Page 24 - Delhi

Excise scam: Prominent people from south gave Rs 100 cr to AAP, says ED

Several prominent people from south-India had given kickbacks of around Rs 100 Cr to AAP government here in exchange of favours and undue benefits to them in the liquor business, the ED has alleged in its charge sheet filed before a city court in Delhi excise scam. The ED alleged in its charge sheet filed against businessman Sameer Mahendru and AAP's communication in-charge Vijay Nair had hatched a conspiracy with K Kavitha, MLC of Telangana, Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy (MSR), MP of Ongole (Andhra), his son Raghav Magunta, and Sarath Reddy, who are collectively called as South Group. Mahendru, in collusion with others, formed a cartel of retailer-wholesaler-manufacturer with Pernod Ricard, Benoy Babu, Vijay Nair, representative of AAP, Arun Pillai, K Kavitha, Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy (MSR), his son Raghav, Sarath Reddy, Abhishek Boinpally and Buchi Babu, it alleged, adding that the 'south group' was represented by Arun Pillai, Abhishek Boinpally and Buchi Babu. It added that Mahendru

Delhi LG asks chief secy to recover Rs 97 cr from AAP for advertisements

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has directed the chief secretary to recover Rs 97 crore from the AAP for political advertisements it published in the guise of government advertisements in 2016, official sources said on Tuesday. The development comes days after the AAP wrested power from the BJP in the MCD polls. The AAP alleged that the LG gave the order on the saffron party's directions and claimed that Saxena has no power to issue such a directive. The opposition BJP in Delhi welcomed the LG's directions and claimed that the amount to be recovered from the ruling party will rise to Rs 400 crore. At a press conference held here, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri alleged an "advertisement scam" and demanded a CBI inquiry into it. The LG in his orders to the chief secretary also directed that all advertisements since September 2016 be referred to the Committee on Content Regulation in Government Advertising (CCRGA), set up by the Ministry of Informatio

Delhi loses Rs 2,873 cr, accused gains Rs 295 cr due to Liquor policy: ED

ED in its charge sheet filed in connection with the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, claimed that due to it, the government suffered a loss of Rs 2,873 crore

Delhi govt to build 2 MGD water recycling plant in Bawana to meet demand

The Delhi government will build a water recycling plant of two million gallons per day (MGD) capacity in Bawana as part of its plan to provide round-the-clock water supply in the city, according to a statement on Tuesday. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia approved the Delhi Jal Board's project for the construction of the plant at the 20-MGD Bawana water treatment plant at a cost of Rs 10.3 crore. The water treatment plant lacks a recycling plant due to which a lot of water goes to waste. The Kejriwal government will construct a two-MGD recycling plant to curb the wastage, Sisodia said. He instructed the officials to complete the construction work within the stipulated timeline.

Delhi L-G cannot pass such orders, says AAP on direction to pay Rs 97 cr

The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday said Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has no power to pass orders directing the chief secretary to recover Rs 97 crore from the party for "political advertisements". Addressing a press conference here, AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj termed the LG's direction a "new love letter". "The BJP is flustered that we have become a national party and wrested power from it in the MCD. LG sahab is doing everything in accordance with the BJP's directions and that is troubling the people of Delhi. The more worried Delhi's people are, the happier the BJP gets," Bhardwaj claimed. He further said that the LG's directions would not stand in the eyes of law. "The Delhi LG has no such power. He cannot issue such directions. These won't stand in front of the law. Other state governments also issue advertisements. The BJP's various state governments issued advertisements that have been published here. We want to ask when will the Rs 22,000 crore spent on the .

