Monday, October 2, 2017

May we ask the CAG, on the state of affairs of Delhi Metro?

There are so many questions to be asked from Delhi Metro on the 2nd Tariff hike in less than 6 months, but don't know how, CAG had no question or no comment on the Financial accounts of Delhi Metro ?



















Does it mean that the Accounts of Delhi Metro - A Joint Venture between the Central Govt & Delhi Govt are not being Audited by CAGIf yes, how & why the Accounts of a Public Ltd. company are not being Audited by CAG? 

Does it mean that the persons working at Delhi Metro are so perfect, that there is no chance of any human error, mistake or fraud in its books of Accounts & that's why CAG has given it a Clean Chit, vide above letter?

May we ask the CAG if they had viewed the Profit Before Tax figures as well Profit After Tax figures of the last 10 years of Delhi Metro? A simple glance on the figures will automatically generate a dozen questions in mind, on the state of affairs of Delhi Metro.

May we ask the CAG that how the projected expenditure of Delhi Metro has increased by 74% in the past one year, i.e. from Rs 1795 CR in 2016-17 to Rs 3127 CR in 2017-18?

May we ask the CAG that how there is a steep hike in the Operating Expenses of Delhi Metro? How the consultancy & Professional charges increased from 3.09 Lakh to 1,851.58 Lakh? How they could not recover 3,509.91 Lakh from Trade receivables, for which the Bad debts provision is provided?

May we ask the CAG that what was the impact of the First hike of the Tariffs, 6 months ago, on the so called net loss of Rs 378 CR of Delhi Metro?

May we ask the CAG that what was the need to double the tariff in a span of just six months, while the energy costs, staff costs, repair & maintenance costs have risen gradually in a span of 9 years since 2009. Similarly, the ridership also increased gradually, covering all such costs. 

Last but not the least, may we ask the CAG, that how much Service Tax / GST is being charged on the services being provided by Delhi Metro?

Saturday, September 30, 2017

Happy Dussehra !






BREATHE DELHI AIR, DIE EARLY

Is there any statement, any comment, from any of the Leaders of Delhi, on this very serious issue ? 

Delhiites are losing up to 9 years of their life, due to worsening pollution in the City, and we are still awaiting a comment / statement from our leaders.
























































With best regards,

B S Vohra
Social Activist, President,
East Delhi RWAs Joint Front - Federation

Friday, September 29, 2017

International Conference on Continuous Emissions Monitoring

Accepted the  invite to attend the 12th International Conference and Exhibition on the issue of Continuous Emissions Monitoring  at Delhi,  as since last many years, I am directly concerned with all such issues. You can take it as my Social responsibility or the Social cause that I have regularly raised  such issues. Had filed my very first RTI at that time when no one was talking about the issue & those RTIs were duly covered by Print media as well TV channels.




My idea to accept the three day conference was that it will give me much more knowledge on the subject and will add to my experience. So very eagerly and to increase my own awareness on the issue, I started attending the Conference. There were so many speakers to talk about various issues & mostly, all of them were from overseas countries. They presented their research papers in the conference & the audience, including myself, tried to understand them wholeheartedly.






Speakers included Mr. Robert Baxter from USA, Mr. Bernhard Thull from Germany, Mr. Rod Robinson from UK, Mr. Jerome Laplagne from France, Mr. Roland Zepeck from Austria, Mr. Koh Yee Tiong from Singapore, Dr Carlo Bruno from Italy, Ms. Tuula Pellikka from Finland, as well many know persons from CSR, CPCB & other connected fields.






During the conference, I got the opportunity to meet Mr. Erkki Lamminen from Finland who had exhibited  an  equipment to measure the SPM 2.5. Soon we became friendly and we went outside on the road, in the open, near the CBD Ground, Karkardooma, almost at a distance of one KM from the Anand Vihar, which can be said as the most polluted area in the National Capital.


On the very first day, we checked the Real Time status of the SPM 2.5 at around 11am in the morning. Though the Average was at around 60, the PEAKS were almost 3 to 4 times of the average at that minute. The cause of concern was that while we are at that location and while the peaks were up to 3 to 4 times, if we keep inhaling there, what will happen to our Lungs?




