six months for the hike to come into effect.

It would first be implemented on the national level by Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) after the cabinet's decision on the CNG tariff yesterday. At last, it would be enforced by the Delhi Regulatory Electricity Commission (DERC) in the national Capital, he said.

If the tariff is increased, it will be the second instance of hike on electricity rates after the Assembly elections when the Congress came to power in Delhi for the third time. A few months after the elections, the government had withdrawn the subsidy given to power distribution companies that had resulted in hike on the tariff for the first time.

However, union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said that power tariff would go up by about Re 1 per unit owing to the government's decision to hike gas prices last evening.

"The power tariff would go up. We have not worked out the details, but it is likely to be about Re 1 per unit," Shinde told reporters.

Yesterday, the government had raised natural gas prices by more than double.

However, it will not affect the DTC bus fare though the CNG supplied to automobiles will have to be raised by about Rs 6 per kg. The bus fare has already been increased in the national Capital, said Delhi transport minister Arvinder Singh Lively.

However, the increase in of CNG rate will affect the auto users as Delhi autorickshaw associations have threatened to go on strike if the government does not hike the auto fare.

New Delhi, May 20
There will be a joint meeting tomorrow of the finance ministers of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh and the VAT committee for bringing parity on the percentage of tax on diesel.

Delhi finance minister A.K. Walia today had a meeting with senior officers of the department to prepare a draft for the meeting, the sources said.

The VAT on diesel has been a core issue after the Delhi government hiked it from 12 per cent to 20 per cent that had made the fuel costly in Delhi in comparison to neighboring states. Consequently, the sale of diesel had come down in the city.

The petrol dealers' association today staged a silent protest with roses in front of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's residence. They threatened that all the petrol pumps would be closed on every Monday.

"If need be, we may go on an indefinite strike," said Anil Bansal, acting president of Delhi NCR Petrol Dealers Association.

The Chief Minister told the association members of the petrol dealers that she was holding talks with the finance ministers of the neighbouring states besides the VAT committee to bring parity in VAT rates.

The group has also submitted a memorandum to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in this regard.

The association members claimed that about 10,000 employees working at the city pumps were going to lose their jobs in the next two months if VAT on diesel was not reduced to 8.8 per cent immediately.

In Delhi, diesel is available at Rs 38.10 per litre while it is cheaper in Haryana and Punjab at Rs 34.22 per litre.

Both the states impose the value added tax of only 8.8 per cent.

Greater Noida, May 20
The Greater Noida Authority is keen on speeding up the process of laying Metro line between Noida and Greater Noida.

It has asked the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to send a modified detailed project report (DPR) of the corridor by May 27.

The DMRC had handed over a DPR to the Greater Noida Authority, but some important aspects were not clearly spelled out in it, it is learnt.

Besides, it could not be decided whether the track will be elevated or underground.

The DMRC was told about the issues at a meeting with the representatives of the Greater Noida Authority yesterday evening.

The officers of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and Greater Noida Authority will meet again on May 27 after the receipt of the new DPR, it is learnt.

According to sources, Metro track between Noida and Greater Noida will be laid along the Greater Noida Expressway up to Pari Chowk in Greater Noida.

The length of the track up to Pari Chowk, which is the first phase, will be 29 km. There will be 14 stations in Noida and six in Greater Noida.

A joint committee comprising officers of Noida and the Greater Noida Authority has been constituted to monitor the project.

In the second phase, Metro is expected to link Javer with Greater Noida.

Gurgaon, May 20
Union labour and employment minister Mallikarjun Kharge and Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today inaugurated a corporate-style multispeciality hospital for the workmen here. The fully air-conditioned 100-bed ESIC hospital has been developed on five acres at a cost of Rs 100 crore.

Addressing the gathering, Kharge said that it was the first ESIC hospital of its kind in the country and would soon be upgraded to a 200-bed hospital.

He disclosed that the ESIC was also implementing Panchdeep project with Wipro for comprehensive IT-enablement in all its establishments.

“Nearly 2,000 locations across the country have been networked and smart cards are being issued to all the insured persons and their families so that they can avail medical services anywhere in the country,” he asserted.

The minister further announced that the ESI Corporation was in the process of setting up 18 medical colleges and 12 post-graduate medical science and research centres across the country.

Referring to the suggestion made by Badshahpur MLA Rao Dharampal and Haryana minister for labour and employment Mahender Partap Singh, he also directed the director-general of the ESIC to provide medical help to other categories of patients in emergency cases.

Hooda assured that the government would consider giving relaxation in FAR for expansion of this ESIC hospital in Gurgaon. He said since Gurgaon was emerging as a major industrial town, such hospital was required here.

Hooda revealed that the state government had sent a proposal of opening 12 more ESIC dispensaries in Gurgaon.

“The Haryana government has started a programme worth Rs 1,500 crore to develop sound health infrastructure in the state,” he said, adding that the government had also decided to set up a health fund with a view to providing modern healthcare services to the poor. Any donation made to this fund would have relaxation in income tax.

Union minister of state for labour and employment Harish Rawat maintained that the ESIC was providing healthcare facilities to more than 5 crore people in the country.

Earlier in the day, the Haryana Chief Minister also inaugurated a library at Government PG College in Sector 9 here and announced to give Rs 5 lakh for an education block of the college.

