New Delhi, September 5
The last day of Delhi Assembly's monsoon session today ended on a good note at least for the ministers and the MLAs. The Assembly today approved a hefty pay rise for its members. The monthly pay packet of 70 members of the Assembly who at present get Rs 42,000 a month has been raised to approximately one lakh a month, after the Delhi Legislative Assembly passed a Bill to this effect. The ministers will end up getting Rs 1.3 lakh a month. At present, they get around Rs 60,000 a month.

The Bill was introduced in the Assembly on Monday after the Union home ministry cleared the proposal. The biggest hike has come in the form of daily allowances.

The MLAs are paid Rs 500 a day when the House is in session. After the revision, the allowance has been increased to Rs 1,000 per session.

Their basic salaries have been increased from 6,000 to Rs 12,000 per month, constituency allowance to Rs 18,000 from Rs 8,000 a month, conveyance allowance to Rs 6,000 from Rs 4,000 a month, telephone allowance to 8,000 from Rs 4,000 a month and water and electricity Rs 4,000 from Rs 2,000 a month.

The revised basic salary of the seven Delhi ministers has been hiked from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000. Their travel allowance has been increased from Rs 35,000 to Rs 50,000 per year.

Unlike other states, the change in salary for Delhi MLAs has to be approved by the Union home ministry. The salary was last revised in 2007.

Since then, the state government made several attempts to gift the lawmakers a heftier pay packet without much success as the home ministry put its foot down, saying state legislators cannot be paid more salaries than the federal lawmakers.

The new Bill was prepared after the Delhi government sought details from various states about salary structure of their lawmakers and found Maharashtra and Goa pay the maximum.

The new Bill is based on the Maharashtra and Goa model.

A state government official justified the manifold hike in salaries, saying the cost of living has gone up in the city since 2007.

New Delhi, September 5
For a hospital at Dwarka that never came up, the Delhi government has already spent more than Rs 14 crore, including Rs 1.5 crore given to the consultants.

The wasteful expenditure by the department of health, Delhi government, has caused losses to the tune of Rs 14.50 crore, stated an audit report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) for the financial year 2009-2010.

According to the report, a hospital at Dwarka that was conceived 14 years ago, could not materialize even after spending Rs 14.20 crore and an avoidable expenditure of Rs 25.62 lakh.

The task of constructing a 500-bedded hospital at Dwarka was given to the Public Works Department (PWD) in 1996. However, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) purchased land for the purpose in 1997 at the cost of Rs 3.90 crore. The project could receive the administrative approval in 2004, mentioned the report.

"The project was later amended to include the provision of a medical college and thus the capacity was increased from 500 beds to 750. The health department also approved a preliminary amount of Rs 349.80 crore for the construction in 2007," said the report. Surprisingly, the work for construction of the hospital has not been awarded so far, while the department has ended up paying Rs 1.54 crore to the consultant as of January 2011.

Not only this, the department also incurred Rs 4.57 lakh on the watch and ward staff for the security of construction material.

The report says that due to revised plans from the local bodies, tenders for the project were not accepted.

"Thus the inadequate planning of the Delhi government not only resulted in blockade of Rs 14.20 crore and an avoidable expenditure of Rs 25.62 lakh, but it also depicted lackadaisical attitude of the government towards providing health facilities to the residents of Dwarka," said the report.

New Delhi, September 5
The immense fund wastage by the department of health and family welfare, Delhi government, has been revealed by an audit report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India for the year 2009-10.

The department indulged in excess purchase of surgical instruments worth Rs 75 lakh, stents for cancer patients worth Rs 14 lakh and unfruitful expenditure of Rs 57.23 lakh in the Lok Nayak Hospital.

Scrutiny of reports at Lok Nayak revealed that the hospital had purchased 27,500 non-consumable surgical instruments costing Rs 1.22 crore in March 2001.

The audit observed that 28 to 84 per cent instruments costing Rs 75 lakh had been lying unutilized even after nine years, resulting in blockade of funds which could have been put to better use.