Next morning, we again checked the status at around same time & this time, SPM 2.5 was at almost 120, while the peaks were almost double. To my surprise, Mr Lamminen told me that it Finland, the maximum SPM 2.5 was only up to 10 or 20, and while in New Delhi, he was already inhaling at at almost 5 to 10 times, and was really worried about his health.





Surprising factor is that while Chicago University in its latest study has very clearly stated that if we could comply with the WHO standards of Air Quality at Delhi, the residents here can get a life of 9 more years. But seems, no one is concerned, no one is shattered as there is no hue and cry from any corner. Residents just view the news, read and forget, as there is no time to consider for an additional life of 6 to 9 years.

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Over 200 vehicles impounded

The three municipal corporations (east, north and south), along with the Delhi Traffic Police, started a special anti-encroachment drive on Monday to remove illegally parked vehicles at 29 ‘No Tolerance Zones’ identified by them.

Cranes, trucks used

A total of 238 vehicles were impounded on Day 1 -- 142 by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), 75 by the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) and 21 were towed away by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation.
Around 38 cranes and around a dozen trucks were used for the drive by the civic bodies and around 50 licensing inspectors were deployed for the task.
The 29 stretches include Aurobindo Marg, Mathura Road, Savitri Flyover, Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road, Dhaula Kuan, Sardar Patel Marg, Najafgarh Road, Pankha Road, Vikas Marg, Ring Road (from Vijay Nagar to Burari Chowk), and Outer Ring Road (between Hanuman Setu and Chandgi Ram Akhara and Bhalswa Road and Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar).
Residents across the city welcomed the move by the authorities to decongest the roads and many said the drive should be expanded to other areas as well.

Move welcomed

B.S. Vohra, the president of East Delhi Resident Welfare Association Joint Front, said that it was a good move, which will not only help reduce traffic but will also control pollution in the city.
“However, if people know that the police and the civic bodies are only targeting the 29 stretches then they will park their vehicles in areas around it. This should be a pan-Delhi initiative,” Mr. Vohra said.
with thanks : Hindu : LINK

Monday, September 25, 2017

Decongestion Drive in Delhi from Today ?

It seems a good step for the betterment of Delhi, as it can not only reduce the traffic jam on the roads, but can also help in controlling the pollution to some extent. But don't you think that people will now try to park the cars in the nearby stretches of those 29 roads, to escape the challan and situation at those nearby stretches will be worsened?



East Delhi has only the Vikas Marg covered under this notification, while the entire East Delhi faces severe traffic jam. During festival seasons, the roads become non commutable in almost every part of East Delhi, due to unauthorized parking all over. So my questions are: Why only 29 roads are covered under this notification? Why this rule is not imposed in the entire Delhi, on all the commercial stretches? 

B S Vohra

Dilli 7 Baje: Decongestion Drives On 29 Delhi Roads From Today : Delhi Aajtak

Don’t park your car here: Decongestion drives on 29 Delhi roads from Monday

Some of the roads where the drives will be carried out are the Aurobindo Marg, Mathura Road, Savitri Flyover, Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road, Dhaula Kuan, Sardar Patel Marg, Najafgarh Road, Pankha Road, Vikas Marg, Ring Road, and Outer Ring Road

