Delhi Metro MD smells a scam

21 Sep, 2008, 0225 hrs IST,Shantanu Nandan Sharma, ET Bureau

NEW DELHI: In an attack on the private sector’s direct involvement in building metro rail in India, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) managing director E Sreedharan has hinted at a big political scandal in the Hyderabad Metro, and expressed concern at the slow pace of progress in the Mumbai Metro.

Mr Sreedharan has been credited with building a large metro network in Delhi, which started making operating profit from day one. Besides, he also ensured that all projects, being built at a cost of Rs 29,500 cr, would be completed before the deadline.

While Mumbai Metro-I is a joint venture between Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure and state-owned Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA), the Rs 12,000-cr Hyderabad Metro project was recently bagged by a consortium led by Maytas Infra.

In a letter to the deputy chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, dated September 11, 2008, DMRC’s managing director cautioned that build-operate-transfer (BOT) mode of building metro rail could backfire.

“The Hyderabad Metro project is being cited as a successful example of BOT approach. Here, I would like to caution that the example of Hyderabad Metro is quite misleading as the negative viability gap funding has resulted solely on account of 296 acres of prime land being made available to the BOT operator for commercial exploitation. This is like selling family silver. Apart from the fact that this might lead to a big political scandal sometime later, it is apparent that the BOT operator has a hidden agenda which appears to be to extend the metro network to a large tract of his private land holdings so as to reap a windfall profit of four to five times the land price,” the letter said.

SundayET has a copy of the letter (No DMRC/89/08) which was also sent to three other officials, including two in the Planning Commission. When contacted, a DMRC spokesperson refused to comment on the issue.

In the letter, the DMRC chief also questioned the private sector’s efficiency in handling metro projects. “World-wide the experience has been that no metro project has succeeded so far on BOT basis. …Our sole example of Mumbai Metro-I has not given us the required confidence in the BOT route. Even after agreeing to a VGF (viability gap funding) payment of Rs 650 crore plus 26% equity (total government outflow of Rs 780 crore for a project cost of Rs 1936 crore), the project is moving at an extremely slow pace.

‘Build 40,000 flats annually for low-income groups’

21 Sep, 2008, 0031 hrs IST,Neha Dewan , ET Bureau

NEW DELHI: A suggestion from the Union urban development ministry could come handy to the Delhi government during an election year. The ministry has recently suggested that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) should mandate itself to build 40,000 units per year for the low-income migrants who struggle for a roof above their heads.

According to the proposal, a migrant who would have otherwise moved to a slum, should be given a small flat in rent before he is motivated to buy that flat. And this will be possible with Central government subsidies. This will also help check slum dwelling.

Urban development secretary M Ramachandran said that such a proposal is in an initial stage. “On an average, at least 40,000 people migrate to Delhi every year. The spread of slums needs to be checked and such a move can be of great help in doing so.

The DDA has no problem of resources, hence taking up this initiative should come easy,” he said. In fact, the suggestion is quite novel in itself as it will motivate rent payers to be owners of the property later.

“Initially they can pay a nominal rent as they will not immediately have the funds. But, eventually, the idea is to encourage them to own the property,” adds Mr Ramachandran.

Raminder Grover, CEO, Homebay Residential of global real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj (JLLM), said that such affordable housing would in many cases help weed out the slums. “Slum dwellers can be assigned suitable living spaces while the remaining units can be sold at subsidised rates. It can be quite an useful model.”

In fact, the government is offering developers considerable incentives via single-window clearances, reduced taxation and infrastructure enablement if they want to build affordable homes. The DDA’s ambitious plan to develop 6,000 flats for the mid-income segment also met with an overwhelming response.

In fact, the Greater Noida Development Authority has launched a similar initiative. These developments have made residential units in the Rs 15 lakh range a possibility again, something that was unheard of in Delhi and NCR earlier.

BJP plays terror card in poll campaign

 Source: Hindustan Times

On a day of a fierce encounter with terrorists in the Capital, the BJP brought the “war on terrorism” to kick start its election campaign in the Capital. The party brought in their mascot —Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi—to highlight the UPA government’s “complete failure” to address the frequent terrorist attacks.

Led by Advani, BJP leaders had wanted Modi to address in Delhi to showcase his government’s success in cracking the blasts case in Ahmedabad, and how he had warned the Centre of more attacks.

So much so that, as the rain threatened to play spoil sport at Karol Bagh’s Ajmal Khan Park, senior BJP leaders cut short their speeches to let Modi speak, and he stole the show.

