Delhi bags 27% more this Budget, infrastructure gets biggest share

Infrastructure and development in Delhi got a boost on Thursday with the Union Budget including a Rs 200 crore increase in funds from last year's Budget for Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM). In all, the Delhi government received a 27 per cent increase from the previous year — Rs 1,143 crore for the 2013-2014 compared to Rs 900.

"The increase in JnNURM funds from Rs 500 crore to Rs 700 crore will let us implement more infrastructure projects in the city," Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said.She said of the Rs 243 crore increase in allocation, Rs 200 crore was for JnNURM.

"Taxes on big companies and very wealthy people and no pressure on the common man is an excellent step. This is a women-oriented budget with the FM announcing a Nirbhaya fund and a bank exclusively for women," she said.

Under JnNURM head, allocation for Rajiv Awas Yojana increased to Rs 80 crore this year, compared to the Rs 5 crore in the revised 2012-2013 budget. "The submission on Urban Infrastructure Governance has been increased from Rs 350 crore to Rs 470 crore. Rs 5 crore has been increased under Housing for Urban Poor," she said.

In recent times, Dikshit has repeatedly requested an increase in the share of Central taxes, which since 2001 has remained stagnant at Rs 325 crore in the form of a grant from the Finance Ministry. "I believe our demand has now been sent to the Finance Commission for recommendations," she said.

The allocation under normal central assistance has also increased from Rs 281.75 crore to Rs 309.92 crore. The Union Budget also included Rs 10 crore, for the first time, under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana. Also, assistance under National Social Assistance Program was increased from Rs 48.60 crore to Rs 54.60 crore.

Delhi received an allocation of Rs 68.39 crore from Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Urban Development Ministry announced Rs 1 crore for equity towards National Capital Region Transport Corporation and Rs 1 lakh as aid towards the corporation.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/delhi-bags-27--more-this-budget-infrastructure-gets-biggest-share/1081441/0

Schools heave sigh of relief, CM favours RTE extension

Delhi schools heaved a sigh of relief and welcomed the decision of the Delhi High Court, which made it clear that there was no stopping the nursery admission process currently underway.

In first comments, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said: "We are going through the order. The government is considering options." She said personally she would like the ambit of the Right to Education Act expanded to include children under the age of six.

Ameeta M Wattal, principal of Springdales School and vice-chairperson of National Progressive Schools Conference, said: "We support the court order, the autonomy of schools has to be maintained." She said had there been any delay in the order, it would have been a big issue for parents.

With the High Court ruling that the RTE Act does not apply to nursery except the provision to reserve 25 per cent seats for the economically weaker sections, Madhulika Sen, chairperson of the Forum of Public Schools, said "that is what we have been saying all this while that the RTE does not apply to nursery and KG."

Sen also raised the point of autonomy of private unaided schools and said "the other 75 per cent should be left to us". She said the forum held a meeting on Tuesday.

The petitioners, on the other hand, called the order "a partial victory". Ashok Agarwal, counsel for petitioner Social Jurist NGO, said they will move the Supreme Court in the next two weeks regarding extension of the RTE.

Source:http://www.indianexpress.com/news/schools-heave-sigh-of-relief-cm-favours-rte-extension/1076670/

Sheila steps in: Won’t let schools shut down, may extend deadline

As more than 2,200 schools facing closure drew up a protest calendar for the next two months to oppose the move, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Wednesday clarified that schools would not be shut down even if they do not meet the requirements of the Right To Education Act.

Speaking at the Idea Exchange programme of The Indian Express, Dikshit said her government "will consider giving them (schools) more time if they want".

She said she had been told about the problem only recently and the schools would be given a year or two to meet RTE standards. She said even if these schools did not have the best facilities, "at least students are studying somewhere".

"The education of a child is more important than rules," Dikshit said in response to a question.

The RTE Act lays down certain parameters for all schools. The Act also specifies a time limit of three years "from the time of the implementation of the Act" for school managements to upgrade facilities. That time limit ends on March 31.

An umbrella body called the Delhi State Private Schools Association (DSPSA) recently said that "some of the provisions of the RTE are against the weaker section of society". They were seeking extension of the time limit, stating that they neither have more subsidised land for expansion of the school premises nor the resources since these schools are run in slums and smaller localities and charge a nominal fee from students.