In very strong words, the report further advises the hospital to streamline its inventory system to avoid such blockade of government money.

Further, the audit scrutiny revealed that Lok Nayak purchased 80 stents for cancer patients worth Rs 20.55 lakh in 2004. As per the delivery challan, the expiry dates of these stents were in 2007.

However, only 22 stents could be used within the expiry period. And 58 unused stents worth Rs 14.88 lakh were found lying in the store of the endoscopy department.

The hospital also purchased nine modular operation theatres at a cost of Rs 1.82 crore in March 2007 through equipment procurement cell of the Delhi government. However, even after a payment of Rs 57.23 lakh, equipment could not be installed for over two years.

"The equipment could not be installed even after two years of their receipt in casualty on the ground floor and the second floor resulting in idle investment, thereby affecting patient care services," the report read.

New Delhi, September 5
The two major power stations, Rajghat Thermal Power Station (RTPS) and Gas Turbine Power Station (GTPS) had been operating for more than 10 years without the mandatory approval of Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), according to an audit report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for the financial year 2009-2010.

The report reads that on June 30, 2004, RTPS applied for DPCC’s "consent to operate", 14 years after it was commissioned. However, the consent remained pending as RTPS had not installed an Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) to treat the station's drain water.

"As the environmental issues remained unresolved at the power station, it continued to run without statutory consent till February 8, 2010, when the station got an order from DPCC though the ETP had still not been constructed," read the CAG report.

GTPS also violated the environmental Acts when it applied for "consent to operate" in 2004, 18 years after it was commissioned in 1986. It nevertheless, received DPCC's consent in 2007.

Furthermore, the CAG report read that RTPS and GTPS had installed online monitoring systems in 1995 to record Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) levels at the former and Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) at the latter.

"However, the equipment was not functioning effectively as a result of which SPM and NOx levels were being collected manually and that too at irregular intervals at these power stations in violation of the Act and in violation of conditions for consent to operate," read the report.

The new online monitoring system of NOx emission at GTPS was expected to become operational by December 2010.

DPCC is the regulating agency that ensures the compliance of statutes enacted by the government to check pollution levels and its adverse effects on the environment.

New Delhi, September 5
The Right to Education (RTE) Act might be implemented but everything is not going smoothly with the manner in which schools across the capital are interpreting and applying it.

Experts and teachers also mention various modifications that need to be made to the act to lead to better practical execution of the act.

Teachers said students from poor families, who had been granted seats in schools due to the act, were facing numerous problems like academically, psychologically and in non-academic areas. They needed special treatment from teachers and the school administration as well as fellow students.

They need special treatment and also greater time and attention to adapt to school life and keep up with it.

Kiran Ahuja, a teacher with a MCD school in south Delhi, said, "These are clearly at a loss. We have had an on-going struggle to help them cope with school life but they simply cannot keep up with their classmates. For instance, most of the teaching in the classroom is done in English, but these children do not understand the language. We have made an attempt to give them additional lessons in Hindi and English but progress is slow. Also, many of these students simply do not have anyone to guide them at home and as a result they have to rely solely on what is done in school. And But many of them are not even able to do homework."

Ahuja said, "As teachers we try our best, but there is simply not enough time at hand to cater to the needs of these children. The school needs to organise them into a different class and not mix them with the other students till they are able to cope. Things cannot carry on as they are currently."

The principal of Springdales, Amita Mulla Wattal, said, "We have a number of children at Springdales who have come in under the RTE. The teachers have tried to help these students fit into school and special effort is being made for them. This is our first batch of these students under the RTE and we are trying to assess their needs and work out the best response that the school should make. It is true that many children are facing difficulties in adjusting in school and it's very difficult for them to cope with the pressure of academics."

Sarita Goswami, a teacher with a private school in south Delhi, said, "There are several problems with these students. They are just not being able to cope with academics and also with non-academic aspects. However, we expect that in two-three years the situation will improve. The teachers are giving them special attention but to effectively help them, you need to give them much more time. The schools have to be carefully monitored to see how the RTE is working at the ground level."

