Happy Independence Day : Plz share your message with us !

Happy Independence Day : Plz share your message with us !

Slogan for independence day

Aao  jhuk kar kare salam unhe

Jinke hisse me ye mukaam aata hai

Kitne khushnaseeb hai wo log

Jinka khoon vatan ke kaam aata hai

JAI HIND, JAI BHARAT

Happy independence day

Best Regards

Jivan Rustagi

Dar Se Azadi : JANPATH : B S Vohra on Delhi Aajtak

LINK : MUST VIEW : https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2j9X637aQmo

Govt misleading you with bogus ads: RWA

State claim of cheapest power tariff among metropolitan cities busted.

After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) in the city are alleging that the state is misleading the public with government advertisements. 

The advertisements issued by the state on Sunday pats the back of the government for having the cheapest power tariff among all metropolitan cities. 

The RWAs claim that the advertisements published are giving wrong statistics. The RWAs have written to the Lieutenant-Governor and the Lokayukta addressing their concern. 

The advertisement claims that while power tariff in Kolkata is Rs6.14 per unit, in Mumbai Rs4.70 and in Bengaluru Rs4.55 per unit, Delhi power tariff is Rs2.70 per unit. The advertisement also talks about benefitting 43 lakh people via its Rs900 crore annual power subsidy. 

The RWAs, however, allege that the Rs2.70 per unit is a false figure. “The actual cost per unit is Rs3.90. The annual subsidy of Rs900 crore that the government is giving to the discoms is actually our money, said Rajiv Kakria, the RWA president of Greater Kailash I.

The state government also claims that the per capita consumption of power in Delhi is highest than any other city. 

However, data by the Power Finance Corporation of India reveals that Delhi is eighth in terms of per capita consumption of power. In terms of average billing rate, Delhi is at number 17, while Goa has the lowest average billing rate and Punjab the highest.

“All this subsidy gimmick is a part of the votebank politics of the government. The government just wants to keep its voters happy at this point of time and has gone ahead with the subsidy and advertisements, said BS Vohra of East Delhi Resident Welfare Association. 

The associations feel that the Rs900 crore subsidy could have been used instead for creating health services, schools and drainage system.

with thanks : DNA : Daily News & Analysis : LINK

Formula to lower the Power Tariff ?

Formula to Lower Tariffs by 30% During Bijli Rally : BJP

Delhi BJP today said it will release a 10-point formula to reduce power tariff in its 'Bijli Rally' tomorrow and challenged Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to implement it or else be perceived to be hand-in- glove with private discoms and DERC on power tariff hike.

The party said it will reveal the formula to reduce power tariffs by at least 30 per cent in Delhi during its 'Bijli Rally', organised to protest rising power tariffs in the city.

"If the Chief Minister does not implement this formula even after it comes in public domain, then it would simply imply that she is hand-in-glove with the private discoms and DERC in ensuring completely unjustified hike in power tariff," Delhi BJP Chief Vijay Goel told reporters.

"Our party is committed to bringing down power tariff by 30 per cent. Those who are questioning it should know that if you have the right kind of intention and political will, then this is not at all difficult," Goel said.

BJP national president Rajnath Singh, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, her Rajya Sabha counterpart Arun Jaitley, Delhi election in-charge Nitin Gadkari and would also participate in the rally.

Besides, Delhi election co-incharge Navjot Singh Siddhu and Leader of the Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijay Kumar Malhotra would also take part in the rally.

The party announced that it would implement a special package for lower income groups and people living in Jhuggi Jhopri clusters to provide them subsidised power with a fixed monthly bill.

Goel said, "Logically, after privatisation, had the government allowed more players into power distribution, power tariffs would have come down due to market competitiveness. But that just didn't happen. People of Delhi want to know why?"

He also said Delhi BJP will review the decision of Congress government and DERC to approve hike of 300 per cent in power tariff in coming days. 

Goel said this would be done by reviewing the decision to allow Regulatory Assets (losses of private discoms to be charged from common people through tariff hike) worth at least Rs 19,500 crore.

