New Delhi, February 23
The Delhi cabinet approved a threefold hike in salary and perks for the MLAs and ministers in its cabinet today.

As per the cabinet proposal, the hike in salary and perks is based on the grounds of price rise and hike in salaries of MPs and government employees following the Sixth Pay Commission Recommendation.

Following objection raised by the union home ministry that earlier proposal had a car loan of Rs 8 lakh without interest was not even enjoyed by the MPs, the new proposal has brought it down to Rs 4 lakh, along with interest.

The cabinet note has proposed salary of an MLA to be hiked from the current Rs 6,000 to Rs 20,000, while that of ministers to Rs 30,000 from the current Rs 10,000.

It has proposed salary of the Chief Minister to be Rs 35,000 per month. The MPs get a salary of Rs 50,000. The proposal seeks hike to be given with effect from January 1, 2009. However, the monthly take away of legislators would be much higher, as the proposalseeks substantial hike in perks. The proposal envisages a monthly house rent allowance of Rs 10,000 for an MLA, while for ministers it would be Rs 25,000 to bring them at par with bureaucrats.

Further, the cabinet note has proposed a constituency allowance of Rs 25,000 for an MLA, which for an MP is Rs 45,000. The Delhi government has recently hiked office allowance for an MLA to Rs 25,000. The legislators have also been proposed to get a stationary allowance of Rs 5,000 a month, along with Rs 2,000 for stamps.

To make MLAs more cheerful, it has also been proposed to hike their monthly conveyance allowance from the current Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000, which would be same for the ministers and the Chief Minister.

Also, it has been proposed free 20 journeys each by train and air to any destination for MLAs in a year, along with free 20,000 telephone calls per month. 

New Delhi, February 23
More than 1,500 police personnel led by several deputy commissioners of police would secure the Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium scheduled to hold its first match of the ongoing Cricket World Cup tomorrow afternoon.

Despite it being a West Indies-South Africa match, the Delhi police is not compromising on the security arrangements. "There would be no compromise on security even for non-India matches. Every match would be fully secured and any lapse would not be tolerated," said a senior police official.

As part of security checks, the Delhi police has conducted several mock drills at Kotla this month.

According to the police, private security guards have also been roped in to help the security forces and the personnel of the National Disaster Management Authority and hundreds of volunteers. "We have made all arrangements and have put in place all safety measures to avoid any untoward incident. The disaster management team is also here," the official said.

The traffic police too had made elaborate arrangements to ensure jam-free movement of vehicles. Addressing a press conference two days ago, Satyendra Garg, joint-commissioner (Traffic) had said that no parking would be allowed for general vehicles in the proximity of the stadium.

A park-and-ride facility has been created for spectators at Mata Sundari and Shanti Van parking lots.

No vehicle will be allowed to be parked on either of the carriageways of Bahadurshah Zafar Marg and Jawaharlal Nehru Marg on the days of matches. Any vehicle parked on these roads will be towed away and action will be taken as per the law. Though no diversion has been planned for Bahadurshah Zafar Marg or Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, the official said, the public is advised to avoid some roads from 12 pm to 3.30 pm and 9.30 pm to 11.30 pm.

The stretches are Rajghat to JN Marg, JN Marg from Kamla Market to Raj Ghat, Asaf Ali Road from Turkman Gate to Delhi Gate and Bahadurshah Zafar Marg from Ram Charan Agarwal Chowk to Delhi Gate. 

New Delhi, February 23
The Delhi cabinet today gave its approval to the proposal of increasing minimum wages by 15 per cent in the city. The cabinet also decided to introduce the Delhi Value Added Tax (Amendment) Act, 2011 in the ensuing Budget session of the Legislative Assembly.

While briefing the media after a cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit along with labour minister Ramakant Goswami stated that the cabinet has decided to increase minimum rates of wages under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. The rates were last revised in February 2010. The new rates will be applicable from February 1, 2011, to all the 29 scheduled employments notified by the city government.

Goswami stated that minimum wages of unskilled worker have been hiked from Rs 203 to Rs 234 per day that come out to be Rs 6,084 per month. The wages in respect of semi-skilled worker have been increased from Rs 225 to Rs 259 which mean Rs 6,734 per month.