New Delhi, September 5
Though the rain brought respite from the sweltering heat to the people of Delhi, it also brought its shares of grievances like accidents, traffic jams and waterlogging today.

Several areas were waterlogged due to the heavy rain since morning. "The road outside Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College was marooned. Other roads which were waterlogged this morning are: Moolchand to Lodhi Road, Vikas Marg, Defence Colony to Lajpat Nagar. The area under the Naraina flyover was also submerged, causing a major traffic jam from Dhaula Kuan to the Naraina road," said a traffic police official.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said there had been 57 per cent excess rain this month, however, it was 20 per cent less according to the season.

The rain posed a problem at Zakhir Hussain Marg, where a tree had fallen, causing a diversion in the traffic. "Even the road from Moti Nagar to Punjabi Bagh was not spared by the rain.

"The rain has its pros and cons. Everyone gets immense relief once it rains, because the weather becomes cool. But, it also causes numerous traffic jams and waterlogging of roads. I was driving from the Naraina flyover and got stuck for almost an hour, and then reached Dhaula Kuan," said Deepak Singh.

Besides heavy traffic jams, accidents also reported from different places such as the one at the Moti Bagh flyover, which was reported last morning. The incident occurred around 3.30 am, when a Tata Safari carrying three persons rammed into the rear of a truck. The accident killed two persons, Rahul Walia and Prashant Mehta, while it injured the driver of the Tata Safari, Harpratap Gill. A case of causing death due to negligence was registered at the South Campus police station. The police said the accident happened because the Tata Safari was being driven at a high speed and due to the rain it skidded and collided with the truck.

An IMD official said the rainfall had been much more than what was usually expected this month.

The rain would continue till September 15 and then the weather will become dry, he added.

The maximum temperature recorded by the IMD today was 32. 4° C, which was two notches below average. The minimum temperature was 25.4° C, making it one notch below average. The humidity fluctuated between 97 per cent and 75 per cent.

The IMD predicted that tomorrow there would be cloudy skies with few spells of rain or thundershowers. The maximum temperature tomorrow would be 34° C and the minimum would be 25° C.

New Delhi, September 5
A fight between two drunken brothers ended in the elder one killing the younger one in the Ramesh Park area of east Delhi yesterday.

According to the police, Arshad (32) killed his brother Faizal (28) during a fight over some petty issue. Arshad has been arrested while Faizal's body has been sent to LBS Hospital for post mortem.

"Arshad and Faizal, residents of J Extension, were habitual drinkers. On Saturday night, while drinking, they had a quarrel over some money dispute following which Arshad throttled Faizal to death," said a police official.

The accused has been arrested. Their father died two years ago and their two sisters are married.

New Delhi, September 5
A 24-year-old girl, who threw acid on the face of her boyfriend after he refused to marry her in a city mall yesterday, was sent to a mental hospital for observation today.

A resident of Yamuna Vihar, Aarti attacked Vineet (27) at Cross River Mall in the Anand Vihar area of east Delhi after she concluded that he was planning to leave her.

"She was arrested and produced before the city court which sent her to the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) Mental Hospital in Shahdara for observation and asked the police to submit the report on Tuesday before sending her to judicial custody," said a police official.

The victim's condition is stable.

The incident was reported around 2 pm when Aarti and Vineet were going for a movie. According to investigators, it was a planned attack since Aarti had come with an acid bottle in her purse. She deliberately raised the topic of marriage knowing Vineet would refuse, after which they entered into an altercation.

Ghaziabad, September 5
Four students were injured, two of them critically, when a student who attempted to drive his friend's car ran over them outside a school here today.

The injured, as well as the first-time driver, were students of Vishesh Kendra Vidyalaya at Kamla Nehru Nagar.

