Govt finalises mohalla sabha plan: Nearly 3,000 in 70 constituencies

According to the Delhi cabinet, these sabhas will be entrusted with the task of coordinating with different government agencies to carry out “developmental works”.

The Delhi cabinet Thursday announced that it will set up 2,972 ‘mohalla sabhas’ across all 70 assembly constituencies of the capital. The AAP government will provide Rs 350 crore for the project under the citizen local area development (LAD) for 2016-17.

The amount will be equally distributed among the 2,972 ‘mohalla sabhas.’ All the registered voters in an area would automatically become members of the ‘mohalla sabha’. Each sabha will have two ‘coordinators’ who will ‘organise’ monthly meetings.

According to the Delhi cabinet, these sabhas will be entrusted with the task of coordinating with different government agencies to carry out “developmental works”. They will also identify and facilitate “beneficiaries” for social sector schemes. These sabhas will also “solve grievances” with the help of local officers, said the cabinet.

In a statement, the government said, “There will be quarterly performance review of all such institutions…. Mohalla sabhas will also act as an engine for spreading awareness about government programmes, such as the odd-even scheme.”

with thanks : The Hindu : Link

RWAs : Please respond to Delhi Government over App based Premium Bus Service in Delhi

Special Session of Delhi RWAs - To Discuss SOLUTIONS ....... We all know the PROBLEMS

SIR 

Refer to thought provoking letter from Sh Rajiv kakaria letter on the subject my submission is that:

1. MP  councilor and mla fund should be scrapped and instead Distric development committee be formed representing rwas politicians and bureaucrats and expert on the development.

2. all mcd employees represnting sanitaion staff must wear i cards so that proxy workers be caught.

3. there should be single authority for all sanitaion work in delhi

4. services of all types in Group Housing Societies be taken over by the respective departments withdraw special rebate of 15% in house tax

5. Bring CGHS at par with plotted colonies societies.

6. all CGHS should be provided with single water connection

7. discrimination with CGHS be stopped immediately

8.reduce sewerage charge and service charge on water bill which is high.

9. all street lights should be open with single button and swithced off in similar manner the light are on at several places even during day time.

10 energy audit and water audit may be conducted in theft prone area other should not be forced to pay for thief.

with regards 

chander mohan

Special Session of Delhi RWAs - To Discuss SOLUTIONS ....... We all know the PROBLEMS

Dear Friends,

Today, 9th June 2016 Delhi Government and the three MCDs are going to sit for Special Sessions respectively, to POINT FINGERS AT EACH-OTHER.

We the RWAs do not have the same Luxuries of Space and Funds to call for a Special Session at the Drop of a Hat ........ SO I TAKE THE LIBERTY OF CALLING THIS SPECIAL SESSION ..... ONLINE.

To get the Discussion for Solutions moving I place before you a Proposal and seek your inputs on how to SET THE MCD HOUSE IN ORDER ........ this proposal is further to my earlier mails on the State Election Commission's fresh attempt DELIMITATION ........

Is it time to formulate Separate Municipalities based on DEMOGRAPHY and not GEOGRAPHY ?????

There are many Delhi’s within Delhi ...... Urban Villages; Rural Villages; Unauthorised Colonies; Resettlement Colonies; Planned Developed Colonies (Flats & Plotted); Lutyens Delhi and Cantonment. The needs and lifestyles of inhabitants are vastly different and Municipal Laws and Delimitation of Wards on the basis of Geography and Population have failed to provide orderly development or quality services in the city.

While NDMC for Lutyens Delhi and Cantonment Board have performed well in maintaining their respective areas, MCD has failed miserably on all fronts. The past decade has seen many experiments to make MCD work efficiently ....... but things have gone from bad to worse.

The question is, why have all attempts to streamline MCD come to naught? Doubling of Councillors and Trifurcation of MCD ...... were experiments carried out to achieve a POLITICAL STRANGLEHOLD RATHER THAN TO ACHIEVE EFFICIENCY.

The latest attempt at Delimitation of MCD Wards on the basis of Population is again aimed at Political Hold over the most Vulnerable section. No one is against development of deprived sections of the city but tilting the balance of Political Power on the basis of Population alone will create animosity amongst fellow citizens.

Democracy does not mean Majoritarianism, if the same formula were to be applied in Assam / West Bengal / Bihar / UP etc, then many High Density Areas would get many more MLA’s ....... if such Delimitation Formula is not acceptable there, then why in MCD? Populism and Discriminatory deployment of funds and resources will be the net outcome of Population Based Delimitation.

Therefore, is it time to formulate Separate MCD’s based on DEMOGRAPHY and not GEOGRAPHY ????? ...... ie URBAN/RURAL VILLAGES; RESETTELMENT & UNAUTHORISED COLONIES; PLANNED DEVELOPED COLONIES etc on the lines of NDMC and Cantonment Board.

This way areas and population of similar Demographic Profile will have the complete attention and fund allocation for development based on ground realities. What works for Planned Areas does not work for Resettelment Colonies or Village areas. The type of Manpower and Infrastructure required is also vastly different ...... or for that matter, even the MINDSET.