According to the section 18(5) of the RTE Act, after March 31, 2013, schools that are not recognised will be liable for a one-time penalty of Rs 1 lakh and a fine of Rs 10,000 per day.

Many schools may not be regularised because they do not meet land norm requirements to be recognised as primary schools. According to DSPSA, nearly 4.75 lakh students will be affected if these schools are shut down.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/sheila-steps-in-won-t-let-schools-shut-down-may-extend-deadline/1073747/0

E-stamping in city courts

To ensure hassle-free transactions and prevent fraudulent practices, the Delhi government has introduced electronic-stamping facility in all the district courts in the city while doing away with stamp papers of all denominations.

"Delhi has become the first state in the country to introduce e-court fee in all its district courts.... The new system was first introduced in Delhi High Court in November, 2012. The exercise for all six district courts has been completed within just three weeks," Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said.

She said this was a major step forward in the direction of a modern judicial system and an e-governed state. "The last court to implement the e-court fee system was the Kakardooma court where it was introduced last week," Dikshit said.

It is a unique system, which enables the public and lawyers to get a court fee receipt of exact denomination, irrespective of the amount, thus, making the entire process of remitting court fee entirely paper-free," she said.

Source:http://www.indianexpress.com/news/estamping-in-city-courts/1073279/

Sheila gets a say in police functioning, Chief Minister is part of guiding panel

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit will now have some say in the functioning of Delhi Police. The Chief Minister and Lieutenant Governor of Delhi have been made a part of a central panel that frames guidelines on security and effective policing in seven union territories.

In the days following the December 16 gangrape, Dikshit repeatedly regretted not having control over the police.

The security commission, set up in 2010, has so far been headed by the Union Home Secretary. However, by an order issued on January 16, the Home Ministry changed the composition of the commission for Delhi, putting the administrator of Delhi — either the L-G or the CM — at its head, and appointing the chief secretary of Delhi and the commissioner of Delhi Police as its members.

The change, giving the Chief Minister a role in law and order, has been made only for Delhi. The Home Ministry is working on "provisions regarding security commission being made in the Delhi Police Act". However, there will be no change in the reporting structure of Delhi Police, which will continue to work under the Home Ministry.

For the other six UTs — Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Puducherry, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, and Lakshadweep — the commission will continue to be headed by Union Home Secretary. The chief secretaries and directors-general of police of these UTs, along with five independent members nominated by the central government, will be members of the commission.

The Ministry has decided that the "independent members shall be for two years, and can be removed by the central government for reasons to be recorded in writing".

The security commission was set up on the recommendation of the Justice K T Thomas committee on police reform, and was intended to "identify performance indicators to evaluate the functioning of the police service. These indicators include operational efficiency, public satisfaction, victim satisfaction vis-a-vis police investigation, response and accountability".

A senior Home Ministry official said the change has been made to "provide Delhi government and other stakeholders in the capital with sufficient opportunity to suggest measures to improve law and order and other security issues".

The Justice J S Verma Commission mentioned the question of control over Delhi Police in its January 23 report, remarking, "This ambiguity must be removed forthwith so that there is no divided responsibility in Delhi in respect of maintenance of law and order. Such a step is also essential to maintain accountability."

Women don't feel safe in Delhi: Sheila

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Wednesday met Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde over the security and safety of women in the national capital following yet another brutal assault on a young woman. "Women do not feel safe in Delhi and fears have risen after this shocking incident in Lajpat Nagar," Dikshit said. This is not the first time Dikshit has brought up policing in the national capital and has repeatedly requested that the city government should be given more powers.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/sheila-gets-a-say-in-police-functioning-chief-minister-is-part-of-guiding-panel/1070426/0

Polls ahead, Sheila govt goes to work

A number of infrastructure projects will take off this year; Chief Minister to start inaugurating from February.

In the election year, the Congress-led Delhi government has started to lay the foundation that it hopes will stand the party in good stead at the time of campaign.

A number of infrastructure projects will take off this year, with Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit starting the inauguration spree from February. In the second week of February, around the 9th, Dikshit will lay the foundation stone for the Phase-II extension of Barapullah elevated road. The extension will take the elevated corridor up Till INA Market.

February 26, sources said, will have Dikshit inaugurating the construction of an elevated stretch from Vikaspuri to Meera Bagh.

March will bring another set of infrastructure projects, most of which will be inaugurated by Delhi government. Just before the elections, scheduled for the end of the year, the work on 805 km of roads that were taken over by the government from the MCD will be completed.