“I informed the PM that the terrorist arrested in the Ahmedabad blast had said during their interrogation that Delhi is on the hit list. But even this did not move to Centre to action. Had the government taken the advice seriously, lives of innocent people could have been saved,” said Modi.

Modi said: “The government is more worried about misuse of POTA than about innocent people getting killed in terror attack. Terrorism has become increasingly hi-tech. India can’t fight terrorism with outdated 19th century law.”

The police came in for praise from Modi. “I am praying for the policemen who got injured in the morning encounter with terrorist(and later died). It goes to show the police are capable of fighting terrorists,” he said.

Even Advani sought to play a Modi by asking people to write en-masse to the President demanding the execution of Afzal Guru. Modi had made a similar move asking people to demand President’s assent for Gujarat’s anti-terror law.

“The Congress is just worried to form and run the government but BJP is more eager to run the country,” said Rajnath Singh, BJP president.

The Delhi government came in under scathing attack. “Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit has been sitting over the Union Home Ministry’s file seeking hanging of Parliament attack accused Afzal Guru for the last three years. Is this how we plan to take on terrorists?,” said Arun Jaitley.

Govt increases compensation rate for North Delhi farmers

 

New Delhi, September 18 The Delhi Cabinet decided to offer compensation to farmers of six villages in Northwest Delhi, including Kanjhawala, at a new rate of Rs 75 lakh per acre, in a meeting held this evening.
Land was acquired by the Delhi government in six villages a few years ago and the farmers were not happy with the old compensation rate, as market rates have risen considerably in the past few years. Also, a large number of farmers did not get the compensation in the first place.

The farmers, under the banner of the Bhartiya Kisan Union, had held protests outside the Delhi Assembly on the first day of session last week and scuffled with the police.

Farmers from several villages, including Kanjhawala, Karala, Sultanpur Dabas, Put Khurd, Tikri Khurd and Tikri Kalan, have been staging a sit-in outside the local deputy commissioner’s office from the last six months. They alleged that nearly 60,000 people were affected by the government’s decision of giving less compensation for land.

The Delhi government had acquired 1,450 acre of agricultural land in North Delhi on Aug 25, 2005, through a notification. The government revised the compensation rate from Rs 15.7 lakh to Rs 17.5 lakh per acre within four days of the notification. The farmers claimed that the market price of land was nearly Rs 3 crore per acre and the government offer was very low.

To secure Delhi, Centre OKs 7,612 posts, 11 more police stations

Source: Indian Express — September 18

CCTVs to monitor 58 busy markets, public places, 27 border posts
Finally waking up to the problem of huge vacancies in police forces — one of the main handicaps in fighting terror — the Central government on Thursday announced that it had sanctioned 7,612 new posts in Delhi Police and decided to set up 11 new police stations.

The government also cleared a proposal to procure 130 additional police vehicles for Delhi Police, some of which can act as mobile police stations, Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta told reporters here.

As of now, more than 4,000 posts in Delhi Police, at various levels, are lying vacant. The government had earlier sanctioned 5,000 new posts and 170 new vehicles for Delhi Police to meet their increasing demand in view of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Gupta said.

Gupta said the decisions regarding Delhi Police were among a number of suggestions made by Home Minister Shivraj Patil at the emergency cabinet meeting on Wednesday to deal with the internal security situation.

He said Patil had also informed the Cabinet meeting about the proposal to bring all major public places in the Capital under video surveillance. The Delhi government had already identified 58 busy markets and other public places, and 27 border posts, which will be brought under extensive CCTV coverage. As of now, only nine markets in Delhi have CCTV surveillance.

“All these projects will be implemented in a time-bound and turnkey manner,” Gupta said.

The government will also ask all malls, office complexes, stadia and other buildings to install “basic minimum benchmark” of security, including CCTVs, scanning, Door Frame Metal Detectors (DFMDs) and the like.

“These security systems will be integrated with the central security mechanism of the state and Central government,” he said.

Under the Home Ministry’s mega-city policing scheme, such measures will be implemented in all major metro cities, Gupta said.

The Cabinet also approved a major strengthening of the intelligence apparatus of the country, including the setting up of a dedicated centre for research and technology under the Intelligence Bureau to facilitate better technological preparedness to meet the increasing sophisticated terror attacks in the country.