Fund Allocation for the different Municipalities can then be based on Weightage Points for Population, Geographical Spread, Tax Collection, Infrastructure etc, which can be fine tuned by experts.

PLEASE SEND YOUR INPUTS/IDEAS ...... AND WE SHALL COLLECTIVELY PRESENT THE SOLUTIONS TO BOTH THE DELHI GOVERNMENT AND THE THREE MCDs.

Warm Regards,

Rajiv Kakria

Power & Water Crisis in Delhi - DAT - B S Vohra

Electricity is surplus as discoms stay away : HT

BLAME GAME Distributors blame slowdown, Maha drought for demand dip; experts attribute it to discoms’ mounting losses

NEW DELHI: From power deficit leading to hours of power cuts especially during summers, India, for the first time in history, will have excess electricity of 3.1% in peak hours and 1.1% during non-peak hours from June onwards, saysa report released by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA).

But this does not mean uninterrupted electricity across the country through the year.

While the northern and northeastern regions continue to have electricity shortages, the western, southern and eastern parts of the country are sitting on surplus.

A peep into the government’s electricity tracking app, Vidyut Pravah shows a surplus of over 1,459 MW available at ` 2.64 per unit, on Monday afternoon.

But states with an electricity supply deficit are not buying this power. Experts point out that to cut losses many of these discoms disconnect electricity for hours. This situation is rampant in states where discoms do not have the money to buy electricity to meet the demand.

Salil Garg, director of corporate ratings at India Ratings explains the financial situation of SEBs (state electricity boards): “Demand is a function of the state discoms ability to buy power. So technically there is surplus but vast stretches of India would still be facing power cuts”

But other observers of the sector believe that its a case of demand-supply mismatch. “Demand for electricity has crashed, so we cannot say we are power surplus. The slowing demand in the power sector is making it difficult for generation and transmission companies to survive,” says Harry Dhaul, director general of IPPAI, an association of private power generation companies. “The decline varies from 10-40% from state to state,” added Dhaul.

Data from NTPC shows that demand for coal-based power has been 37.7 billion units lower in 2015-16 than the previous year, while for gas-based power it was lower by 25.5 billion units. Meanwhile, the state-run power generator added 2,200 MW capacity in 2015-16 against 1,290 MW in the previous fiscal.

“Overall slowdown in the economy and the lack of financial capacity of SEBs to buy electricity is the reason for muted demand. Manufacturing and mining sectors are also yet to pick up. Both these sectors are the main electricity guzzlers” said Ma dan S ab na vis, chief economist, Care Ratings.

with thanks : Hindustan Times 7.6.2016

EDMC to roll back order on increase in property taxes : HT

7.6.16

Having received flak over increased property tax rates in its area from residents and traders alike, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) now wants to roll back the implementation of the recommendations of the third Municipal Valuation Committee (MVC).

“We have passed a resolution condemning the Delhi government and have called a special meeting of the EDMC House on Tuesday, where we will pass a resolution to recall the increase in taxes,” said Jitender Choudhary, chairman, Standing Committee, EDMC.

He added that during the municipal workers’ strike, the Delhi government pressured the civic body through various letters asking them to implement the MVC recommendations.

The Delhi government, however, refuted the allegations and said that while the implementation was a mandate of the municipal corporations entirely, the blame is now being shifted onto the government.

The recommendations had led to an increase in property tax up to 10 times.

with thanks : Hindustan Times

GOVT NOTIFIES NEW BUILDING BY-LAWS FOR FAST APPROVALS : HT

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government on Monday notified the new building by-laws, giving the final nod to simplify the process of obtaining building plan certificates.

With the new online application form, one will no longer have to run from one government agency to another to get approval. One needs to just fill a single online, integrated form.

The new by-laws will decrease the time taken by the authorities to sanction the building plans. Now, the time limit for sanctioning a building plan is 60 days. This will come down to 30 days with the new laws.

“The process is being simplified. An applicant will just have to fill one centralized online form. The application would automatically be forwarded to the agencies such as MCD, Delhi Jal Board, fire department, etc. The building certificate will be issued in 30 days,” said PWD minister Satyendar Jain.

Citizens can also make single online application to concerned urban local body instead of approaching multiple agencies thereby reducing human interface.

The by-laws will ensure that approvals by agencies such as the Airports Authority of India, ASI, National Monument Authority, Delhi Fire Services, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, and Ministry of Environment are obtained by the local body rather than the applicant and that too within 15 days.

The building by-laws were revised by the Centre and launched in March earlier this year by urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu.

A government official said that three corporations have completed most of the integration with all other external agencies through a common application form and would be in a position to eliminate manual applications as soon as the Delhi government notifies the by-laws.

with thanks : Hindustan Times

Open Letter to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal – What is going wrong in terms of Electricity !

6th June, 2016

Mr Arvind Kejriwal,

CM Delhi

Subject : ELECTRICITY, DERC, DISCOMs :

Dear Sir,

Our system has forced us to bear the Monopolistic practices of DISCOMs, as we don’t have any choice. We are forced to have a connection only from a specific service provider, at any RATE ( power tariff & regulatory assets ) they want, at any QUALITY ( fluctuations & low voltages ) they offer and at any QUANTITY ( outages ) they could give to the consumers and that too, in the absence of any CAG or RTI.

