New Delhi, July 10
The Union government has allocated Rs 4653.19 crore to the Delhi Police for the current financial year with the emphasis being on the development of traffic infrastructure in the national Capital, even as the funds for the women safety schemes remain the same.

The budgetary allocation to the Delhi Police for the present financial year is a high increase from its revised budget of Rs 4259.20 crore for 2013-14.

Moving into the specifics of the total budget of Rs 4653.19 crore for the Delhi Police, the Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, has allocated Rs 11.50 crore for the installation of traffic signals in Delhi. This is a high increase from the revised budget of the previous financial year, which was only Rs 3.46 crore for the installation of traffic signals.

For the development of a "traffic and communication network" in the cities of the National Capital Region and a "model traffic system", the government has allocated Rs 11.37 crore, as compared to Rs 7.51 crore, which was the revised budget for 2013-14.

The budget for the upgradation of the training facilities in the Delhi Police has also been increased. The Finance Minister in his Budget proposals has allocated Rs 4 crore for this purpose for the current financial year. For 2013-14, the revised budget for upgrading the training of the Delhi Police was Rs 3.49 crore.

On the other hand, the budget allocation for the induction of the latest technology in the Delhi Police has been reduced. The government has allocated Rs 0.44 crore for the induction of new technology, as compared to Rs 0.78 crore which was the revised budget for this purpose for 2013-14.

The budget allocation for the schemes for the safety of women is Rs 2 crore for the current financial year. It is the same as the revised budget of the last financial year.

The government has allocated Rs 123.90 crore for the construction of residential accommodation for the Delhi Police. This is a sharp increase from the revised budget of Rs 70 crore for the previous financial year.

For the construction of buildings for the Delhi Police, the government has allocated a budget of Rs 253.38 crore for the current financial year, as compared to Rs 172 crore, which was the 2013-14 revised budget for this purpose. 

New Delhi, July 10
Terming the General Budget 2014-15 presented by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley a holistic one, BJP Delhi president Satish Upadhyay said that this is the foundation of good days ahead. The effects of the provisions made in this budget will be felt in the next decade.

Upadhyay said that this is the first occasion when the budget has taken care of the needs of both the urban and rural areas. While the middle class and the poor will feel happy with, the industrialists have also welcomed it. Effort has been made to give due respect to the young entrepreneurs, defence forces and the women in this Budget.

He said the Budget has shown sensitivity towards the youth and the poor by creating Young Entrepreneurs Fund of Rs 10,000 crore and housing fund of Rs 4,000 crore for the urban poor as envisaged by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Finance Minister has also taken care of the women's security by establishing a security fund. Creation of Rehabilitation Fund of Rs 5,000 crore for Kashmiri Pandits and fund for war memorial indicate the commitment of the government towards society, he said.

Upadhyay said that raising the exemption limit of income tax from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 2.50 lakh will provide 25 per cent relief in the income tax and it will benefit the lower middle class. This relief will also help those families in which both the husband and wife are working.

A provision of Rs 500 crore has been made in this Budget to curb inflation which will help control the prices of essential commodities. With an FDI up to 49 per cent in the housing, defence equipment and housing sector, the home loan will become easily available, the Delhi BJP president said.

New Delhi, July 10
Delhi Congress today termed the Union Budget 'directionless and anti-people' and said that it would provide neither any relief to the poor or the middle-class, nor has it made any provision for taking concrete steps to end unemployment.

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Arvinder Singh said that the government has made no provision to contain price rise, and the budget was a total letdown for the people of Delhi.

"The Union Budget is totally directionless and anti-people. Delhi's people have been misled on the power and water issues, and the budget has made no provision for the development of Delhi," Singh said.

The DPCC chief also said that implementation of this budget will push up the prices of coal, and as a direct consequence, the prices of all the essential commodities will go up, and the power tariff will also increase.

"The continuation of a scheme like the NREGA, started by the UPA government, has established that the BJP-led government has accepted the scheme, and the criticism mounted by the BJP against the UPA government before the elections was simply to mislead the people," the Congress leader added.

Singh further said that the government has not taken any strong steps to consolidate the financial position of the country, adding that this budget was totally anti-poor.