Dense fog engulfs Delhi, road traffic, trains affected; flights unaffected

Dense to very dense fog engulfed the Indo-Gangetic plains, including Delhi, for the second morning on the trot on Tuesday, lowering visibility to 50 metres in the city and affecting road traffic and train movement. Flight operations, however, were unaffected, an airport official said. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), very dense fog is when visibility is between 0 and 50 metres, 51 and 200 is dense, 201 and 500 moderate, and 501 and 1,000 shallow. The Met office had on Monday forecast that the Indo-Gangetic plains may see "dense to very dense" fog over the next five days, which may result in cancellation and diversion of trains and flights. On Tuesday, 11 trains were reported running late by one to five hours. Visibility dropped to 50 metres at the Palam and Safdarjung airports between 5:30 am and 7 am, an IMD official said. Satellite images showed a thick layer of fog over Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, north Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. "Due to moisture and ligh

Bengaluru tops in APAC region in flexible office space stock; Delhi-NCR 5th

Bengaluru has the highest supply of premium flexible office space in Asia Pacific region at 10.6 million square feet, according to CBRE. In its latest report, real estate consultant CBRE said that Bengaluru topped the list of Asia-Pacific region (APAC) cities having the highest flexible stock ahead of 11 major cities. As of September 2022, Bengaluru recorded 10.6 million square feet (Grade-A assets) flexible stock, the highest among all major APAC cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo and Singapore. Delhi-NCR ranked fifth in the list of 12 cities with 6.6 million square feet of flexible stock in Grade-A assets, while Hyderabad was at seventh position with a stock of 5.7 million square feet. Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO - India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa - CBRE, said, "India is leading the flexible A-grade office stock in the APAC region. Occupiers are largely re-engineering their portfolio and workplace strategies to accommodate hybrid working ...

BJP meeting likely next month in Delhi to endorse extension of Nadda's term

A key organisational meeting of the BJP is likely to be held in the national capital next month in which the extension of party president J P Nadda's tenure is expected to be endorsed. Party sources said the BJP national executive will also deliberate over the strategy for the upcoming state assembly polls and review the ongoing organisational exercise. However, a highlight of the meeting will be the postponement of the organisational polls in view of the state elections and the all important Lok Sabha polls in 2024. This will lead to an automatic extension in the tenure of Nadda whose three-year term will end next month, as internal elections in at least half of the state units of the party must be over before the process of electing the next national president begins. After the Lok Sabha polls are over in April-May 2024, the process of internal polls will begin. Nadda's predecessor and Home Minister Amit Shah had also got an extension to spearhead the party's preparation for the

PM Modi to attend 'Veer Baal Diwas' event on Dec 26 at Delhi's India Gate

The Union government is set to organise an event on "Veer Baal Diwas" at India Gate in the national capital on December 26 in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also be present

'Kisan Garjana' rally: Farmers converge at Ramleela Ground, demand measures

Farmers have started converging at the Ramleela Ground here for the 'Kisan Garjana' rally to demand various relief measures from the government. A note issued by the organisers -- Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), a branch of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) -- said "the government will face trouble if it did not heed the farmers' demand in time". It said farmers are reaching the Ramleela Maidan from across the country in buses, tractors and motorcycles to demand remunerative prices for their crops based on the input cost. The farmers have also called for a rollback of GST on all kinds of farming activities and the permission for commercial production of genetically modified crops. They are also pushing the Centre to increase the financial support provided under the PM-Kisan scheme. Launched in December 2018, an income support of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal installments is provided to all land holding farmer families under the scheme. According to the organisers, around 60,0

With MCD polls behind it, Delhi BJP now headed for a major shakeup

After facing defeat in the MCD polls, Delhi BJP is now gearing up for a major shakeup in view of the Assembly elections to be held in 2025

Delhi's air quality 'very poor', minimum temperature settles at 6.2 deg C

Delhi's air quality was recorded in the "very poor" category on Sunday morning and the minimum temperature in the city settled at 6.2 degrees Celsius, two notches below the season's average. The relative humidity was 87 per cent at 8.30 am, the meteorological department said. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Air Quality Index (AQI) of the national capital stood at 315 at 9 am. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe". The weatherman has forecast a largely clear sky during the day. The maximum temperature is likely to settle at around 24 degrees Celsius.

