New Delhi, August 22
The Vice-Chairman of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Balvinder Kumar, today announced DDA's Housing Scheme 2014 offering more than 25,000 flats across various categories while scrapping the proposed plan to reserve 80 per cent flats for the city dwellers.

He has also explained the eligibility of applicants and their categories emphasizing its policy for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS).

The new scheme offers flats ranging from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 1.2 crore across categories--EWS, LIG, MIG, HIG, Janta flats and one-room apartments. The scheme would be opened to applicants from September 1 and the last date to receive the application is October 9.

The draw of lots would preferably be taken out within 20 days of the close of the scheme, he said.

The DDA has also introduced a five-year lock-in period for ownership of the flats, to cut out the middleman and reduce the scope of speculative buying.

The registration fee for all other categories is Rs 1 lakh while it is Rs 10,000 for the EWS category. A ceiling of Rs 1 lakh of annual income has been prescribed for the EWS category.

The one-bedroom apartment flats are in Dwarka, Rohini, Narela and Siraspur areas, priced above 14 lakh onwards, depending on the location and plinth area, the Vice-Chairman said.

Out of 896 newly built flats, 512 are MIG flats and 384 Janta flats, located in Mukherjee Nagar, Narela, Rohini and Kalyan Vihar areas.

The MIG flats would range from Rs 41.30 lakh and Rs 69.90 lakh and the Janta flats--one room tenement with a kitchenette--would cost a little over Rs 10 lakh, it said.

The DDA is offering 700 flats for the EWS category, which are part of the housing complex at Swatantra Bharat Mills premises at Rohtak Road. The flats have been developed by a private builder as part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the DDA and the builder.

The EWS flats will be priced from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 11 lakh, the urban body said.

For unsuccessful applicants, the DDA would return the registration amount within 90 days of the draw of lots and for delays beyond 90 days, interest would be paid to the applicants.

The condition for the applicant is that he must not own any residential flats or plots in full or in part on leasehold or freehold in Delhi or New Delhi or Delhi Cantonment. Moreover, the residnential flat should not be in his name or in the name of his dependent children or in the name of his spouse, said the DDA.

New Delhi, August 22
In a major crackdown to detect the diversion of foodgrain meant for supplying to the poor under the Public Distribution System, Delhi government today sealed 10 Fair Price Shops (FPS) and lodged 18 FIRs against the violators.

The Department of Food and Supplies received complaints of diversion, overcharging and under delivery of specified food articles (SFAs) against some Fair Price Shop owners following which raids were conducted.

The department constituted 30 teams which raided 54 FPS during the day.

"The Department had received complaints of diversion, overcharging and under delivery of SFAs against some FPS owners.

"During the raids, diversion of foodgrain was noticed in some of the shops, while in other the deficiencies in documentation and service delivery were noticed following which 10 shops have been sealed and against which further investigations will continue. Besides this, FIRs have been lodged against 18 FPSs under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. On conviction, the defaulters face imprisonment up to a period of 7 years," said SS Yadav Commissioner (Food and Supplies).

The areas where raids were conducted include Mataila, Tilak Nagar, Tughlakabad, Sangam Vihar, Dakshinpuri, Kalkaji, Chhattarpur, Narela, Badli, Rithala, Karawal Nagar, Mustafabad, Seelampur, Okhla, Greater Kailash, Jangpura, Malviya Nagar, Patparganj, Laxmi Nagar, Jama Masjid, Matia Mahal, Ballimaran, Karol Bagh.

"There are 2400 FPS in Delhi through which specified food articles (SFAs) namely wheat, rice and sugar are supplied under the PDS to the people in Delhi.

"The supplies meant for people belonging to lower economic strata of society having annual income of less than Rs 1,00,000 per annum. The SFAs are provided at highly subsidized rates," Yadav added.--PTI 

New Delhi, August 22
Raising its pitch for immediate dismissal of Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan over the issue of shunting of Chief Vigilance Officer Sanjeev Chaturvedi from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention while pressing for a CBI probe into the whistleblower's removal.

AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal with party leader Gopal Rai addressing a press conference on the removal of Sanjeev Chaturvedi from the post of Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) of AIIMS, in New Delhi on Friday. Tribune Photo: Mukesh Aggarwal

AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal questioned the health minister's technical ground of Chaturvedi's removal from the premier institute while alleging that his removal was the fallout of the probe he initiated in corruption cases against senior IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh, Vineet Choudhry, former Deputy Director Administration in AIIMS and action he recommended against an AIIMS senior faculty, who is a doctor of Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Citing file notings from the health ministry signed by joint secretary Dr Vishwas Mehta, Kejriwal, accompanied by party colleagues Manish Sisodia, Gopal Rai, Pankaj Gupta and Dilip Pandey, argued that AIIMS doesn't fall under the list of 100 organisations for which CVC's approval is mandatory going by the 'chapter 2 of Vigilance Manual'.

The AAP chief also asked whether Dr Vardhan sought the approval of the parliamentary affairs committee, which had been critical of similar attempts to remove Chaturvedi in the past, or intimated it and if not isn't it a beach of privilege of Parliament.

"These documents nail the lie of the Union Health Minister who should be immediately be sacked or should resign for removing an honest officer....The BJP leader and MP JP Nadda who is close to Haryana Cadre IAS officer Vineet Choudhry had complained several times, but his complaints were examined and rejected,” he said.

New Delhi, August 22
A pilot of an Indigo flight had to stop the aircraft immediately before take-off at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, after a 21-year-old passenger allegedly knocked on the cockpit door and said that he wanted to speak to the pilot, starting a fight between him and the crew this afternoon, the police said.

The passenger has been identified as Rishabh Sethi, who is from Mumbai. He has been arrested.

According to the police, the Indigo aircraft started moving from the airport apron on the taxiway. "It was near the runway when the 21-year-old man knocked on the door of the cockpit and said that he wants to talk to the pilot. And he fought with the crew members. The pilot immediately stopped the plane on the taxiway," said a police officer.

The pilot informed the Air Traffic Control, who then informed the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which is responsible for the airport security. The incident took place at about 3.15 pm.

A case under the Aircraft Act has been registered against Sethi.

New Delhi, August 22
A 37-year-old property dealer was shot at by three men in an alleged road rage incident in central Delhi's Patel Nagar locality on Thursday, the police said today.

The attack has been captured in a CCTV camera, according to the police.

The victim, Vipin Rajput, a resident of West Patel Nagar Block-37, sustained a gunshot wound in his abdomen. The police said the incident took place when he was returning home from his office in West Patel Nagar Block-24 in a Hyundai Verna car.

"Vipin's wife had made a call to the police control room from the BLK Hospital. She claimed that her husband had been shot at by unidentified men," said a police officer.

At around 9.15 pm, Vipin was returning home with a friend when his car brushed past a man who was walking on the road with two others.

The three men then hurled abuses at Vipin due to which he stopped the vehicle.

"The two groups then had an argument during which one of the three men opened fire. Vipin was hit in the firing," the officer added. The three men then fled from the spot.