The nightmares faced by drivers and motorists while passing through choked roads in Delhi may finally end. The Delhi Traffic Police and the municipal bodies are set to begin a large-scale anti-encroachment drive on some of the worst affected routes in the city.
Some of the roads where the drives will be carried out are the Aurobindo Marg, Mathura Road, Savitri Flyover, Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road, Dhaula Kuan, Sardar Patel Marg, Najafgarh Road, Pankha Road, Vikas Marg, Ring Road, and Outer Ring Road.
A total of 29 such stretches have been identified as ‘No Tolerance Zones’ and have been chosen for the decongestion drive beginning Monday, said Garima Bhatnagar, Joint CP (Traffic). The focus will be on removal of the vehicles parked on the roadside and imposing heavy penalties on the offenders.
The decongestion drive comes in the wake of a meeting chaired by Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Anil Baijal in March to discuss the actions to be taken pertaining to the traffic management issues in the city. Previous attempts to decongest city’s roads had yielded little results due to low penalties under the Motor Vehicle Act for the offence of illegal parking.
“Since this time even the municipal bodies are working with us, we will also prosecute the offenders as per the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act. According to the Act, the fine is based on several factors, including the weight of the vehicles. Fines can go beyond Rs1,000 for illegal parking. It will serve as a major deterrent,” said Bhatnagar.
Some of the roads where the drives will be carried out are the Aurobindo Marg, Mathura Road, Savitri Flyover, Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road, Dhaula Kuan, Sardar Patel Marg, Najafgarh Road, Pankha Road, Vikas Marg, Ring Road, and Outer Ring Road.
On the Ring Road, the stretch between Vijay Nagar and Burari Chowk has been chosen. On the Outer Ring Road, two stretches — from Hanuman Setu to Chandgi Ram Akhara and from Bhalswa Road to Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar — have been picked for decongestion.
“These chosen stretches of roads are our priority as they are arterial roads and prone to massive jams, mainly due to illegal parking on the roadside. It will be a massive drive to decongest the roads,” said Bhatnagar.
The towed away vehicles will be taken to pits belonging either to the municipal bodies or the traffic police. But since this could be a herculean task due to the shortage of space, the authorities will mainly rely on creating awareness.
“We are holding meetings with the market association representatives in these chosen areas. We will make them aware of our initiative so that they find alternate places to park their vehicles. We will also carry out adequate publicity for the drive so that vehicle owners are not caught unaware,” said another senior traffic police officer.
Police will also crack down on used car dealers as their vehicles are a constant menace.
With thanks : Hindustan Times : LINK

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Delhi Parking Policy - Why they won't Talk to RWAs?????

RWAs say FIRST PROVIDE THEN PENALIZE.....

Governments love EXPERTS.....  Who suggest ways to increase revenue while SEEMINGLY TRYING TO GIVE SOLUTIONS.

One set of Experts suggest how to earn more by collecting ONE TIME ROAD TAX, another suggests a Cess on Fuel,  yet another suggests Conversion Charges, in a latest an Environmental Group suggests restrictions on Parking and heavy fees......

GOVERNMENTS LOVE IT and Lap it all, as they have done over the past Decade........  THEY WON'T LISTEN TO OR INVITE RWAs, as they demand answers on what have they provided in the name of all the Taxes, Cesses, Conversion Charges etc.....

ZERO......  so where has all the money  collected over the past 15 years gone ????? ...... financing the 5th, 6th and 7th Pay Commissions and Parliamentarian PERKS.

CITIZENS ARE MADE TO BELIEVE, that they are responsible for the mess so they must pay for the SOLUTIONS OFFERED BY SO CALLED EXPERTS.

WE ASK......  where are the Parking Lots that were to be developed, where is the 24X7 SAFE & SURE Public Transport, where is the Last Mile Connectivity, where are the Footpaths,  where are the Policemen or the CCTV camera's....... NO ANSWERS......  therefore NO PUBLIC HEARING.

Finally will you bring in the Rules for Authorised Colonies only or will it be across the board.....  VOTE BANKS INCLUDED ?????

Food for thought....
Regards,  Rajiv Kakria

Pay more for peak - hour parking from Oct : TOI


Monday, September 18, 2017

Who is responsible for the loss of 6 to 9 years of life of every Delhiite ?

Mr Arvind Kejriwal, CM, Delhi

Subject : findings of the University of Chicago on the Air quality levels of Delhi NCR.

Dear Sir,

The report says, "National Capital Region residents are losing out on almost 6 years of life because of the dangerous air pollution levels. If WHO standards were met in NCR, people would live 9 years longer. In Kolkata and Mumbai better air quality would translate into almost 3.5 year longer life spans". The report says,"4.6 billion life years would be added in the country by complying with WHO standards".



We would like to know from you, that :

1. Who is responsible for the loss of 6 to 9 years of Life of every resident of Delhi / NCR ?

2. Leaving aside the WHO standards, why we are unable to comply, even with the Indian standards ?

Please revert,

With best regards,

B S Vohra,
Social Activist, President,
East Delhi RWAs Joint Front - Federation
www.RWABhagidari.com

pic used with thanks to : HT