According to the police, a Class XII student came to school in his friend's car to attend the Teachers' Day function. Afterwards, one of his friends asked him if he could drive and being allowed to do so, jumped into the driver's seat.

Being a first-time driver, he was unable to control the car after accelerating it and ran over four students, waiting for a bus outside the main gate. They were dragged almost 50 m before the vehicle hit a tree and came to a stop.

The police reached the spot after receiving an emergency call from the school office. The four students were taken to the nearby Sarvodaya Hospital where the condition of two students - Class X student Hemlata (15) and Class I student Gungun (6) - was said to be critical.

Hemlata sustained a head injury and was still unconscious. A CT scan has shown clots inside the skull. "We are watching her condition carefully. She has not gained consciousness.... that is our main concern," said Dr Manoj Jain of the hospital.

Gungun is also critical. She sustained a femur fracture and her lungs were found injured. "She might be put on life support system if the lung injuries become grave," added Dr Jain.

Hemlata's brother and Class IX student Pooran Singh (15) sustained a fracture in his left hand and nose in addition to the head injuries. His condition is also serious.

The fourth victim, Ashish Rawat, a Class VII student, sustained a fracture in his left elbow but is out of danger.

The student who brought the car has been detained, while a search is on for the student who drove the vehicle, said SP (city) JK Sahi. — IANS

New Delhi, September 5
A 25-year-old man, evading arrest in a gangrape that took place on March 10, 2010, has been arrested by the crime branch of Delhi police from the Bahadurgarh area of Haryana yesterday after a tip-off.

The accused Jaidev was instrumental in kidnapping the woman from the Najafgarh area of Delhi and then raping her along with his accomplices in the fields on the way to Rohtak.

While the other accused, including the kingpin Narender, had been arrested, Jaidev remained a fugitive all along and was working as a plumber in the Bahadurgarh area.

According to the police, one Narender of Sonepat (Haryana) hatched a conspiracy to kidnap a woman, resident of Kharkhoda (Sonepat) as she had taken money from him and some other persons of Kharkhoda. Subsequently, she absconded and shifted base to Najafgarh (Delhi).

After locating her in Najafgarh, Narender asked his accomplice Jaidev to abduct her and take her to Sonepat.

"On March 10, 2010, Jaidev along with his accomplices Kapil, Anil and Niranjan, all residents of Haryana, abducted the victim at gunpoint from the Chhawla area and bundled her into a Maruti car for going to Sonepat. On the way, Jaidev and Kapil raped her in the fields of Jharoda village, and then took her to Sonepat, where Narender also raped her and confined the victim to his house and then took her to Rohtak.

After taking her signatures on blank papers, she was released and sent to Bahadurgarh in a bus," said Ashok Chand, DCP (Crime).

New Delhi, September 5
Two Nigerian youths, identified as Sunday Chinaka Uchem and Victor Bayem, have been arrested on charges of killing a 55-year-old money-changer in the Tilak Nagar area of west Delhi on Wednesday.

The deceased Gurbachan Singh Sawhney was strangled by the accused who robbed him of around Rs 4 lakh in his office around noon. "Sunday Chinaka Uchem and Victor Bayem, both residents of Nigeria, were arrested during the last two days. Uchem was arrested from Kolkata in Paschimbanga and Beyam from the Delhi airport," said a senior police official, adding that two of their accomplices are absconding.

According to the police, four Nigerians went to Sawhney International Western Union Money Transfer office at Tilak Nagar on August 31 on the pretext of exchanging some dollars and then requested Singh to ask one of his staff members to help them buy some artificial jewellery. "Sawhney sent Pooja, one of his staffers, along with them. On reaching the nearby Nawada Metro station, they sent Pooja along with another Nigerian. The rest of them then returned to the office and broke all the CCTV cameras inside it. They strangled Sawhney and took away with them dollars and pounds worth Rs 4 lakh," said the official.

With the rise in the involvement of Nigerians in various crimes in the Capital, the Delhi police is contemplating a drive to hunt those who live in the country beyond the expiry of their visa.