Delhi Divided, Ministers Now Have Their Own Areas To Look After

All Cabinet ministers in Delhi have been asked to watch their terrain and ensure there are no lapses during the Commonwealth Games.

In an informal meeting convened by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Wednesday all ministers were warned that the smallest oversight can lead to major embarrassment during the Games.

"Her main concern was that the deadlines for several projects that are already stretched thin should be met at all cost. Another reason for asking us to oversee work is that she does not want aesthetics of projects compromised in the last-minute rush," said a minister.

Ministers have, therefore, been asked to take charge of parts of the city they live in.

Education minister Arvinder Singh Lovely has been told to monitor progress at the Games Village and Yamuna Sports Complex, which has faced a lot of flak due to the delays and also for its design. The project has been undertaken by the Delhi Development Authority. 

Detailed story can be viewed from the link in headline above.

with thanks : source : Indian Express

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Pay more to park in upmarket city areas

Parking Fee Linked To Locality’s House Tax

New Delhi: Soon, you may have to pay more if you park your vehicle in a upmarket colony. As reported by TOI earlier, the MCD has come out with a new parking policy. It lays down that a colony falling in category A — for assessing house tax — the proposed car parking charges will be Rs 50 for the first two hours. Car owners will have to cough up Rs 75 more to park there for another two hours and Rs 50 per hour thereafter.
    

Similarly, for category B, a person will be charged Rs 30 for the first two hours and will have to pay Rs 50 if he wants to park for two hours more. In categories C to E, one will have to pay Rs 20 for the first two hours while in categories F to H, one will now have to pay Rs 10 for the same period. 

While MCD had come up with another formula for calculating parking fees — whereby parking at the centre of the city would have been more expensive than parking at the periphery — it was turned down by various agencies. 

The new policy has been formulated to encourage public transport and discourage Delhiites from purchasing private vehicles. An MCD official said: ‘‘The pricing of parking is an important and integral part of the policy formulation. The parking charges can impact the vehicle travel patterns and assist in streamlining the traffic flow. Keeping all this in mind, we have linked parking charges to the land price of an area, congestion patterns there and the time period for parking. We feel that parking fee should be based on the size and type of vehicle.’’ 

Parking charges for a particular area will be arrived at after multiplying the charges with the congestion factor in that area. For two-wheelers, parking fees will be Rs 20 in categories A and B for two hours, Rs 10 for categories C to E and Rs 5 for categories F to H. For buses and lorries, the parking charges will be Rs 100 for first two hours in categories A and B and Rs 150 thereafter, Rs 75 for categories for C to E and Rs 100 for the next two hours. For the last three categories, the amount is Rs 50 for first two hours and Rs 75 thereafter. 

Detailed news can be viewed from the link in headline above.

with thanks : source : Times of India

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Pay property tax or face action, no amnesty scheme: MCD

The MCD today asked citizens in the capital to pay their property tax or face strong action, saying that no amnesty scheme will be launched this year as many opportunities have already been given to defaulters.

The citizens can pay their tax by tomorrow and avail 15 per cent rebate. The civic body had kept all its property tax offices open this weekend to facilitate tax-payers.

"Stringent action will be taken against the defaulters including attachment of immovable properties and their sale or auction," chairman of 'special high-powered property tax committee' Ved Parkash Gupta said.

DETAILED NEWS CAN BE VIEWED FROM THE LINK IN HEADLINE ABOVE.


With thanks : source : PTI NEWS


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Online RWA Directory

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RWABhagidari - East Delhi joint front

We are pleased to inform that in continuation of our efforts of forming a common platform for RWA's, we are now launching RWABhagidari - East Delhi Joint front. The purpose of this front will be to raise the common civic problems of the residents of East Delhi and try to achieve the results with mutual cooperation of all the members. Office bearers of this joint front will be nominated out of the Members of our blog : RWABhagidari. Therefore, if you are not yet a member of the blog, please do so immediately.

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Delhi govt's Bhagidari programme wins at World Cities Summit in Singapore

Delhi might still have some catching up to do with cities like London, New York, Tokyo or Singapore when it comes to providing world class urban infrastructure, but here is one governance initiative that has won accolades from policy makers and experts at the second edition of the ongoing World Cities Summit in Singapore. 

The city government’s ambitious “Bhagidaari” programme – citizen’s participation in governance - was among the top four finalists at the Lee Kuan Yew World City prize announced on Tuesday at the summit. 

While Bilbao City in – which houses the famous Guggenheim Museum – became the first recipient of the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize, instituted last year, the other two finalists – besides Delhi – included Melbourne and Curitiba.

Delhi government launched the ambitious Bhagidaari programme way back in 2000 with the idea to involve citizens through Resident Welfare Association’s (RWA) in finding solutions to civic problems affecting them. “We started off with 11 RWAs and today we have 2300 of them working with us. With our support these RWAs have taken up projects like rain water harvesting and maintenance of parks,” said Keshav Chandra, special secretary, Delhi government. 