The wages in respect of skilled worker have been increased from Rs 248 to Rs 285 increasing the monthly wages from Rs 6,448 to Rs 7,410.

"The cabinet has approved 15 per cent hike in the existing minimum wages. The city government is committed to providing relief to low-paid workers. Hence, it has been decided to compensate workers due to inflation," said Dikshit.

She said that the government has also decided to match the timing of hike with the Union government.

"The city government has been revising the wages in February and August whereas the Union government has been taking such decision in April and October. With matching the timing of hike with the Union government, the city government will be making another hike in April this year," she said.

The wages in respect of clerical and non-technical supervisory staff have also been increased. Non-matriculates will get Rs 259 per day instead of Rs 225. The wages in respect of matriculates have been increased from Rs 248 per day to Rs 285. The wages in respect of graduates and above have been increased from Rs 270 per day to Rs 310.

Apart from that, the cabinet has recommended revision in allowances of MLAs and ministers of Delhi government. The proposal will be submitted to the Union government for consideration. 

New Delhi, February 23
Welcoming the newly granted minority status of Jamia Milia Islamia today, the teachers association of the university said it would help the university retain its unique identity without affecting the secular character of the institution.

In accordance with the ruling of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI), Jamia has now become the first Central University to be accorded the minority status and would now be able to reserve 50 per cent of its seats for the Muslim candidates.

Interacting with the media, the teachers seemed to have a divided opinion on the possibility of implementing the policy in the coming session. While some were not very hopeful, Jamia Teachers Association (JTA) joint secretary Badshah Alam looked more optimistic.

"The prospectus of the university has not been issued yet, so there is a possibility of the policy being inducted from this session itself. Although, it would take, at least, a couple of years before it take its full shape," he said.

The association further informed that as of now, further details would be decided tomorrow in the emergency meeting called in by Vice Chancellor Najeeb Jung with the academic and the executive council to discuss the issue.

Speaking to the media, president of the association Prof M Rais Khan said, "Post the ruling now, a proper legal process is to be followed. The university's two apex bodies, the academic and executive councils will most likely adopt the NCMEI ruling in tomorrow's meeting and then forward it to the ministry of human resource development to be included in an ordinance."

Reiterating that the new ruling will not change the secular spirit of the institution, Khan added, "The ruling will not bring about any extra ordinary change as a particular type of quota will replace another. Fifty per cent of the seats will still be open for the general category as earlier. The university currently has 25 per cent seats reserved for internal students in all courses, and the other 25 per cent for the SC/ST and physically challenged students. The status of minority institution will give Jamia the liberty to do away with the SC/ST quota."

However, some were worried also as they said it was important to keep the internal quota also intact. "We went to the NCMEI when the case of 27 per cent OBC quota came up because that would have taken away the rationale of Jamia's establishment. However, the university will have to undergo many legal processes to see how the Muslim quota and the internal quota are included in the set up," said Prof Rizwan, secretary of the association.

The Vice Chancellor also maintained that though no significant changes would come about on ground, the policy would put a greater onus on the institution to preserve its secular character.

"The Muslims already constitute 50 per cent of its students, so the ruling will not change anything as far as that configuration is concerned. Now, we will only be able to ensure that this continues, but little will change on the ground and ours has always been a secular institution in spirit, ever since it was established in 1920," he said.

New Delhi, February 23
With confusion compounding over the fate of the Rs 1.55 crore additional funds announced by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for councillors this fiscal year, the civic body today said they could get development work of up to Rs 50 lakh without going through the tedious tender process.

With the MCD elections just a year away, the move is expected to give an opportunity to corporators to get local-level works implemented in their areas at a faster pace.

The House meeting of the MCD saw uproar over the issue after the opposition Congress councillors said the Engineering Department had not started taking up work orders, as the additional funds had not been released.

As Congress members raised slogans, the meeting was adjourned for some time. Later, when it re-assembled, additional commissioner (engineering) Anshu Prakash said councillors could get development work of up to Rs 50 lakh, done under the unit rate method (URM) this fiscal year.

