Delhi Budget 2022: सरकार के रोजगार बजट से कितना खुश RWA एसोसिएशन?|Dilli Tak|

RWA Bhagidari Blog is now amongst the Top 50 Social Work Blogs WorldWide on the FeedSpot

We are pleased to inform that our RWA Bhagidari Blog has been added in the FeedSpot List of the Top 50 Social Work Blogs worldwide. This RWA Bhagidari blog was launched on the 25th of November 2009 and merely after 3 more months, it will complete 10 years while serving the RWA community. We will soon start sharing the sweet memories of these 10 years on the Blog.  

Launch of this blog was followed by the Launch of our RWA Bhagidari Website as well as the East Delhi RWAs Joint Front - Federation, which is now, mostly, the Talk of the Town, on various civic issues, concerning the residents. The very recent achievement of our Network was the Roll Back of the Fixed Charges of Electricity for which we had fought a battle with Delhi Government for 16 months.

Thanks to all of you for the support.

Best regards,

B S Vohra
www.RWABhagidari.com
www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.com

B S VOHRA, AUTHOR, MY REPORT, THE QUINT

Delhi sanitation workers take 20-day-long protest to Arvind Kejriwal's residence, refuse to return to work until all demands are met

Demanding basic rights, job security and better working conditions, protesting East Delhi sanitation workers on Thursday took their agitation to Delhi chief minister's official residence, after their demands went unheard for the past 20 days.

The Delhi Police strengthened the bandobast outside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence as hundreds of workers gathered there. The protesters tried to breach the police barricade and enter the chief minister's residence. However, the police managed to hold them off with mild baton charging.

Representational image. Firstpost/Naresh Sharma

The contractual workers, who clean tonnes of muck and filth produced in the national capital everyday, have been protesting for basic needs such as timely payment of wages and arrears, regularisation of workers enrolled after 1998 so that they can avail facilities like pension and healthcare benefits, and issuance of cashless medical cards as these people run the risk of contracting work hazard-related ailments.

The workers who have been on strike since 11 September, have refused to return to work until their demands are fulfilled by the corporation.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government said that it was ready to urgently release Rs 500 crore to civic bodies to facilitate payment of dues to the sanitation workers. However, both the Delhi government and the cash-strapped East Delhi Municipal Corporation remain mum on the workers primary demand: regularisation of about 3,000 contractual workers who were enrolled after 1998.

According to Hindustan Times, EDMC commissioner Ranbir Singh refused to regularise these workers citing that it will add a burden of about Rs 1,500 crore.

Residents, meanwhile, have been facing the brunt of the mess strewn on the streets of the national capital. Interestingly, all this comes at a time when the Centre was celebrating the Swachhta Pakhwara which culminated on Tuesday, on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. Angry residents even came up with a counter to the government's Swachhta hi seva campaign which was called 'Selfie with garbage'.

B S Vohra@vohrabs

@Outlookindia @firstpost @ariannahuff

SELFIE WITH GARBAGE - IT'S THE PROTEST AGAINST THE DIRTY POLITICS OF EAST DELHI #sanitationStrike #garbage #stink #Dengue #Cicicauthorities #civilsociety

https://

rwabhagidari.blogspot.com/2018/09/selfie

-with-garbage-its-protest-against.html 

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10:54 PM - Sep 29, 2018

The East Delhi residents have been asking the civic agency to make temporary arrangements to end the mess. While the areas like Laxmi Nagar have been most affected by the situation, other areas like Ghazipur and Preet Vihar are also seeing heaps of garbage on both sides of the road increasing every day, DNA  reported.

EDMC generates about 2,600 tonnes of waste every day, of which around 1,800 to 2,000 tonnes are being regularly picked up from dhalaos, Hindustan Times reported. However, the municipal body couldn't make arrangements for picking up garbage from roads.

with thanks: First Post: Link

DDA PUBLIC HEARING - DO YOU CALL IT A MASTER PLAN ?

"A Master Plan is the long-term perspective plan for guiding the sustainable planned development of the city. This document lays down the planning guidelines, policies, development code and space requirements for various socio-economic activities supporting the city population during the plan period. It's an organized set of decisions made by one person or a team of people about how to do something in the future.  It's a collection of all the smaller plans under a common cause so that system works systematically in future. 

But when we talk about our city, do you think there is any such master plan in existence? Traffic jam and congestion all over, open Dhalav and mountains of garbage at the landfill sites, encroachment and unauthorized construction almost everywhere, massive water logging during monsoon, potholes, and cave-ins as well the drinking water issues during summers, just reflect the genuineness of the so-called master plan of Delhi.