Please go through the Electricity Act as below and see, at how many places it talks about the competition as well promotion of competition :

http://www.cercind.gov.in/Act-with-amendment.pdf

THE ELECTRICITY ACT, 2003 [No.36 of 2003] [26th May, 2003] An Act to consolidate the laws relating to generation, transmission, distribution, trading and use of electricity and generally for taking measures conducive to development of electricity industry, promoting competition therein, protecting interest of consumers and supply of electricity to all areas, rationalization of electricity tariff, ensuring transparent policies regarding subsidies, promotion of efficient and environmentally benign policies, constitution of Central Electricity Authority, Regulatory Commissions and establishment of Appellate Tribunal and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

Section 23. (Directions to licensees): If the Appropriate Commission is of the opinion that it is necessary or expedient so to do for maintaining the efficient supply, securing the equitable distribution of electricity and promoting competition, it may, byorder, provide for regulating supply, distribution, consumption or use thereof.

Section 60. (Market domination): The Appropriate Commission may issue such directions as it considers appropriate to a licensee or a generating company if such licensee or generating company enters into any agreement or abuses its dominant position or enters into a combination which is likely to cause or causes an adverse effect on competition in electricity industry.

Section 61. ( Tariff Regulations ) : (c) the factors which would encourage competition, efficiency, economical use of the resources, good performance and optimum investments;

Section 62. (Determination of tariff): Provided that in case of distribution of electricity in the same area by two or more distribution licensees, the Appropriate Commission may, for promoting competition among distribution licensees, fix only maximum ceiling of tariff for retail sale of electricity.

Section 79. (Functions of Central Commission): 2 (ii) promotion of competition, efficiency and economy in activities of the electricity industry;

Section 86. (Functions of State Commission): 2 (i) promotion of competition, efficiency and economy in activities of the electricity industry;

Section 131. (Vesting of property of Board in State Government): (5) A transfer scheme under this section may- (a) provide for the formation of subsidiaries, joint venture companies or other schemes of division, amalgamation, merger, reconstruction or arrangements which shall promote the profitability and viability of the resulting entity, ensure economic efficiency, encourage competition and protect consumer interests;

But in reality, there is no competition at all. The truth is that, our system has forced us to bear the Monopolistic practices of DISCOMs, as we don’t have any choice. We are forced to have a connection only from a specific service provider, at any RATE they want, at any QUALITY  they offer and at any QUANTITY they could give to the consumers and that too, in the absence of any CAG or RTI.

May i request you to please look into the above issue & do the needful for the benefit of Delhiites ?

With Best regards,

B S Vohra

Social Activist

www.RWABhagidari.com

RWABhagidari meet on the MCD Ward Delimitation & Property Tax - EDMC !

Dear Mr. Vohra, 

Kudos for your wonderful and fruitful meeting organised at Leela Hotel, which I had perforce to miss, as I lost my mobile phone somewhere in Gazipur when I talked to you. I was very keen but the loss of the phone disheartened me so much I was totally upset as I had all the numbers thereat! However, I got the report through your channel. Thanks for updating me always in all fronts. I am one of the rare admirers of your's feats and herculean efforts being made ceaselessly and constantly! What decisions had been taken by the Govt. agencies concerned are not known. All discussed but no decision taken, is the present scenario, perhaps. Kindly keep us informed the vital decisions taken on property tax, delimitation etc., particularly on payment of property tax front, as there is a lot of confusion about it. Since the final decision is not yet known, will they extend the date for final payment from June to July or 

August! I wonder!!

With best wishes and deep regards,

TK Balu

RWABhagidari meet on the MCD Ward Delimitation & Property Tax - EDMC !

Dear Vohra ji  -  Lots of claps to you and your team for organizing such an interesting and interactive session with our elected representatives - MLA, Mr S. K. Bagga, Councillor, Mrs Kalpna Jain and Chairman, Standing Committee EDMC, Mr Jitender Chaudhary at Hotel Leela Ambience on Wednesday, 1st June 2016, 05.30 pm.

People's  concerns such as, Delimitation of MCD wards and repercussions thereof, up gradation of colonies for the purpose of property tax, formation of mohalla sabhas by Delhi Govt. for carrying out development work needed in each area, etc. were discussed in detail.  Some queries raised by the audience were clarified.

Mr Vohra and some other members raised a concern that in stead of mohalla sabha, the existing RWAs which are registered and have been doing excellent residents' welfare work for a long time should be empowered to do the same work which the proposed mohalla sabhas are supposed to do.

However, I would like to suggest to Mr Vohra that in future when such meetings are organized, he should also invite MLA/Councillor from Laxmi Nagar side as well for a wider interaction.

General Manager of the Hotel made a nice pp presentation to promote the hotel.  The event was followed by high tea hosted by the Hotel. 

R. N. Gupta

Priyadarshini Vihar RWA