The blueprint

Ruling out a new law on the lines of POTA repealed in 2004, the Government on Thursday announced a slew of anti-terror measures in the wake of the Delhi blasts:

* Major public places in Delhi to be under video surveillance. CCTVs to monitor 58 busy points, 27 border posts

* Malls, office complexes, stadia, other buildings to have CCTVs, scanning, Door Frame Metal Detectors

* Govt also cleared a proposal to procure 130 additional police vehicles for Delhi Police, some of which can act as mobile police stations,

* Home Ministry says such measures will be implemented in all major metros

* Dedicated centre for research and technology under the Intelligence Bureau for counter-terror preparedness

* Dedicated centre for research and technology under the Intelligence Bureau for counter-terror preparedness

Singur in Delhi? Farmers gherao DC’s office, court says ‘serious’

 Source: Indian Express

New Delhi, September 22 Days after the Delhi Cabinet decided to hike compensation rate for farmland acquired for infrastructure projects, farmers of six villages in Northwest Delhi, including Kanjhawala, have kept up their agitation demanding a further hike in rates.

Their protests have now forced a city court to intervene. The court’s intervention comes after Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Sarswati Vihar Ranjit Singh brought up the issue of problems in moving files required by his office as a large number of farmers have been staging a sit-in protest outside the deputy commissioner’s office at Kanjhawala for 11 days now.

 

SDM Ranjit Singh submitted before Additional District Judge Kamini Lau that the files could not be taken out of the office because the premises are forcefully shut since September 11. The agitators, Singh told the court, turned violent whenever officials tried to enter the building.

 

Despite an FIR against them, the protestors have not budged and the police are shying away from stern steps to avoid a flare-up, the SDM informed. “The deputy commissioner is presently sitting in the office of chief electoral officer at Kashmere Gate; I have (also) done a makeshift arrangement for work,” Singh said.

 

ADJ Lau noted that the situation is of “serious concern” since the protestors have forced all work to be halted, besides forcing officers to abandon their place of work. “A serious note is required to be taken as entire revenue records of the area and other government documents are inside the building,” the court said. “They cannot be moved due to the agitation, thereby affecting justice.”

 

Observing that the stir is holding up routine works, ADJ Lau said, “The constitutional right of a citizen is to (hold) peaceful protest — under no circumstances can any person or group be allowed to take law into their own hands and hold the entire system to ransom.”

 

Since Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and concerned government departments are aware of the issue, ADJ Lau said it is not for the court to advise the administration. But the court observed that it is “desirable” that necessary steps are taken on “immediate basis”.

 

Sending a copy of the order to Delhi Chief Secretary, the court urged the government to look into the matter immediately so that records required by it for deciding a civil case could be brought on the next date of hearing.

 

The Delhi government had acquired 1,450 acres of agricultural land on August 25, 2005 through a notification. The government revised the compensation rate from Rs 15.7 lakh to Rs 17.5 lakh per acre within four days of the notification.

 

In a meeting last week, the rates were again revised to Rs 75 lakh per acre but the farmers continued to protest: they claim market price of the land is now nearly Rs 3 crore per acre.

 

Taking political war to advertising world

Source: Economic Times

New Delhi: AMIDST all-round slowdown in advertising, big-budget political advertising
is set to come to the rescue of the industry. According to experts, central and state
governments will increase political advertising budgets by 25-30% this fiscal. The
Congress party has already set aside a budget of Rs 150 crore for the coming general
elections, in addition to its ongoing campaign in Delhi worth Rs 40 crore. Bhartiya Janta
Party (BJP) is expected to shell out an equal sum to give Congress a tough electoral fight.
Political parties are expected to spend over Rs 300 crore by March-April 2009. Says an
official from JWT India, one of the shorlisted agencies for the Congress’s general
election campaign: “While ad budgets for the mainstream sectors are facing huge cost
cuttings, political advertising will be a windfall.” Following slowdown in consumer
demand and escalating input costs, all major real estate developers have cut their
advertising budgets by around 5%. Ditto for aviation, auto and hospitality sectors, though
the extent of cut is much deeper with airlines. Also, in the beginning of the year the party
spent Rs 5 crore—40% of the party’s estimated ad spend of Rs 12 crore in the 2004 Lok
Sabha elections—to tom-tom its Rs 70,000-crore-odd farm-loan waiver scheme. Says
Mudra Max MD Chandradeep Mitra: “The industry will see an increased spending by the
government. The political ad campaigns will not be limited to election season, but will
emerge as a strong option to connect with masses.” While BJP has not yet officially
enlisted an ad agency for the forthcoming Lok Sabha or assembly elections in Delhi,
Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, one of the biggest political campaigns is
expected by the party around its chosen theme of ‘Save India’ in the context of increasing
incidents of terrorists attacks across Indian cities.