While there seems no suitable master plan in existence, don't know why the Government is hell-bent to announce certain modifications that will just create chaos as no one is talking about the infrastructure. No one talks about the levels of pollution that kill scores of people while deciding the modifications in the master plan of Delhi. Similarly, no voice heard that how to give a new lease of life to the river Yamuna. 

The entire exercise is being undertaken to regularise the FAR to get more and more money by way of penalties as well the regularisation charges. Is that the Master Plan of a city that is the most polluted and most congested in the world? 

Is that the Master Plan of Delhi or the Master Collection Plan, as so many clauses just talk about the regularisation of FAR at certain appropriate charges/levies. 

all the pics above used with thanks

DDA PUBLIC HEARING - DO YOU CALL IT A MASTER PLAN ?

DDA Modifications - Suggestions / Objections - to Save our City Delhi !

9th June 2018

Commissioner Cum Secretary,
Delhi Development Authority,
B Block, Vikas Sadan,
New Delhi - 110023

Subject: DDA Modifications - Suggestions / Objections - to Save our City Delhi !

Dear Sir,

Please refer your Advertisement dated 26th May 2018 seeking suggestions/objections to the proposed modifications in the Master Plan of Delhi 2018. In fact, we are more than shocked to find that your Advertisement for modifications of the MPD 2021, clearly shows that every thing will be regularised on the payment of certain levies :

5.6.2 clearly says that - The existing built-up commercial centres may be redeveloped if need be with enhanced FAR subject to payment of appropriate levies.

5.6.3a clearly says that - such excess FAR shall be permitted subject to payment of penalty charges amounting to 1.5 times of the applicable charges.

5.6.3b clearly says that - Payment of Use conversion charges from Residential to Commercial shall be applicable as prescribed.

5.6.3d clearly says that - additional FAR shall be permitted on payment of additional FAR charges as applicable.

5.6.4 clearly says that - upper floors can be converted to commercial use after paying the applicable charges.

5.6.5 about basements clearly says that - such excess FAR shall be subject to payment of appropriate charges.

Even though they can not provide any parking facility to most of the commuters, 5.6.7 says that One Time parking charges shall be paid either as down payment or in maximum four instalments.

While 15.9 (V) asks for the Penalty, 

15.12.3 (vii) is again subject to the payment of appropriate charges.

Under such circumstances, the Suggestions / Objections being filed by us, as the Joint Resolution of RWAs - NGOs - Activists, to Save Our City, won't have that much impact as the things look pre-decided as well absolutely biased towards urbanization of the City with a clear message that anything can be done on the payment of certain levies.

Strange & Shocking, there is no mention anywhere, that how you will control the Traffic Jam, Congestion, Pollution, Open Dhalavs, Open Landfill sites, Water Logging, Encroachment, etc., due to the excessive load on the infrastructure due to the excessive FAR all over in this city, which is already world's most polluted & most congested. As per WHO, over 30,000 persons are killed every year due to the impact of Pollution in Delhi NCR, but we could not find any modification in the MPD 2021.

The Lifeline of Delhi - The Yamuna river has no more Life in its Dirty Drain water. Clause 9.1, NATURAL RESOURCES of MPD 2021 itself says that, The Yamuna river and the drains are highly polluted; the capacity to treat wastewater is grossly deficient; The actual quantity of wastewater treated is much below the installed capacity; The planned reuse of treated wastewater is minuscule; A large number of the traditional water bodies in the form of ponds, etc. (excluding areas of unintended water logging along railway tracks, highways and canals etc.) have been encroached or have otherwise become defunct. The average annual rainfall in Delhi is 611 mm. However, recharge of groundwater gets limited due to decreased availability of permeable surfaces owing to urbanization, but we could not find any modification in the MPD 2021.

Under such circumstances, the last try to Save our City, lies only in the clause 5.6.10 that says, in case there is no parking facility available in the vicinity, the concerned local body may declare such areas as the pedestrian shopping streets/areas. Public transport authority shall ensure last mile connectivity to these areas.

As almost every locality of Delhi has a market, may be big or small, we are sure that you have done enough surveys for all the areas before issuing the notification for the modifications in the MPD 2021.

1. Therefore, please let us know the areas that have the parking facility suitable to the quantum of vehicles of that area so that we can approach the Local bodies to declare the rest of the areas as the pedestrian shopping streets/areas with immediate effect.