New Delhi, May 20
Teachers of Delhi University (DU) today agreed before the Delhi High Court to declare the internal assessment marks of the students, which they had held up due to their agitation against implementation of semester system for undergraduate students.

The counsel for the Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) told Justice Sunil Gaur that the association would tomorrow appeal to all its members to release the internal assessment marks of students. "The career of the students would not be affected due to the impasse and an appeal would be issued tomorrow," the counsel said.

The court was hearing a petition filed by DU, seeking a direction restraining the agitating teachers from going on strike and holding protests.

DU vice-chancellor Deepak Pental will meet DUTA members tomorrow and look into the issues raised by them.

The DUTA had on March 15 asked teachers not to submit the internal assessment marks to the respective colleges and instead give them to their respective staff associations. The move was made in protest against the university's plan to implement semester system.

The university then approached the high court against the decision of the teachers to withhold the internal assessment marks. The petition was filed on March 18 and was first heard on May 3.

Apart from asking the court to direct DUTA to submit the internal assessment marks, DU's petition sought a permanent injunction against all DUTA activities.

The DUTA has been opposing the semester system for a long time, but matters came to a head when Pental approved the new curricula for 12 science courses at the academic council meeting last week.

New Delhi, May 20
An eight-month-old boy kidnapped from the Samaypur Badli area of outer district about a week ago has been rescued from Bihar. A 28-year-old married man has been arrested in this regard.

The accused Anil Paswan was childless and was in love with the child's mother. Paswan who lived next door to the child kidnapped the boy, Akash, on May 13 when his parents-- Rakesh and Rinki, had gone to a market leaving him in his care.

The police said that Paswan kidnapped the child not only because he was childless but had strong feelings for Rinki. He thought that after kidnapping Akash, he could convince her to marry him. "Anil and his wife wanted a child. For the last four months, he came in contact with Rinki. He was smitten with her and wanted to marry her. He hatched a plan to kidnap Akash and then convince Rinki to stay with him as his second wife," said Chhaya Sharma, DCP (outer).

According to the police, the victim couple had gone to a market and Paswan had assured them that he would take care of their son. But when they returned, they did not find Akash. They later learnt that Paswan had kidnapped their son.

"Paswan made calls at the landline phone of Rinki telling her to reach certain locations in Budh Vihar, Barwala and Badli if she wanted her child back," said Sharma. Technical surveillance of the phone pointed out that the accused was in the Khurji area of Patna.

A police team rushed to Bihar and Paswan was arrested from his in-laws' house in Breta village of Samastipur district. According to information, the police party had to face stiff resistance from the villagers when it had gone to arrest Paswan. 

New Delhi, May 20
Creating a scare inside a courtroom, an undertrial today took out an aluminum knife and kept it before the magistrate alleging that the police personnel had given it to him to attack fellow inmates at Tihar Jail.

The high drama took place in the court of metropolitan magistrate Veena Rani when undertrial Ravi Kapoor facing prosecution in several criminal cases, including the murder of TV journalist Soumya Vishwanathan and IT executive Jigisha Ghosh, was produced in connection with a matter lodged for his attempt to flee from a hospital here.

Kapoor is also facing charges under the stringent MCOCA for running an organised crime syndicate in the national Capital.

Kapoor flashed the knife after requesting the judge that he wanted to say something. He told the court that the knife was provided by the police to him to attack other inmates in the lock-up at Patiala House courts complex.

A lawyer who was present in the courtroom, on condition of anonymity, told The Tribune, “The undertrial asked the magistrate that he wanted to tell her something. On her approval, he took out the knife from his pant and kept it before the court.”

Taking note of Kapoor’s allegations, the court has directed him to file an application and passed an order seeking an explanation from the Tihar Jail superintendent.

“Tihar Jail superintendent (high risk cell) is hereby directed to file an explanation to the allegation of the accused by June 4,” Rani said.

She also directed him to ensure that the accused was not harassed in prison.

The court has ordered the seizure of the knife. It has also asked the escorting policemen and the lock-up in charge to file a written response in the matter.

The court has fixed the next date of hearing on June 4.

However, a jail officer said said, “Kapoor’s allegation that a policeman gave him the knife that too before going to the court does not make any sense…The version would have made sense if the knife was given to him while returning to Tihar Jail. The weapon could have been used as an escaping tool, risking the security of the jail officer as well as the other constables. It seems that the act was done to gain the court’s sympathy.” 

New Delhi, May 20
The central district police has arrested a father-son duo who snatched wallets and mobile phones from commuters after colliding with their vehicles yesterday evening.

Daulat (40) and his son Nitin (21) were apprehended from the Karol Bagh area after one Dilshad's complaint. Dilshad had told the police that the father-son duo had snatched his mobile phone.

DCP (central) Jaspal Singh said that Daulat intentionally came in front of Dilshad's motorcycle and pretended like he was hit by it. "As Dilshad stopped the motorcycle, Nitin took out Dilshad's mobile phone from his pocket and they vanished. Dilshad raised an alarm. Two constables who were patrolling in the area arrested Daulat and Nitin after a brief chase," said Singh. The snatched mobile phone has been seized from Nitin.

Daulat told the police that he used to come in front of slow moving two-wheelers intentionally and raised an alarm pretending like he had been hit by the vehicle, while Nitin used to take out the victim's mobile phone or cash. Singh added that Daulat was also involved in three cases of theft in the Kamla Market, DBG Road and Sadar Bazar area.