Under the URM, a unit rate is fixed for doing any development work and it can be awarded to a suitable agency without going through the complete tender process.

The MCD had passed its revised budget for 2010-11 making the provision for additional Rs 1.55 crore funds and had said the councillors could book their work orders by March 31.

Earlier too, the Opposition had expressed apprehension that though the money had been promised, it would be impossible to release it within this fiscal year. MCD Standing Committee chairman Yogender Chandolia, however, said the money could be booked after the budget was passed and the funds could even be released over a period of several months.

The MCD's ambitious plan to provide Rs 1.55 crore more to all councillors this fiscal year for development works is also facing another hurdle. Municipal contractors have decided that they will not take up new works as the civic body is yet to clear over Rs 700 crore in dues.

The cash-strapped civic body has been struggling to clear payment to the contractors and they have gone on the agitational path several times in the last few months. While MCD Works Committee chairman Jagdish Mamgain said at least some of the payments would be cleared as soon as possible, Chandolia said they could also seek help of other back-up contractors.

New Delhi, February 23
Targeting illegal constructions, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) today demolished unauthorised portions of seven properties and sealed one unit in north-west Delhi.

The action was taken in Keshav Puram, Shalimar Bagh and Shakurpur JJ Colony areas of the Rohini Zone by the MCD building department with the help of the local police, officials said.

MCD has been acting tough against unauthorised constructions after a building with illegal floors collapsed in east Delhi in November last year killing 71 people. -- PTI

New Delhi, February 23
Three persons, including two Myanmar nationals, were killed in two separate accidents reported from Alipur and Anand Vihar in Delhi.

In the first incident reported around 2.30 am from GT Road bypass in Alipur, two Myanmar nationals working with a catering company were hit by an unknown vehicle. The victims identified as Van Lakuk (17) and Lakuk Vik (25) were crossing the road when the mishap happened near Tivoli grounds.

"We received a call around 2.30 am. The foreign nationals had died on the spot and bodies were taken to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital for postmortem," said a police official, adding that the victims were residing in the Hastsal area of Uttam Nagar in rented accommodation.

In the second incident reported from Aanad Vihar , a cyclist was crushed to death by a speeding car this morning. The victim has been identified as Nigam Singh (50).

"The incident took place around 9 am close to the Anand Vihar flyover. The driver of the errant vehicle was arrested from the spot while Nigam was declared brought dead at the hospital," said a police official, adding that the errant driver was under the influence of alcohol. A case under appropriate sections has been lodged against him at Anand Vihar police station. 

New Delhi, February 23
A 44-year-old man accused of cheating hundreds of people worth crores of rupees allegedly jumped to his death in Aman Vihar yesterday. Subhash Agarwal, who was out on bail in a cheating case, was found in a pool of blood outside his office around 8 am. He was living with his family in the Prem Nagar area.

Subhash was rushed to Sonia Hospital, from where he was referred to Maharaja Agarsen Hospital, but died on the way. "Preliminary investigation has revealed that it is a case of suicide. We have not recovered any suicide note but questioning friends and family has revealed that he was under depression due to the case," said a police official.

Subhas was an accused in a case of cheating around 1,000 persons to the tune of several crores of rupees and a case has been registered against him. He, along with two of his associates, ran a fake company with the name Stop Loss Commodity Pvt Ltd. They used to lure people by promising lucrative interest on investments in their company and after taking crores of rupees went underground. He was later arrested. Since February 10, Subhas was out on bail.

Greater Noida, February 23
A first year B.Tech student of an engineering college, upset by a family dispute, hanged himself from the ceiling fan of his room in Kasna here, the police said.

Vivek Patel, a student of IILM College in Knowledge Park , committed suicide in his house on Tuesday afternoon, said Rahul Kumar, circle officer-I of Greater Noida. He hailed from Jalaun district in UP and was staying with his relatives in NTPC Colony.

His uncle Avinash Patel is a faculty member in his college and was in the institute when the incident came to light. His aunt was, however, at home.

Around 12 noon, Vivek's aunt called him several times but got no response. He was in his room. When she opened his room's door to find out why he was not responding to the calls, she found him hanging from the ceiling fan.