DETAILED NEWS CAN BE VIEWED FROM THE LINK IN HEADLINE ABOVE.

with thanks : source : Hindustan Times

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New Delhi named among top four world cities

New Delhi was today named among the top four global cities at the inaugural Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize here with Chief Minister Sheila Dixit appreciated for her "charismatic and determined leadership" for improving the living environment of the India's capital.

Dikshit's efforts in promoting a "liveable city" were the basis of naming the Indian capital along with Melbourne of Australia, Curitiba of Brazil and the prize winner Bilbao.

This was announced here at the World Cities Summit 2010. A total of 72 city nominations were received from 32 countries for the prize. 

 

"Sheila Dikshit was shortlisted for her charismatic and determined leadership in improving the living environment of New Delhi. Inspite of limited resources and limited control over the planning process, Dikshit had managed to muster the masses to implement several project-based initiatives that led to an improvement in the quality of life," a statement from the Lee Kuan Yew World city prize committee said.

"She also managed to increase the green cover in Delhi from 26 km in 1997 to nearly 300 km to-date, and was the key proponent in converting all public transport to the use of CNG fuel. This has led to a marked improvement in the air quality of the city," it added.

DETAILED NEWS CAN BE VIEWED FROM THE LINK IN HEADLINE ABOVE.

with thanks : source : Business Standard

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Come, be a traffic guide

Come Commonwealth Games and you could see the `common man' regulating traffic on Delhi roads. Delhi Police has invited "motivated city residents" to enrol themselves as volunteers for traffic regulation during the  sporting extravaganza to be held between Oct 3 and 14.

 

"We expect huge traffic during the event. Delhiites can help us in making the roads safer and congestion free. We have roped in cricketer Virender Sehwag to appeal to the people to join the programme," a senior police official said.

Police Commissioner YS Dadwal himself had admitted that there could be pressure on the traffic situation during the Games and said the authorities would carry out a campaign next month.

Under the programme, Delhiites above 18 years of age, who have passed Class XII, can enroll as a volunteers for 20 days between September 25 and October 15. "What you need is only a mobile phone and an email ID. If the volunteer has a driving licence, it is better. Download the application from the Delhi Traffic Police website www.delhitrafficpolice.nic.in and you will soon receive your registration number," the official said.

Detailed news can be viewed from the link in headline above.

with thanks : source : Hindustan Times

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Shiela Thali For Poor At Rs 15

After Sheila wheat flour, now it's the turn of Sheila Thali. Unable to counter the ever-spiraling prices of food items, the Delhi Government is launching de novo scheme to serve full meal for just Rs 15. The Delhi Government a few months back had launched similar scheme for selling wheat flour and daals at subsidized rates at the Kendriya Bhandar and Mother Dairy outlets.

 

According to a Government official, initially the meals will be made available at 7-8 centres across the Capital. The Thali will be available from 8 to 11 in the morning and from 7 pm to 10 pm. The scheme will be launched by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit at the Asaf Ali Road centre on Tuesday. The official said that some agencies will be given the job to cook the food and sell them through these centers. He further said that the decision has been taken in wake of the rising prices of all essential commodities including food items especially after increase in the fuel prices that has led to further increase in local transportation cost and thus the goods prices.

Notably, the government has already been selling wheat flour and pulses at the outlets of Kendriya Bhandar and Mother Dairy at prices lower than in the retail market. The decision to sell wheat flour was taken in November last year at 132 select outlets across the Capital.

DETAILED NEWS CAN BE VIEWED FROM THE LINK IN HEADLINE ABOVE.

With thanks : source : Pioneer

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Exchange bulbs with energy-saving CFLs!

NDPL to give four CFLs in exchange for four working incandescent bulbs  

 

The power distribution company North Delhi Power Limited (NDPL) today said that it will give four compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) in exchange of equal number of working incandescent bulbs.

 

This is expected to result in a reduction of 100 MW in the peak demand for NDPL and energy savings of over 100 million KWH annually.

The company has also signed an agreement with Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) and C-Quest Capital in this regard.

"The initiative is called Bachat Lamp Yojana where all the NDPL consumers can get up to a maximum of four compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) at Rs 15 each in exchange of equal number of working incandescent bulbs," said senior officials of the company.

The entire project is financed by C-Quest Capital as it will earn revenue through sale of carbon credits. NDPL and C-Quest Capital will distribute about 15 lakh CFLs in the NDPL area.

Detailed news can be viewed from the link in headline above.

with thanks : source : Tribune

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MCD gears up water-logging control rooms

IANS

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has geared up its control rooms for water-logging and other monsoon-related complaints, an official said Tuesday.

'We request the citizens to lodge any complaint related to monsoon in the MCD's control rooms, the complaints will be immediately addressed with an effective redressal,' said MCD Spokesperson Deep Mathur.

The complaint can be of any kind from water-logging, fallen trees and missing manhole covers to sanitation, repair of potholes, dangerous buildings and removal of dead animals.

Complaints can be lodged by making calls to the concerned MCD's zonal office control room or the central control room. The calls will have voice logging facility so that complaints can be recorded with all the particulars and for effective monitoring.

These control rooms will be functioning round-the-clock. The central control room numbers are: 23212700, 23220010, 23220016, 23220037

Detailed news can be viewed from the link in headline above.

with thanks : source : sify

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