The curious case of roads being built when elections are due

The internal roads of Kailash Colony in south Delhi were relaid almost overnight in March last year. The reason: The civic polls were just round the corner.

Kailash Colony's wasn't a one-off case. Most Delhiites claim that civic agencies wake up only when elections are due as there's pressure on them to get their act together. 

 

Claimed Dr Lalit Verma, a resident of Haiderpur near Rohini Sector 18, "The road to Haiderpur from Outer Ring Road was last built nearly four years ago, when the general elections were due. Immediately after the polls, it was dug up. Since then, it has been in a shambles. Councillors and MLAs usually use their funds when polls are due in order to get votes. Many of them even put up boards and posters, claiming how they got a particular road built."

But many politicians claimed this was not the case. "We try to construct roads as and when required. But sometimes, the executive wing delays the project and it coincides with elections. But it is true that every councillor and MLA wants to exhaust their funds before the elections as they are accountable to the public," said Mahender Nagpal, leader of north Delhi Municipal Corporation.

Jagdish Mukhi, Janakpuri MLA, said, "I work 365 days a year. But dense carpeting can only be done after five years. Some councillors save their funds and try to get votes by completing work around elections. But I don't believe in such cheap tactics." 

The situation in some colonies is so bad that many have started believing that holding elections every year is the best way to bring about development. "That work gets done almost overnight when elections are due affirms the fact that civic agencies have the expertise to do their jobs. The problem is they don't want to work," said Harvinder Singh, a member of Lajpat Nagar III RWA.

"There have been instances when the road roller is put to use when the people are going to cast their votes. But the roller stopped, when voting got over. It is easy to get work done whenever polls are due. Those same councillors become inaccessible for the rest of their tenure," said BS Vohra, president of east Delhi RWA.

with thanks : Hindustan Times : LINK

Badti Garmi, Ghat ta pani : Delhi Aajtak : B S Vohra : Part 2 : Video

Badti Garmi, Ghat ta pani : Delhi Aajtak : B S Vohra : Part 2 : Video : LINK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4wblbDZFm4

Mobile Tower Radiation in East Delhi checked by East Delhi RWAs Joint Front - Video

Mobile Tower Radiation in East Delhi checked by East Delhi RWAs Joint Front - Video - Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--r2GZg7KH8&list=UUeYmG2G7RS6SlgNnLGVNSMQ&index=1

East Delhi RWAs Joint Front today checked the Mobile Tower Radiation in various East Delhi Localities

For your immediate attention please :

Toxic air hurting kids’ lungs, heart & mind

But Pollution Board Sat On Findings For 7 Yrs

Jayashree Nandi TNN

 

 

New Delhi: Children in the national capital are more vulnerable to air pollution than their counterparts in other states and in more ways than one. They are falling victim not only to pulmonary disorders but also hypertension, ADHD and depression.

    Medical investigators from Kolkata-based Chittaranjan National Cancer Research Institute had pointed out this “dangerous epidemic” to Central Pollution Control Board as early as 2005 when a study examined over 11,000 school children in Delhi and compared them with a control group of children in the towns of West Bengal and Uttarakhand. CPCB took seven years to publish it and place it in public domain.

    The research study that had examined cellular lung reaction was one of the first to conclude that air pollution related complications are not restricted to lungs and can lead to several metabolic conditions. Such a long delay in publishing a scientific report that “could have been a wake-up call” is indefensible, some scientists who conducted the study said.

    Among its startling finds is the fact that incidence of hypertension in Delhi schoolchildren is three times that of the control group. Delhi’s schoolchildren were 2.5-times more likely to suffer Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and boys were more vulnerable than girls.

    Dr Manas Ranjan Ray, head of department of experimental haematology and coinvestigator in the study, said, “When we conducted the study, there were 38 lakh vehicles in Delhi. Today there are over 75 lakh. We found very high incidence of hypertension, obesity and even juvenile diabetes. In a neo-rich city, lifestyle factors also play a major role. One of the key recommendations we made to CPCB was inclusion of one fresh fruit in the diet of children of all schools including municipality schools. Another was regarding regular medical check-ups in schools for hypertension and lung health. But we never imagined it would take close to a decade to publish the research.”

    Another researcher complained that scientists are always treated like “backbenchers” by government bodies like CPCB who have no regard for “valuable research”.

    A senior officer from CPCB who declined to named said peer review and extensive interpretation of data took years. “We cannot publish such alarming findings before being certain. It was a very expensive and difficult study and needed interpretation,” he said.