"Barapullah Phase-II will be inaugurated by February 9 and Vikaspuri to Meera Bagh will be inaugurated by February 26 by Sheila Dikshit. Seventy roads in the rural belt will also be inaugurated by March 2. This project is expected to cost Rs 300 crore. Work on all major infrastructure projects should start by April,'' PWD Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan said.

"The work between Vikaspuri and Meera Bagh will be awarded to Simplex Infrastructure Limited, which constructed the Ring Road bypass. It's a 4.3-km stretch, of which 3.3 km will be elevated. The project is expected to cost Rs 410 crore. At the ground level, there will be service roads, dedicated bus lanes, green areas, footpaths and public conveniences. This project will be the first phase of the decongestion plan for Outer Ring Road,'' a PWD official said.

In the second phase to decongesting the Outer Ring Road, is the 4-km partially elevated stretch from Mangolpuri to Madhuban Chowk. The third section is an elevated 3.8-km stretch from Madhuban Chowk to Mukarba Chowk.

Besides this, a six-lane, 8-km-long parallel road would be constructed between Mukarba Chowk and Wazirabad, the cost of which has been worked out at Rs 833 crore. "The work for these projects will be awarded by March as the technical bids for them has been received,'' an official said.

Construction of an elevated road, over the 2.1-km stretch on Ring Road between Prembari Pul and Azadpur, will also start in March.

A number of feasibility studies have also been approved and the studies are likely to be submitted within six months. "The approvals for corridor development and improvement plans from end of Signature Bridge on Ring Road to start of Salimgarh bypass near Hanuman Temple flyover, Maude Road (from Ring Road junction to Cariappa Marg and Thimaya Marg junction) and Cariappa Marg, Paschim Vihar, Road No. 30, and Najafgarh and Pankha Road have been given. The consultants will get six months to submit the detailed drawing and feasibility plans,'' a PWD official said.

The approvals for other feasibility studies are underway. These include the traffic and feasibility study for the corridor from Mathura Road in Bhogal to Ishwar Nagar and Ring Road from Ashram flyover to DND Flyway.

Coming up this year

In February

Foundation laying ceremony for Barapullah Phase-II

Elevated road from Vikaspuri to Meera Bagh

In March

Elevated stretch from Mangolpuri to Madhuban Chowk

Elevated stretch from Madhuban Chowk to Mukarba Chowk

Parallel road between Mukarba Chowk and Wazirabad

Elevated road on Ring Road between Prembari Pul and Azadpur

Feasibility study for 4 corridors approved

Signature Bridge on Ring Road to start point of Salimgarh bypass

Maude Road to Cariappa Marg

Paschim Vihar, Road No. 30

Najafgarh Road and Pankha Road

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/polls-ahead-sheila-govt-goes-to-work/1066966/0

CP renovation misses another deadlin

Work to be complete by March 31, NDMC to announce new deadline in budget meeting today

After several missed deadlines, the Connaught Place renovation project is looking at a new date of completion — March 31. The renovation of city’s oldest shopping destination was initially scheduled to be complete before the 2010 Commonwealth Games, hosted by the national capital.

After a hurried clean up and stay on work during the sporting event, the deadlines were repeatedly revised and missed. The last one was December 2012.

The announcement about the further delay and the new deadline is expected to be announced at the annual budget meeting of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), which is scheduled for Monday.

During its previous budget announcement, for year 2012-13, the NDMC had set December 31, 2012, as the deadline for the Connaught Place project.

But, the NDMC officials are confident this is the last missed deadline for the project as “most of the work is complete” and only shifting of services, like electricity and telephone cables, is remaining.

The plan included provision of heritage sensitive signages, engineering improvements of roads and enhancement of electricity, drainage and water facilities.

Several agencies like the NDMC, Engineers India Limited and Central Public Works Department are involved in the project. Apart from construction work, the project required coordination with the Delhi Traffic Police, which is responsible for smooth movement of traffic in the area.

At present, all seven radial roads of the area are open for traffic movement.

“Currently, development of parking spaces on both the sides of the radial roads is being done,’’ a source said. While major construction work is over, the renovation of façade in parts of the shopping centre is left.

Earlier, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had expressed her displeasure at the delay in completion of the project.

What to look for in NDMC budget