New Delhi, December 7
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has started losing its credibility among the contractors as the trifurcation proposal gets the final nod. Feeling insecure over the payments after the trifurcation of the MCD, the contractors are losing interest in various tenders announced by the civic agency.

In the past six months, out of total 1,400 tenders called by the corporation for works relating to different parts of the city, there was no response even for a single project.

“The tenders included all big and small works that are carried out at the zonal level. Not even a single contractor showed interest in our projects as there is no clarification as to how the payment schedule will be after the trifurcation,” said Jagdish Mamgain, chairman of the Works Committee.

Mamgain said the trifurcation had created insecurity among the contractors.

Not only this, they were even willing to let their earnest money forfeited by the corporation as they did not want to complete the project.

There were around 700 to 800 such projects where contractors had surrendered the work.

“Even the contractors, who had started the projects, are now not interested in completing it as they are not sure about the payments,” he said.

This has held up the development and led to delay instead of getting them expedited in the election year.

The cash-strapped MCD is already reeling under pressure to make overdue payments of the contractors. According to sources, the MCD owes over Rs 600 crore to the contractors.

“This is the ending of the financial year and no collection of money is due in the remaining months. Thus, the situation is difficult in terms of payment of salaries, pensions, etc.,” he added.

He said the Delhi government was also not releasing funds for various works. “The state government has not provided the funds allocated for the construction of parking, railway under bridges (RuB), main roads, etc.

More than Rs 500 crore has already spent by the MCD but payment is yet to be received by the government.

About Rs 1,500 crore is supposed to be provided by the state and the Central governments for the schemes under various heads,” he said.

Meanwhile, the corporation has already given approval to the schemes worth Rs 56.20 crore.

These include fixing of 10,000 cement concrete benches in various parks, new building of municipal schools and construction of drains and roads.

New Delhi, December 7
Announcing a significant budget proposal ahead of Municipal Corporation of Delhi's (MCD) elections and the trifurcation of the civic agency, the municipal commissioner, KS Mehra, today suggested a hike in property tax and parking fee apart from introducing two new taxes, 'congestion' and 'conservancy' charges.

Mehra proposed a hike of three to four per cent in property tax coming under the residential category and five per cent falling under commercial areas. Parking charges have been proposed a three-time hike all across the city, which means, the parking fee of Rs 10 will be increased to Rs 30 (for 10 hours) in case of four-wheelers and for bikes Rs 7 will be elevated to Rs 20 (for 3 hours). For parking beyond 10 hours, the fee will be doubled.

Proposing of budget of over Rs 6,800 crore for the next financial year 2012-2013, the commissioner estimated 22 per cent increase in the revenue.

"Our revenue has increased to Rs 5,601 crore in the current FY 2011-12 from Rs 4,426 crore in the last FY 2010-11. This is an increase of Rs 1,175 crore of 26.5 per cent. Next FY 2012-13, the revenue will increase to Rs 6,829 crore which is an increase of Rs 1,228 crore or 22 per cent," said Mehra.

Next, in the list of taxes that have been raised to significant levels, are the street charges increased by more than 100 per cent. For the purchase of a car up to Rs 4 lakh, the street charges have been hiked to Rs 5,000 from Rs 2,000, for cars ranging between Rs 4 lakh and Rs 10 lakh, the charges have been increased to Rs 12,000 from Rs 4,000 and above Rs 10 lakh, a total of Rs 20,000 have been proposed which were earlier Rs 4,000.

"This has been done to promote the use of public transport system," said Mehra.

The commissioner also added two new taxes for the first time, 'congestion' and 'conservancy' charges. Traffic congestion charges will be levied at only certain commercial areas with an aim to decongest the roads. This includes Rs 50 per day per entry for bikes and scooters, while it is Rs 150 for cars, auto, tempo and taxis. The congested areas include Jama Masjid, Daryaganj, Sadar Bazar, Chawdi Bazar, Paharganj and Karol Bagh.

Another new tax in the form of 'conservancy' charges includes Rs 5,000 as sanitation tax that will be levied for organising langar, bhandara, procession, public meetings, weddings or any other public functions.

Mehra said that the new taxation proposal will lead to additional revenue of Rs 520 crore during the financial year 2012-2013. This includes Rs 40 crore from increased parking charges, Rs 180 crore from augmented street parking charges, Rs 50 crore from congestion charges, Rs 100 crore from conservancy charges, and Rs 150 crore from the hiked property tax.

After drawing a blank in tackling the problem of congestion on the Delhi roads, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has come up with a new tax in the form of 'congestion' charges which will initially be levied in commercial areas like Pahargunj and Karol Bagh.

The municipal commissioner, KS Mehra, said that the proposal is still in the process of finalization and the complete details will be disclosed later. "This is being imposed to promote the use of public transport like Metro and buses. We will notify the roads where these charges will be applicable," said Mehra, after announcing the budget proposal for the next financial year 2012-2013.

However, the residents of the area will be exempted from the tax. "Residents and property owners of that particular area will be exempted and given passes. Charges would be applicable to those who bring their vehicles into these areas from 8 am to 9 pm," Mehra said.