    The study was peer reviewed by Indian Council for Medical Research and All India Institute of Medical Sciences but researchers say the report was stuck in red tape for years after the review. “Seven years is way too long for interpretation. Now the average time is a year for peer review and even that is considered pretty long,” AL Ramanathan, a professor from School of Environmental Sciences, JNU, said.

    Incidence of air pollutionrelated complications among children has gone up dramatically in the past few years. “Checking the BP of young children is a regular practice now among doctors. More than a million children are affected with respiratory infections in India every year. The incidence is quite high in Delhi, we are also noticing psychological effects of pollution like depression among children. It’s something that is not widely discussed but quite prevalent,” paediatric consultant Dr Sanjeev Bagai said.

With Thanks : Times of India : LINK

 

 

99% NGOs are fraud, money-making devices: Delhi HC

The Delhi high court has called for toughening of licensing norms for NGOs observing that 99% of them are "fraud" and "merely money making devices". "Most private run so called philanthropic organizations do not understand their social responsibilities. 99% of the existing NGOs are fraud and simply moneymaking devices. Only one out of every hundred NGOs serve the purpose they are set up for", a bench headed by Justice Pradeep Nandrajog said.

"There is a need for toughening of licensing norms and legislature has to keep this in mind", the bench said.

The stinging remarks came while the court was hearing a petition filed by children homes Chatravas and Arya orphanage challenging government's refusal to grant them license under the Women and Children's Institutions (Licensing) Act, 1956 and insisting on registration under the Juvenile Justice Act.

The Delhi government and union women and child development ministry opposed the plea saying that all children homes in the country have to be registered under the JJ Act 2006 which subject them to supervision, monitoring and periodic inspections by child welfare committee of the government even if they have licenses under any other law.

Arguing for the homes, senior lawyer Maninder Singh said "an institution which has licence under the Women and Children's Institutions (Licensing) Act, 1956 did not require registration under the JJ Act.

"The JJ Act has its own field and does not override the women and children's institutions act. Moreover JJ Act is not applicable to independent private philanthropic institutions but for those run by government", argued Singh. 

The stand of the centre was that a clear policy framework for the entire country has been laid out and Women and Children Institutions (Licensing) Act has no value as it stood repealed even since the JJ Act came into being in 2006. But Singh said the option should be licensing under Women and Children's Institutions (Licensing) Act or Orphanage and other charitable institutions Act even if the JJ Act was applicable in a state.

with thanks : Hindustan Times : LINK

DERC notification in Times of India

Crude Oil Prices 4 Weeks to 4th March, 2013

With thanks : Australian Institute of Petrolium

Discoms want to levy more charges

Your power bills might go straight through the roof if petitions by the three power distribution companies on the tariff are cleared by the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC).

BSES Rajdhani Power Limited, BSES Yamuna Power Limited and Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) — have asked the commission for a full power purchase adjustment charges (PPAC). 

This means that apart from the yearly increase of 13% sought by BYPL, which supplies electricity to east and central Delhi, 2% by BRPL (south and west Delhi) and 6.6% sought by TPDDL, which supplies power to north Delhi, they have also asked for a quarterly increase depending on the rate at which they have procured power. 

Discoms have taken the plea that 17 states have already adopted the PPAC model in determining the tariff. DERC, which is reviewing the petitions, is yet to take a call on the matter.

“We had adopted the PPAC mechanism last year but this year we are reviewing it. If full PPAC is given to the discoms, it can increase power bills to the tune of 25% to 30%. For instance, the fixed tariff would be 13% in case of BYPL for the year and an additional 10% increase would mean in reality the tariff would be 26%. This will burden the consumers,” said a senior DERC official. 

According to discoms, a fixed power tariff is unacceptable as during the course of a year power purchase costs keep varying. And many a time, the purchase cost is much more than what is fixed by the DERC. 

“This is why we want a full PPAC so that if we buy costly power, we can charge that amount to the consumers in the next quarter. DERC had adopted this mechanism last year,” said a discom official. 

Sources said the DERC is planning to come up with a comprehensive fixed tariff so that no additional cost has to be taken into consideration. Discoms have cited increase in cost of power purchase and their failure to recover dues for the need to raise tariff. The new tariffs will be applicable from July 1.

with thanks : Hindustan Times : LINK

Anil Sindhwani getting award from BSES Chairman Sh Ramesh Narainan & Jago Grahak fame Sh Bijon Mishra