"No private company would continue to run with such huge losses. So, why these discoms are still operating even after such huge losses? Why haven't they opted out of the power sector?"

"The fact of the matter is that these companies are actually making huge profits, they have been assured 16 per cent assured return. Their modus operandi is to take loan from banks on 10 per cent and get a return of 16 per cent on that investment," he alleged.

"The discoms should have been buying bulk power at cheaper rates but instead, they are buying expensive power from their own companies. These high prices are then passed on to consumers. There is no transparency in the power purchase agreement.

"DERC as well as Congress government is fully supporting this by not getting CAG audit done," he alleged.

"We would like to know why there has been no CAG audit of accounts of these private discoms? And without audit, how can Congress government and DERC approve and accept claims of these companies?" he said.

Goel also claimed that people were being duped by faulty electric metres at their homes which were over billing millions of consumers without their knowledge.

He said the discoms have monopoly, so no consumer could dare to complain or challenge them "as they would immediately cut off the power supply".

Individual consumers, with electricity being a basic necessity, continue to get robbed haplessly and find it difficult to challenge them individually, he said.

"Adding insult to injury of the common man, we have a Chief Minister who instead of controlling the power tariff hike, tells them: If you cannot pay electricity bills, do not use AC or Cooler, just use a tubelight or fan!", he said.

with thanks : OUTLOOK : LINK

Delhi RWAs Feed on Vote-Hungry Political Parties : Economic Times

Ahead of elections, politicos woo RWAs to reach out to middle-class voters

MANSI TEWARI & RAVI TEJA SHARMA 
NEW DELHI 

Resident welfare associations (RWAs) seem to have emerged as the flavour of this pre-election season in the Capital, with political parties across the spectrum wooing what they consider their ticket to the crucial middle-class backing in the upcoming assembly polls. 

Unlike in the past, when politicians used to peddle their promises mainly in the jhuggijhopri clusters or teeming slums, this time they appear to be focusing as much on the notoriously reluctant voters in the middle-class and uppermiddle-class localities through the local RWAs. So while Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit announced in June a sum of 1 lakh for urgent works per RWA, her rival, BJP’s state president Vijay Goel has been organising meetings with these associations across the city. Even the new entrant, Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), appears keen to reach out to voters through RWAs. “This is where we get our political intelligence from,” says Goel, referring to RWAs. “They are our route to tell people about our alternative governance model.”

Tapping voters through RWAs is even more important for Opposition parties because they cannot offer largesse like the ruling party, says a BJP leader who does not wish to be named. Congress MLA Ramakant Goswami, who represents the Rajendra Nagar constituency, says RWAs are a great way to reach out to middle-class voters. “RWAs are just like village panchayats. They help bring out the voters...We want them to vote. They are the ones who get the most benefit out of development but very few come out to vote,” said Goswami. 

Dikshit had also announced that deputy commissioners in different districts of the city would have at their disposal Rs 5 crore each, which would be spent on the basis of priorities decided by RWAs. 

The chief minister’s move to offer money to RWAs just before the elections is an unfair inducement not unlike the freebies politicians used to distribute among slum-dwellers earlier, alleges the head of an RWA, reasoning that anybody can form such an association with seven members just to avail of the money. 

The new found interest among political parties, however, brings some relief to a large number of colonies in the city. 

“This is for the first time that I have seen both Congress and BJP trying to do something for the middle class ahead of the assembly elections, be it repairing of roads or addressing water and sewage issues,” says Vivek Tandon, a senior member of the Vasant Vihar Welfare Association who has been living in the south Delhi colony since the 1970s. 

Tandon says while Congress MLA Barkha Shukla Singh in June inaugurated the re-carpeting of a road in Vasant Vihar that falls in RK Puram constituency, BJP councillor Radhey Shyam Sharma inaugurated an internal road in the colony. 