The BJP-ruled MCD expects additional revenue of Rs 50 crore through the congestion charges.

The second tax has been proposed to be imposed in the form of conservancy charges. It will be levied from the organizers of public functions, meetings, rallies, processions, langars, weddings, etc at any public place.

"We have seen that people generate a lot of garbage at public places after packing up their programme. Therefore, a charge of Rs 5,000 per booking has been proposed as conservancy charges on functions so that the area is cleaned properly afterwards," said Mehra.

A sum of Rs 100 crore is what the civic body expects to collect through conservancy charges of Rs 5,000.

The chairman, Standing Committee, Yogender Chandolia, said no additional taxes will be imposed. "We would not let any extra charges to be levied on the people of the city. We have increased our revenue by 26.5 per cent this year and that too without increasing any taxes," said Chandolia.

New Delhi, December 7
Ever since the semester exams for undergraduate courses have begun at Delhi University, uproar over mistakes in the question papers just doesn’t seem to end. Till now, almost 10 papers have been identified with mistakes. Many minor and major changes had to be made at the last minute, much to the discomfort of the students.

After last year, the Environmental Science paper ran into trouble again. Science students were supposed to take this qualifying paper exam in semester-II. However, the administration could not arrange the process and it was shifted to this semester. The date-sheet listed it for December 5. Some colleges told the students that it would not take place, however just days before the exam, several colleges decided to hold the exam.

“No classes were ever held for this paper and they never got instructions on it, some references (names of the books) were given to them. It is only after the announcement of the date-sheet that students started finding out whether this exam will take place,” said Abha Dev Habib, Physics Faculty, Miranda House.

Similarly, in the Computer Science paper of BSc programme, there were a number of errors reported. Students in several colleges, including Dayal Singh, kept waiting for the invigilators to call upon their teacher for 15 to 20 minutes. With a lot of confusion prevailing about some questions, students ended up losing valuable time during exam hours.

Though there were no misprints, the mistakes were much more serious. There were questions from portions that haven’t been touched in class.

There were marking problems and many other detailed errors that left the students wondering. “At last, the subject teachers had to assure students that the doubtful questions will be taken care of. But this isn’t the way to conduct a university-level exam,” said an invigilator on duty at Dayal Singh.

Qualifying papers like Hindi (language) have also reported discrepancies. Papers like history, psychology, sociology, maths and accounts have reportedly had changes just minutes before the exam hour began.

“While papers like sociology and psychology had minute typing errors and other technical problems, the other papers had significant change in their marking schemes,” said another teacher on invigilation duty at Miranda House.

On three occasions, circulars from the Delhi University administration have changed the duration of the exam paper.

“The biggest mistake was the English Reading on Gandhian Principles which was added very late. A 20 mark question paper was added, 45 minutes into the exam hour. By then some students had already left the hall. The teachers decided that adding the question would now be unfair so it was agreed upon to settle the difference in marking scheme,” said Vineeta Chandra, senior faculty member, Ramjas College.

New Delhi, December 7
A steady stream of chirping fills the air in the city’s zoo these days, where two of the three ponds have been taken over by the migratory painted storks. More than 1,000 chicks have been born this season in the nearly 300 nests built by these beautiful birds.

A long yellow beak with a white body and strokes of cherry-blossom pink on their wings give the birds their name. Painted storks are large wading birds, distributed widely in Asia.

“Although there was average rainfall in the capital this year, a high birth rate has been recorded by these painted storks, which mostly come from Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir for food, as the rivers there are frozen and they cannot have their food. The chicks only take 16 weeks to become adults,” zoo curator Riaz Khan told IANS.

Perched atop the trees, the adults keep a close watch as the young ones try to fly and join them on the branches, mostly without success.

Khan said out of three ponds and one lake in the zoo, two ponds are filled with painted storks and some rosy pelicans.

According to Delhi zoo officials, the yellow-beaked painted storks usually reach Delhi by mid-August. This year about 700 storks came in and built around 300 nests. Each nest has four to five chicks, which means about 1,500 storks will fly back by March.

Another reason for the increased number in the zoo is the deteriorating environment of the Bharatpur bird sanctuary in Rajasthan and Sultanpur in Haryana, say zoo officials.

“The Delhi zoo is Asia’s best colony of painted storks as it provides them with food and good nesting environment. The birds flying to Bharatpur and Sultanpur flock to the zoo as they do not have adequate water or proper environment for nesting,” Khan said.

Apart from fish, the birds feed on small frogs, insects and algae — all of which require plentiful rain.

“With an average rainfall this monsoon, there are no fish in the pond, so we are providing them 60 kg of 2x4 inch fish per day. Each bird consumes around 300 gm of fish. Apart from this, the painted storks also eat insects and algae from the lake. They are voracious eaters. They love filtering and eating algae from the pond waters,” Khan added.

However, this might be insufficient as more migratory birds would arrive by the end of December.