2. Moreover, by yet another modification, the term 'may' above (in 5.6.10), must be changed with the term 'must', to ensure relief to the residents/shoppers.

3. As mentioned above (in 5.6.10), the Public transport authority has to ensure last mile connectivity of these areas. Therefore, please let us know that how long it will take for the public transport authority to ensure the last mile connectivity for all those areas and your approval to the modifications to the MPD 2021 must wait till the last mile connectivity is achieved for all the areas.

4. May we request you to please ensure that all those areas of Delhi without a suitable parking facility are declared as the Pedestrian Shopping Streets / Areas, at the earliest possible. The main benefit of declaring such areas as the Pedestrian shopping streets/areas will be the reduction of congestion & reduction of pollution, that will save the most precious lives of all those who are on the verge of collapse due to various respiratory ailments, heart diseases, Cancer, Brain stroke, etc.

5. But we just could not understand and would like to know that why the Extraordinary Notification Number 149, published in the Gazette of Delhi, on Friday 15th September 2006 / Bhadra 24, 1928, declaring a huge lot of roads as the Pedestrian Shopping Streets, has not yet been implemented? 

6. We would like to know that who are the persons responsible for the non-implementation of this published notification in the last almost 12 years, and what were the reasons for the non-implementation of the notification, that was published in the Delhi Gazette on 15th September 2006?

7.  We would like to know the extent of damages occurred to the Environment of the city, due to non-implementation of the above-said notification, that was published in the Delhi Gazette on 15th September 2006?

8.  You have added in the Clause 15.7.1 that other services which are non-polluting, non-hazardous, and not prohibited by law in the residential area, shall be permitted, but we could not understand that why you have not imposed any check on the number of vehicles that is one of the main cause of Congestion & Pollution in the city?

9. Moreover, Under the Clause 5.6.7, you are asking for the One-time parking charges. But how can you claim such one-time parking charges, until & unless you have identified the Parking space under 5.6.8 as well as under 5.6.9? 

10. Does it mean that you want to collect the Parking charges, even without having any parking space, even without identifying any parking space, and even though that area is most likely to be declared as the Pedestrian shopping street/area under clause 5.6.10?

11. Please empower the RWAs for some constructive efforts. RWAs have enough brains but no miraculous powers to identify the parking space, where there is no space at all.

Looking forward to your reply as well an invite to the Public hearing, if any, though not expected, as the things look already pre-decided and pre-settled in the favour of Urbanization of the City.

And if that's true, please at least make an ESCROW fund with all the collections done for permitting all the Enhanced FARs, Basements & the collection of Used conversion charges, ensuring to be spent only on the maintaining of Parking (if any in that area), maintaining of the Roads as well as the Pedestrian shopping streets/areas and in providing the last mile connectivity, without any deviation of funds.

With best regards,

B S Vohra
9212004471
President,
East Delhi RWAs Joint Front - Federation
F-19/10, Krishna Nagar, Delhi - 110051
www.RWABhagidari.com
rwabhagidari@yahoo.in

Amid Delhi Sealing Drive, Traders And RWAs Turn To Govt For A Concrete And Legally Binding Solution: The Wire

New Delhi: Even as the ongoing sealing drive in Delhi has sent shivers down the spine of the trading community, which stands at 7 lakh traders, leaving them wary about being sealed by the Supreme Court appointed monitoring committee, both residents welfare associations (RWAs) and traders are pinning their hopes on the all-party meeting called by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tomorrow to arrive at a concrete and legally binding solution.

Sealing resumed after apex court order

While it’s still not certain if the Congress and the BJP would be participating in the meeting, called at the CM’s residence, the traders are hoping that even if the political parties do not come together on a common platform due to political considerations, they should at least play their individual roles to remove the sword of sealing which has been hanging over their heads ever since the Committee resumed the exercise in December 2017.

After a brief stoppage in the drive in February, the sealing resumed after the Supreme Court earlier this month restrained the Centre, Delhi government and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) from amending the Master Plan for Delhi 2021 to provide relief to the traders.

In its order of March 7,  the apex court had also pulled up the Delhi government, civic bodies and the DDA for not replying to the queries put up by it in the matter.

Kejriwal has called an all-party meeting

With sealing resuming in several parts of the city, traders have been a rattled lot as their establishments were forced shut, impacting their livelihood. Kejriwal had also shot off letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Lieutenant Governor urging their immediate intervention in the matter. In the meantime, Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken also sought a meeting from Kejriwal on the issue, responding to which the chief minister sent invitations for a meeting on February 13 to Maken and Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari. All parties have been urged to limit their participation to three members each to prevent chaos. This assumes significance as another meeting called at Delhi Secretariat a month ago between BJP and Aam Aadmi Party leaders had ended up in a commotion following which even an FIR was registered.