AAP’s Shazia Ilmi, who is planning to contest from RK Puram, rues that RWAs are also polarised along political lines. “The RWA members become beholden to power. There’s a strong pro-BJP or pro-Congress slant and political patronage,” says Ilmi, a member of AAP’s national executive, adding that often RWAs do not allow her party’s volunteers to campaign in the colonies. 

Over time, multiple RWAs have come up in various localities, often with clashing political leanings. In 2008, ahead of the assembly elections, members of the United Residents’ Joint Action, an RWA collective, had joined BJP. 

“Political parties know that by wooing RWAs before the elections, they can hope to convert the middle class into a probable vote bank,” says BS Vohra, president of the East Delhi RWAs’ joint front, federation. 

R Ganesh Aiyar, president, Defence Colony RWA says policies continue to be framed without the involvement of all stakeholders. “The problem is that they do not consult RWAs. For everything, we have to seek the help of the MLA or MLC.”

"The problem is that they do not consult RWAs. For everything, we have to seek the help of the MLA or MLC." Aiyar's RWA recently managed to get a court to stay a new underground parking that was being constructed in the colony at the cost of 50 trees. 

Several other RWAs have been just as active, much to the chagrin of developers and local politicians who facilitate such projects. Although the Delhi government had set up the Bhagidari system in 2000 to institutionalise the process of engaging with RWAs and taking their opinion on board for formulation of policies, analysts say Dikshit's announcement shows the mechanism has not evolved to the extent desired. 

"We are fed up with these political parties," says Amit Aggarwal, executive member of the Vasant Kunj RWA. "They have created factions among RWAs, which end up fighting among each other. They lure us, give us funds in the election year and then forget about us for the next four years. But now, we are more careful." While such words may sound like music to Ilmi's ears, Aggarwal might have just given Congress and BJP reason to work even harder at connecting with RWAs.

with thanks : ECONOMIC TIMES : LINK : for detailed report.

Supreme Court Washes its Hands off Delhi ..... God Save Delhi

Dear Friends,

DO YOU REMEMBER 2005/06 ...... Supreme Court was hearing PIL on Sealing's and Demolitions on a Daily basis ...... arguing ..... should the Future of Delhi be of a Planned Orderly City or a Free for All culture where some people blatantly bend the Bye-Laws ..... Bribe to Build - Encroach - Misuse .......

The common refrain those days was that Delhi will turn into a Non-Stop Paharganj .... we are almost there ....... what with Tony Residential Homes turning into Showrooms, Guest Houses cum Banquets, Pubs, Banks, Gyms, Nursing Homes, Tuition Centres, Car Showrooms etc ......

A few recent developments have escaped the notice of most citizens including RWAs. It could spell disaster for Delhi as the Impact will be like slow poisoning, discovered only when its too late.

Yes Durga Shakti, Khemka etc are some debating issues today ..... but I want to draw your attention to how systematically the Courts, including Supreme Court  are being frustrated by vested interests.

1. A few weeks back Supreme Court sent all the sealing cases back to the MCD Tribunal (see Attachment) 2. Why Bangladeshis not deported-Court 3. Reliance eyeing Land in Alaknanda, residents up in arms 4. Micromax people bribing MCD staffers for change of land use 5. Asiad Village RWA up in arms against a Banquet Hall in a Green Belt next to a Residential Area ...... these developments should Ring Alarm Bells in the minds of RWAs, law abiding Delhites and even Honest Politicians .... THEY TOO ARE BEING NUDGED OUT.

The Corrupt Babu, Police and Politician Nexus has successfully FRUSTRATED the Supreme Court in sending all the Sealing cases back to a Tribunal set up by MCD. YES THE SAME MCD that turned a blind eye and allowed Chaos to rule in the first place.Bhure Lal Monitoring Committee all but dissolved.

The fight to save Delhi from unplanned development had started in the mid eighties when some RWAs went to the Court opposing large shops cropping up in Residential Areas, blatant unauthorised construction, encroachments etc. We are back to square one with this SC order and who has the stamina to fight another 30 years.