Apart from painted storks, the white ibis, night heron, tailor bird, green pigeon, blue-throated crystal and spot billed duck are some of the winter visitors that come here from hilly regions like Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir in search of food.

Spread over an area of 240 acres, the Delhi zoo houses over 1,000 varieties of mammals, reptiles and avian species. It is also home to many endangered species in India.

The leopard cat, Indian rhinoceros, hippopotamus, blackbuck, Indian gazelle and lion-tailed macaque are some of the animals living here. — IANS

New Delhi, December 7
The making of Delhi is the focus of two major art expositions to be held in the capital over the next few days.

A cultural exposition “Dastan-e-Dilli” will commemorate 100 years of Delhi being the national Capital with an exhibition “Timeless Delhi” on December 14.

Delhi was declared the national Capital on December 12, 1911, by King George V when he visited the country to commemorate his coronation as the British emperor of India.

The exhibition, which will open in Azad Bhavan gallery, Indian Council for Cultural Relation, will showcase the evolution of the capital from historic Indraprastha around 1,200 BC to a vibrant 21st century metropolis through photographs, art, lithographic prints by painters of the British East India Company and accompanying texts from the pages of history.

Delhi is a city that bridges two different worlds.

While old Delhi, the traditional capital of India through several dynasties, is made of narrow alleys, medieval mosques and old family mansions, the new imperial city of Delhi created by the British Raj is composed of spacious tree-lined avenues and imposing government buildings, the ICCR said in a statement.

“Legend has it that the Pandavas founded the city around 1,200 BC. It was named Indraprastha. The city of Delhi was built around seven cities with the foremost among them being Shahajahanabad, Tughlaqabad, Mehrauli and Ferozabad,” the statement said.

Delhi is spread over an area of approximately 1,483 sq km and is located 216 m above the sea level.

Another exhibition “Celebrating 100 Years of Delhi”, opening on Friday at Surajkund, will evoke nostalgic memories and represents the cultural heritage of the city.

On display will be a collection of 15 intaglio prints of the beautiful historical heritage sites in Delhi, “Virasat” by Dattaraya Apte, and 21 pen and ink drawings on Old Delhi’s havelis, gates, bazars, gardens and educational institutions by Vikram Kalra.

Kalra has researched and documented the capital and its landscape over a period of 12 years.

The exhibition will also display works themed on the making of Delhi by artists Alka Raghuvanshi, Aruna Vasudev, Bikash Poddar, Kana Lomror, Ruchi Singhal and Tejinder Kanda, who have made Delhi their home. — IANS

New Delhi, December 7
The BJP today announced that it would launch a signature campaign against the FDI. Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said in a meeting of the Delhi unit of the BJP today that if foreign companies are allowed to start their retail trade in India, the economic and social system of the country will collapse. The farmers, youth, women and traders of the unorganized sector will be rendered unemployed.

The shops will be of foreign companies and the goods also of foreign origin, the Indian people will just become consumers and salesmen.

The entire profit will be taken out of the country by the foreign companies.

He said that the multinational companies have been eyeing retail trade in India for decades.

When the NDA was in power under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, these companies had pressurized the government for permission to start retail trade in India.

The Congress MPs and leaders raised slogans at that time inside and outside Parliament that “the decision to allow FDI in retail will be anti-national”.

Now the UPA government led by the Congress has opened the doors for foreign companies without taking the country into confidence. If the government encourages foreign investment in infrastructure sector, the BJP will welcome the move, Jaitley said.

New Delhi, December 7
A 32-year-old Iraqi woman had been living a crippled life until last month when at a Delhi’s private hospital she underwent multiple joint replacement surgeries of hip and elbow, a rare thing to be performed at such an early age.

In November, she came to India with a history of multiple joint pains in hips, elbows, wrists and fingers for which she underwent four joint replacements in the past three weeks, including hip and elbow replacements, which is rarely done in India, maintained doctors at Apollo Hospital where she is currently undergoing treatment.

While she has started walking with a frame and has been on physiotherapy sessions since then to better joints mobility, she is still to go for surgeries for her wrists, fingers and knees.

“Her multiple joint involvements were due to juvenile chronic arthritis, which is equivalent to rheumatoid arthritis in adults. It is a very uncommon disease of young patients, which if not diagnosed and treated on time leads to severe disability,” said Dr Raju Vaishya, who is a senior joint replacement surgeon at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital.

Prior to the surgeries, the patient said, “Immense pain and disability has stressed me for the past four years. My deformities have not allowed me to sit, walk or even sleep on my back and my life has become very difficult.”

According to Dr Vaishya, multiple major joint replacement surgery in a patient is rarely done and that too in a young person.

“It is a challenge to replace both the hips in a single stage due to complexities and requires huge surgical experience. Patients affected with juvenile chronic arthritis having disability of multiple major joints, can only improve by joint replacement surgery. It may give a new lease of life to them,” he added.

While concerns remain due to the fact that more youngsters are reporting with joint problems, India as a medical tourism destination is gaining with the market for orthopedic implants (knee and hip) growing at an annual rate of over 30 per cent.