New Delhi, July 10
The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has made a policy to sanction building plans in 46 refugee colonies in the city with a facility for citizens to apply online for the approval.

Land and Development Organisation (L&DO) has allotted flats on lease in these refugees colonies after the Independence from year 1955 to 1965. These flats were constructed on 107 to 120 yards and have ground and first floor.

"L&DO has started the procedure to freehold these flats. There were regular demands from citizens to sanction building plans. Representatives from all the three corporations have taken up this demand to Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiya Naydu and with his approval we are implementing this policy," said Leader of the House in SDMC, Subhash Arya.

He said that if the first floor and second floor are occupied by different families, with mutual understanding, their building plan will be passed. Under this policy, property owners can construct five floors, including parking, in these colonies.

There are almost 15,000 flats of this type in different refugee colonies of Delhi. These colonies are mainly in Ramesh Nagar, Patel Nagar, Tilak Nagar, Lajpat Nagar and Jungpura.

New Delhi, July 10
In an effort to make the national Capital safer for women, Lt Governor Najeeb Jung today directed the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) to conduct a safety audit to identify safe and unsafe areas for setting up girls' schools in their districts.

"Each DC has been asked to conduct a safety audit of space within their districts to identify safe and unsafe areas for women and girls along with remedial measures to be adopted to ensure their safety and security," said an official from the LG house.

Jung asked the DCs to identify a location in their district where a new girls' school can be started in the coming year.

He also asked them to specifically pay attention to the cleanliness and hygiene aspects, especially related to mid-day meals being served in schools.

These directions were given at a review meeting held yesterday in which Jung also stressed upon improving the health care facilities offered to children.

Government hospitals and dispensaries were asked to stock emergency medicines and any shortage should be brought to the notice of Secretary (Health) immediately, he said.

He also directed that gram sabha land and other land should be made free from encroachment and should be used for establishing schools and healthcare facilities. "This land is to be made available to the Departments of Health and Education," Jung said.

The DCs have been further instructed to monitor the healthcare centres and schools in their districts closely and send detailed reports of the same to Departments of Education and Health, with a copy to the LG, officials said.

Jung told the Chief Secretary to draw up a roster for the visit of secretaries to the government hospitals for closer monitoring of their functioning.

He also instructed the DCs to keep a close watch on the movement and prices of vegetables, fruits and pulses in their districts.

New Delhi, July 10
Taking suo motu cognisance of media reports that 22 students of a government school were taken ill after allegedly consuming mid-day meal, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) today issued a notice to the Delhi government and sought a report on the matter.

The NHRC has issued a notice to the Delhi Chief Secretary, calling for a detailed report within four weeks. It has also asked the DCP (East Delhi) to submit an action taken report in the matter, the Commission said in a statement.

The notice was issued after the Commission took suo motu cognizance of media reports that 22 students, aged between 7 and 14 years, of Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Patparganj, East Delhi, had fallen ill after consuming mid-day meal.

"Reportedly the students had claimed to have found a dead rat in the food. The students were admitted to Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital in Khichripur. The food was supplied by Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Dalit Uthan Evam Shiksha Samiti. Allegedly, it had been blacklisted earlier but was again given the contract to supply the food," the statement said.

The media also reported that incidents of mid-day meal poisoning had happened earlier also in some of Delhi schools on July 26, 31 and November 8, 2013, respectively.

The Commission said the contents of the press report, if true, raise a serious issue of violation of human rights.

New Delhi, July 10
The two-day annual Delhi Mango Festival will begin on July 11 at Dilli Haat in Pitampura. The 26th Mango Festival, organised by the Delhi Tourism department, will remain open from 12 noon to 9 pm, according to an official statement.

It will see participation of renowned cultivators from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana and Uttarakhand. The Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) of Delhi and National Horticulture Board of Gurgaon will also participate in the festival.

Large varieties of mangoes ranging from Dussehri, Langra, Chausa, Rataul, Husnara, Ramkela, Alphonso, Kesar, Safeda, Fazli, Tota Pari, Jahangir, Neelashwari, Himasagar, Kensington, Amrapali Neelam, Bangan Palli to Bombay Green will be on display at the fest.

"The major highlights of festival include display and sale of rare as well as commercially popular mangoes, mango eating competition, mango quiz competition, etc.," according to the release. — PTI