Supreme Court was looking into the larger issue of the feasibility of Civic Infrastructure's ability to cope up ..... equitable distribution of resources, environment, disaster management, quality of life etc. There is no space for Playgrounds, Parking, Community Centres, other Public Utilities but there is land to build Malls/Banquets for the well connected.

The clear message today is break the law with impunity, make profits and by the time the slow wheels of Law catch up, the money power of vested interests will ensure that the illegality will be given a legal tag through suitable amendments in civic laws.

NOW, I understand why the LAW BREAKERS say go to the court if you have any grievance, knowing fully well that they have immunity till finally the matter reaches the Supreme Court ....... AND NOW WE ALSO KNOW THAT SUPREME COURT TOO CAN DISAPPOINT THE LAW ABIDING CITIZENS.

To date not one official has been punished for dereliction of Duty and in few cases where some action has been taken, the punishment is insignificant compared to the windfall profits. Today some of the JE/AE types, petty MCD contractors, inspectors etc are Real Estate / Infrastructure Tycoons with multi crore enterprises ...... Respect in community is then automatic, the past conveniently forgotten ......

Some Fairy Tales do go wrong Kanda, Bhardwaj, Chaddha to name a few ....... but the RISK REWARD RATIO is too heavily loaded in favour of the Law Breaker.

...... a clear message DO NOT LIVE IN A FOOLS PARADISE .... after all Hastinapur has a History of Self Destruction .... 7 times and counting.

Warm Regards,

Rajiv Kakria

Mis-behavior by the staff of DTC Low floor Bus

The complaint as indicated above have already been forwarded to CM, CMD DTC, and other high officials of the DTC on line, for taking action, which should act as a deterrent for the staff of the DTC. Their behavior reminds me the blue line dictatorial treatment meted to the general public, DTC staff is also following the same line.  Infact what I have observed most of the staff employed as Drivers and conductors are with back ground of small places, which are not exposed to dealing with the city elite residents,  may be the prominent reasons for mis-behavior. My humble request is unite against arrogant attitude of the Conductors and drivers specially with the ladies and senior citizens in a bid to rescue the affected persons.  

R K Nanda

Mis-behavior by the staff of DTC Low floor Bus

Sir i told you that driver and condector and checing staff are always misbehaved by the passanger above all senior citizen & iadies . you can see this at JAGAT PURI to LAXMI NAGAR . Some time from EAST AZAD NAGAR red light to SHAHDRA TERMINAL

Please take some thing about it

ANIL SINDHWANI

Mis-behavior by the staff of DTC Low floor Bus

Dear Sh. Nanda,

Having gone through your grievance related to DTC, I have taken the liberty in forwarding the same to CMD, DTC. In fact, our RWA has written several letters on various issues related to DTC Bus service and when not responded, we filed the matter in PGC, GNCTD and on the first hearing, the Chairman, PGC referred us to CMD, DTC with whom, he spoke on phone to CMD, DTC and arranged a meeting with CMD,DTC. Till now we have had about 6 meetings and also 6 hearings in PGC. Most of the points have been appreciated by PGC and settled partly by DTC. One of the point was availability of reserved seat in DTC bus for Sr Citizen. It was proposed and recommended by PGC also that two seats (4 persons) meant for handicapped should be clubbed with one seat (2 persons) presently reserved for Sr Citizens and in the process there will be 3 seats (6 persons) as reserved for Handicapped, (preferably) and Sr Citizens exclusively. The preference will be given to handicapped and if handicapped is not available then 6 senior citizens can sit in the said reserved seats. CMD, DTC has not agreed till now but we are on his head and hopefully, we will able to convince. Otherwise, we will try our best for success on it. 

Thanks and regards,

Ashok Bhatnagar

Mis-behavior by the staff of DTC Low floor Bus

We have got the following message from Mr Sumit Mukherjee. We have just the Email ID & no more details of Mr Mukherjee. We dont even know if he is from DTC :

sir action will be taken against bus driver and conductor pls.