Private schools in Delhi won't deny admission to children under EWS section

Private schools in the national capital will no longer be able to deny admission to children under the Economically Weaker Section category as per their will after a Delhi High Court order. The High Court on Friday ruled that private schools will no longer be able to deny admissions to children under the EWS category selected through the draw of lots by the Directorate of Education, Delhi government officials said. This order by the High Court will provide relief to thousands of poor families, as private schools will not be able to deny admission to their children, the officials said. Over the last few years, the Directorate of Education received several complaints about private schools refusing to give admission to the children allotted to them, they said. Private schools were arguing that they are not giving admission to EWS category children due to non-fulfillment of admissions in general seats, they added. In this case, it was observed that many private schools were giving ...

G20: DUSIB, Delhi Police officials meet to plan relocation of beggars

A meeting was held on Saturday by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) to chalk out a plan to remove and relocate beggars from the Hanuman Mandir area near the Kashmere Gate ISBT to night shelters, officials said. In view of the upcoming G20 Summit, the Delhi government issued directions on Thursday to remove and relocate the beggars from the Hanuman Mandir area. The meeting was held with the social welfare department as well as Delhi Police to discuss the rescue drive of the beggars. DUSIB member Bipin Rai said facilities that are provided at the government shelter homes, will also be provided to the beggars once they are relocated. "First, we will map the beggars and hold surveys to understand how many of them are there near the Kashmere Gate ISBT. We will also find out the number of family members of the beggars and proceed with the plan accordingly," he said earlier. A four-member committee, under the chief engineer of DUSIB, has been constituted to coordinate wit

Man held for impersonating Delhi HC judge to extort money from policemen

A man was arrested for allegedly impersonating a Delhi High Court judge and approaching police personnel in order to seek favours and extort money, officials said on Saturday. The accused visited the Samaypur Badli police station and introduced himself as a judge of the high court to the SHO there. However, the SHO became suspicious during the conversation as there was no official intimation regarding the visit of any judge to the police station, they said. On Friday, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Samaypur Badli received a WhatsApp message on his official mobile number which read, Hi here is Justice (name withheld), sitting judge Delhi High Court, call me urgently, according to police. He also made a call to the ACP's number, stating that he will visit Samaypur Badli police station at 5 pm in connection with a writ petition, they said. The ACP conveyed the message to the SHO of Samaypur Badli police station. When the SHO was in his office, a person, aged about 60 to 65 yea

Fifa World Cup 2022: A full house at bars, pubs in national capital

Given Messi's massive fan following in India, restaurant and pub owners are expecting a full house

Bengal BJP core group to meet in Delhi on Dec 19 to decide LS polls roadmap

According to sources in the BJP, the meeting will be held in the evening at the residence of Subhash Sarkar and will be chaired by BL Santosh and Sunil Bansala

Delhi LG V K Saxena approves appointment of several officers in MCD

Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena has approved appointment of several officers in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, officials said on Saturday. These appointments have been done after selection through a "duly laid down procedure" through open advertisements, shortlisting by a selection committee on the basis of weightage provided to prefixed criteria and interviews, they said. The LG has "approved the appointment of three additional deputy commissioners/joint assessor and collector, and 19 administrative officers/assistant assessor and collectors in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)," a senior Raj Niwas official said. Ever since taking over as the LG, Saxena has been pitching for efficiency in MCD and had instructed officials to fill up vacant posts at the earliest, he said. "Appointed on deputation from other government services and departments like CSS, IRS, NDMC, CAG, CGST & CE and Income Tax Deptt. etc., these officers will help the understaffed Corporation to a large ...

Delhi LG urges to people not to throw garbage directly into Najafgarh Drain

Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena appealed to the people living in colonies/localities along the banks of the Najafgarh Drain not to throw garbage directly into and on the banks of the drain

AAP govt launches 'Delhi Robotics League' for govt school students

The students of Class 9 and Class 10 will get a chance to showcase and enhance their skills in robotics