With a large number of units having already been sealed, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has called for a city-wide strike on February 13. Its secretary general Praveen Khandelwal told The Wire that “about 6 lakh traders of Delhi could be impacted by the sealing drive while only about 1 lakh may not be impacted at all”.

‘Delhi government, Centre should pass bills to protect traders’

As such, he said, the demands of the traders are twofold: “We want the Delhi government to bring a bill for securing moratorium against sealing on the first day of the Budget session of the Delhi Assembly on March 16 and we want them to send it to the Centre. We also want the Centre to introduce and pass this Bill in the ongoing second half of the Budget session of Parliament, which is empowered to provide relief to the affected traders.”

Khandelwal said the process of drafting the Master Plan for Delhi 2021-41 has also started and so if the sealing is halted for the time being, through the new plan it can be ensured that the mistakes of the past are not repeated.

‘MCD, monitoring committee overstepped jurisdiction’

He also accused the municipal corporations and the monitoring committee of acting way beyond their powers. “The MCD should only carry out sealing through the due process of law as has been specified in the MCD Act. But it is not doing so. The court-appointed monitoring committee is also violating the law. The MCD Act states that before carrying out any raid, the municipal commissioner will file a complaint with the municipal magistrate, a notice would then be sent to those accused of any violation, they will respond to it and following a hearing the matter would first go to the appellate tribunal and then the Lieutenant Governor. Only if the appeal is rejected from there too will the sealing be carried out. The monitoring committee has not followed these statutory provisions so the sealing is illegal,” he charged.

On the issue of the RWAs claiming that commercialisation adds to pollution or burdens the infrastructure, he said this was not a correct argument as shops are largely non-polluting and operate for limited hours. Likewise, water and electricity supply are not impacted much during daytime when the shops operate. As for parking, Khandelwal squarely blamed the residents for keeping more cars than they should. “It is their cars which keep the colonies clogged all day through, why blame us,” he countered.

Finally, he said, the commercialisation has actually been done by the residents who gave out their buildings for commercial use. “Why are they opposing the idea after making the gains.”

The CAIT, he said, has given a bandh call for March 13 to press for its demands. As for the all-party meeting the same day, he said whether it is held or not the Delhi government and the Centre should pass the bills to ameliorate the sufferings of the traders.

The RWAs for their part want solid assurances now from the governments that unbridled liberalised commercialisation would not be allowed in the residential areas of Delhi any more.

Fictitious RWAs being floated to counter the fight of residents

Rajiv Kakria of Greater Kailash-I RWA, who had earlier made a representation to the monitoring committee on how the norms of commercialisation were being flouted, said: “We have now brought all the RWAs of the city together for the “Save Our City Campaign”.”

He charged that politicians and traders are trying various tricks to derails the people’s campaign for clean living. “Many fictitious RWAs have been approaching the monitoring committee to stop sealing.” Also, he said that in many areas the RWA office bearers were being forced to toe political lines.

But despite these hindrances, he said, the fight is on and that the RWAs has sought guidance from the monitoring committee on how they can implead in the Supreme Court in the ongoing case on the challenge to the ‘NCT of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Bill, 2007’ and the subsequent extensions to it.

The RWAs, he said, have also brought it to the notice of the monitoring committee that most of the commercial establishments had opened in residential areas because setting them up cost about 75% less than it would have in a local shopping centre or a commercial complex. It is because of this that there were few takers for notified commercial zones, he said.

The RWAs had also brought it to the notice of the monitoring committee that in the name of professional firms of lawyers, chartered accountants, architects and doctors, large commercial establishment employing large number of staff have opened up in residential areas and this has impacted parking in many colonies.

Also, it was pointed out that “surrogate businesses” have sprung up in the name of professional services. So now ice-cream parlours masquerade as dairies, boutiques as tailors, gift shops as stationary shops and the like.

Get impact assessment done for commercial activity

Pankaj Agarwal of Delhi RWAs Joint Front said in light of this situation, the demand of the RWAs is that “for whatever commercialisation you are doing in a residential area, please get the impact assessment done for that”.

He said about 12 years ago, when the sealing issue had first cropped up and mixed land use was allowed, it was assured that parking and matching infrastructure would be created in colonies which fell on the 2,100 roads on which mixed land use was permitted. Some norms were also created to overcome the problems.