Mayawati reviews BSP’s preparedness for Delhi assembly polls

New Delhi, Sept 17 (PTI) Even as a group of disgruntled

local BSP leaders today joined Congress, Uttar Pradesh Chief

Minister Mayawati reviewed the preparedness of her party ahead

of Delhi assembly elections.

Mayawati, who was here, interacted with an array of state

unit BSP functionaries and MPs.

The meetings were aimed at getting the feedback from

local leaders and MPs on the readiness of the party to contest

the polls.

The BSP wants to make a breakthrough in Delhi assembly

polls after its good performance in MCD elections held last

year.

The BSP chief’s review meetings came on a day when 24

disgruntled local party leaders, including sacked state unit

president Jogiram Bhati, joined Congress.

The BSP has already announced 66 of the 70 seats it

plans to contest in Delhi, becoming the first party to

announce candidates for majority of seats. Just days after

announcing the candidates, the BSP chief had replaced 12 of

them and sacked the state unit chief.

The main poll plank for BSP in the elections would be the

performance of its government in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.

Mayawati is expected to hold a meeting of state unit

leaders in Lucknow next month, sources said.

Delhi farmers to intensify agitation over land acquisition

Source: IANS

 

Farmers on a sit-in here for the past six months seeking enhanced compensation for land acquired by the Delhi government Saturday threatened to intensify their agitation. The current market price of the land is over 15 times what they were offered in 2005, they say.

 

 

Farmers from several villages, including Kanjhawala, Karala, Sultanpur Dabas, Put Khurd, Tikri Khurd and Tikri Kalan in northwest Delhi have been staging the sit-in outside the local deputy commissioner’s office.

 

They said that the Congress government in Delhi, besides mentioning the issue in the assembly, had done little to address their woes.

 

“We have been on a peaceful dharna for the last six months, but the government has not done anything. Nearly 60,000 people in this region have been affected by the government’s decision to give less compensation in comparison to the market price,” said Balraj Dabbas, secretary of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), Delhi.

 

BKU is spearheading the farmers’ agitation with Jan Sangharsh Vahini and National Alliance of People’s Movements, Delhi.

 

“We have come to know through the media that there is a government meeting Sep 18 on this issue. We will wait till then and after that if our demands are not addressed, our agitation would be intensified,” Dabbas told IANS.

 

The Delhi government, through a notification, acquired 1,450 acres of agricultural land in north Delhi Aug 25, 2005.

 

The government revised the compensation rates from Rs.1.57 million to Rs.1.75 million per acre within four days of the notification.

 

“The market price of the land currently is nearly Rs.3 crore (Rs.30 million) per acre. The government offer is very low and is unacceptable to us. Our demands are clear – we want the compensation at the current market price,” said BKU’s general secretary Raj Singh.

 

The farmers’ patience seems to be wearing thin.

 

“We cannot keep on waiting as the Delhi assembly elections are approaching and soon the model code of conduct will be enforced, tying the hands of the government. We want a solution soon,” said Raj Singh.

 

 

BJP lawmaker claims Delhi overpaid for new low floor buses

New Delhi, Sep 12 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker from Delhi Vijay Jolly Friday accused the Congress government here of pocketing over Rs.1.53 billion while ordering low-floor buses and demanded an enquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Jolly raised the issue Friday in the Delhi assembly.

 

“DTC (Delhi Transport Corporation) had ordered for purchase of 625 non-A.C. and 25 A.C. low-floor CNG buses. Till date 426 non-A.C. and 25 A.C. low-floor buses have been inducted. The remaining 207 non A.C. low-floor buses are likely to be received by October 2008,” Jolly told the house.

 

“The buses have been purchased from Tata Motors. The Delhi government was charged nearly Rs.4.1 million for every non-A.C. bus. The total cost of non-A.C. buses purchased by the government is nearly Rs.2.58 billion,” he added.

 

“However, similar kind of low-floor non-A.C. buses were purchased by the Metropolitan Transport Corporation of Chennai from Ashok Leyland in 2006-07 for only Rs.1.6 million per bus and in 2007-08 for only Rs 1.68 million per bus.”

 

He said: “These figures clearly show that the Delhi government has purchased low-floor buses at inflated cost price, causing loss to the public exchequer to the tune of around Rs.1.53 billion.”

 

Jolly told IANS: “The minister concerned didn’t care to reply to this. I am not going to stop here. I will complain about this to the Central Vigilance Commission.”