‘100 promised multi-level parkings not made, infrastructure not augmented’

However, he said, the norms were not fulfilled. “One of them pertained to constructing 100 very big multi-level parkings in the city, but that was not done. Another was to augment water, sewer, water and solid waste management infrastructure. All the funds were collected by the municipal corporations but there was no upgrading. The terms and conditions also included leaving of setback at the front and back of buildings and retaining the residential character of the colonies.”

In most places, Agarwal said, big showrooms have come up on the lower floors and offices and guest houses above them. “So while use of only ground floor was permitted under mixed land use, all the norms were either not fulfilled or violated.”

On the recent amendments which were stayed, he said: “Now they want to allow more floor area ratio by amending the Master Plan for Delhi 2021. This would only add to the congestion. We have been demanding that in local markets the FAR should be increased for only trades which cater to the local needs – not for pubs or liquor shops, as is the case in my colony, Safdarjung Development Area.”

Agarwal said the RWAs are okay if sealing is deferred but want long term solutions to the problems being faced by residents. He also insisted that the Monitoring Committee was adhering to the law while carrying out its sealing drive. “We agree that some pain is being caused to people who are losing their business or employment, but whatever is being done by the Committee is in accordance with the law.”

B.S. Vohra of East Delhi RWAs Joint Front said ideally representatives of the trading community and RWAs should also have been called for the all-party meeting that has been convened by Kejriwal. “We as residents also believe that a lot of wrong has happened to those traders whose establishments have been sealed but at the same time the amendment to the MPD 2021 which allows for commercial use of all basements would only lead to further chaos. We do not have the kind of infrastructure to support such largescale commercialisation and congestion.”

Protect residential character of colonies, make commissioners accountable

Demanding that the “residential character of the colonies” should not be destroyed, he said the new proposed modifications are not the solution as they would lead to complete commercialisation of all colonies. “If you would allow commercial activity in all basements, it would lead to chaos. Already people are facing problems, so this would lead to further congestion. They are also saying increase the electricity load from 5 kw to 11 kw. So we believe that some restrictions should be imposed on traders who have already set up shop. But what is being done is that they are incentivising construction of basements for commercial use all over the city.”

The solution, Vohra said, lay in giving serious thought to the issue and finding a way by which the traders do not lose their livelihood and the residential character of Delhi is also not demolished. Agreeing that assurances given in the past have not been fulfilled, he said “the need of the hour was to set up an effective monitoring mechanism. That can be done by making the commissioners accountable for the violation of MPD norms in their respective areas.”

with thanks: The Wire: LINK

B S VOHRA, ENVIRONMENT ACTIVIST, SUNDAY PIONEER, DELHI

Is that the Real Time Air Quality Index monitoring at Delhi - Asks B S Vohra, Environmental Activist

It has been observed that the Real Time Ambient Air Quality data, being shown by DPCC, on its website has some Technical flaws. On the Diwali night, our Team was keeping an eye on the figures of Air Quality Index and the outcome at a specific time was very Shocking and as below: 

ITI Shahdara,  23.20pm,  PM10 NIL, PM2.5 NIL

Patparganj,  23.20pm,  PM10 NIL, PM2.5 NIL

Sriniwaspuri,   23.20pm,  PM10 NIL, PM2.5 NIL

Rohini,  23.15pm,  PM10 NIL, PM2.5 NIL

R K Puram, 23.20pm,  PM10 NIL, PM2.5 NIL

Mandir Marg, 23.20pm, PM10 NIL, PM2.5 317

JLN Stadium, 23.20pm, PM10 985, PM2.5 NIL

DITE Okhla, 23.20pm, PM10 NIL, PM2.5 NIL

Ashok Vihar, 23.10pm, PM10 NIL, PM2.5 NIL

DITE Wazirpur, 23.20pm,  PM10 NIL, PM2.5 NIL

IGI Airport: No Data at all - page not in operation

Civil Lines: No Data at all - page not in operation

It clearly shows, that out of the 18 stations, at least 12 critical points as above, were not showing any data, at a critical juncture, on the Diwali night, when Hon’ble SC had ordered a ban on the crackers, to analyse the impact of the ban on the levels of Pollution in Delhi.

DPCC must look into it very seriously & must take necessary steps to remove the technical problems if any, so that the clear figures could come out for making the serious policy decisions, in this most polluted city.

B S Vohra

Environmental Activist,  
President, East Delhi RWAs Joint Front - Federation

www.RWABhagidari.com
www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.in