Page 41 - Delhi Government

Kejriwal used Delhi govt funds to book expensive hotel suites: Shazia Ilmi

BJP spokesperson Shazia Ilmi on Monday alleged that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal used Delhi government's funds to book presidential suites in hotels in other states. At a press conference, Ilmi alleged that Kejriwal stayed in the most expensive rooms in five-star hotels in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab and Karnataka. "Presidential, Maharaja, Imperial suites, which cost around Rs 2-3 lakh per night, were booked for Delhi chief minister," she claimed. "In Punjab, they have the AAP government, so they can stay in the state guest house but he (Kejriwal) stayed in five-star hotels," she added. The BJP leader claimed that on an average, around Rs. 1.5 crore is spent in 50 days for the chief minister's stay arrangements in hotels, adding, "This is the money that belongs to the people of Delhi." Commenting on Congress' announcement that its Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will be cut short in Uttar Pradesh in view of board exams, Ilmi said, "If you talk about Nyay Yatra, how impactful has it been

Highlights of the day Mizoram CM to present state budget on Feb 27

Catch all the latest updates from across the globe here

HC directs Delhi govt to pay Rs 50,000 ex-gratia to kin of Covid-19 victim

The Delhi High Court has directed the city government to pay Rs 50,000 ex gratia to the kin of a man who had contracted coronavirus and died due to COVID-19 complications. The high court refused to accept the state's submission the cause of the death was a cardiac arrest and the man passed away a month after a positive RT-PCR report and was, therefore, not entitled to a compensation under the Mukhyamantri COVID-19 Pariwar Aarthik Sahayata Yojana (MCPASY). The court noted the hospital's death summary that the petitioner's husband contracted COVID-19 and was admitted and remained at the hospital till his death on June 19, 2021. "The death summary categorically points out that the man had contracted COVID-19, and suffered aftereffects of COVID-19, never improved and ultimately passed away on June 19, 2021. Just because the ultimate cause of death is shown to be cardiac arrest does not mean that the husband of the petitioner did not pass away due to the complications arising out of ...

Locals complain of 'gas leak', eye irritation in parts of north, east Delhi

Panic gripped some parts of north and east Delhi when locals and commuters complained of eye irritation and suffocation on Saturday evening, officials said. Calls were made to the fire department about a "gas leak", but officials could not confirm finding any suspicious gas. Delhi Police said anti-riots mock drill exercise was conducted at Yamuna Khadar, which falls between some parts of east and north Delhi. An officer said it appeared that the smoke due to tear gas shell might have been behind the incident, but added that it was not yet verified. Sources said that Delhi Police has been preparing for a potential farmers agitation intended to be held on February 13. According to officials of Delhi Fire Service (DFS), a call of gas leak was received at 6.30 pm from near Geeta Colony flyover. Two fire tenders reached the spot and tried to locate the suspicious gas they could not find it. Farmer groups have announced a 'Delhi Chalo' march on February 13 to press the Centre for acce

AAP govt to bring one-time settlement scheme for faulty water bills: Atishi

If the problem of faulty meters or bills exceeds five years then the bill will be re-casted on the basis of consumption pattern of the neighborhood of the consumer

Last chance to pay salaries, pension to staff or will wind up MCD: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court on Friday gave a last opportunity to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to set its house in order by augmenting resources and paying arrears of salaries and pension to employees or else it will wind up the civic body. The high court said the matter relating to non-payment of salaries to staff and retired employees is dragging on for long and added that it was the civic agency's statutory obligation to pay employees in accordance with the 7th Pay Commission. "The court has made it clear to the MCD counsel that it is not going to wait for the MCD to find ways and means of augmenting its resources. The liability to pay the 7th Pay Commission wages is a statutory obligation. If the MCD is not in a position to pay the basic wages then consequences will follow," a bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora said. The court was hearing a batch of pleas relating to the non-payment of salaries and pensions to MCD employees and retired staff

Pension amount of retired DTC employees has been deposited: CM Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday announced that the pension amount of retired DTC employees, pending for nearly one-and-a-half years, has been deposited in their accounts. The move is likely to impact over 20,000 retired employees of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC). The chief minister acknowledged that the pensioners were experiencing problems in getting their pension. "I know you are angry with me. You have been facing problems in getting your pension for the last one and one-and-a-half years. After we came to power in 2015, we had started giving pension from government budget," Kejriwal said in a video message on X. "You were facing problems . You know that Centre has been putting hurdles in our work. But somehow, I am getting your work done," he said in the video. Kejriwal said the pending dues were deposited in the account by Thursday. He noted that there was a shortage of budget for paying the pension but the government held a special assembly session to

DMRC announces Rs 25 lakh for family of deceased in Gokulpuri incident

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation on Thursday announced Rs 15 lakh in compensation for the family of 53-year-old man who died after a portion of the Gokulpuri Metro Station on the Pink Line in northeast Delhi collapsed, official statement said. The DMRC announced Rs 2.5 lakh for the grievously injured and Rs 50,000 for those who received minor injuries, it stated. The transporters also suspended two of its officials over the collapse. "Two DMRC officials, a manager and a junior engineer from the civil department, have been immediately suspended," the statement read. The DMRC will be investigating the circumstances leading to this incident to take necessary remedial measures to prevent such unfortunate occurrences in the future, it said.

Centre waging war against opposition govt: Arvind Kejriwal at Jantar Mantar

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday hit out at the BJP-led Centre, accusing it of waging a war against state governments led by opposition parties. Leaders and lawmakers from the Left Democratic Front of Kerala, led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, staged a protest against the Union government at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on Thursday. Kejriwal participated in the protest. "Opposition parties represent 70 crore people in the country. The BJP has waged a war against the opposition-ruled states. The Centre is using all the tactics to harass the opposition governments," Kejriwal said at the protest. He added, "It is depriving them of valid funds, obstructs work through Governors and LGs. They are also harassing them by using central agencies to arrest opposition leaders." He said the protesters were not "here to beg or ask for anything for our families." "I have come here to ask for the right of 2 crore people. If you do not give us funds how will we build roads, provide .

Court grants exemption to Kejriwal from personal appearance for day

A court here on Wednesday granted exemption to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal from personal appearance for the day in a criminal defamation case for retweeting an allegedly defamatory video circulated by YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in May 2018. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Tanya Bamniyal allowed the exemption plea moved by Kejriwal's counsel and directed him to appear before the court on February 29. The plea claimed that the chief minister was busy with "budget sessions". The Delhi High Court on February 5 had upheld the summons issued to Kejriwal by the trial court as an accused, saying that reposting alleged libelous content will attract the defamation law. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma had said that a sense of responsibility has to be attached while retweeting content about which one does not have knowledge. Retweeting of defamatory content must invite penal, civil as well as tort action if the person retweeting it does not attach a disclaimer, the high court had ...

Delhi liquor excise policy: Court summons CM Kejriwal for hearing on Feb 17

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal faces legal action for failure to adhere to Enforcement Directorate summons related to alleged money laundering

Delhi excise case: Court to pass order on ED's plea against Arvind Kejriwal

A Delhi court is likely to pronounce at 4 PM on Wednesday its order on a complaint filed by the Enforcement Directorate against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over non-compliance of summons in the alleged excise policy money laundering case. "I am posting the matter for order at 4 PM," Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra said. The judge reserved the order after the ED submitted that it has concluded the arguments in the matter. The ED had on February 3 filed a fresh complaint case against Kejriwal for non-compliance of its summons. Kejriwal on Friday last skipped the fifth summons, which the ED issued to him on Wednesday. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor had earlier written a letter to the ED, terming the summonses as "illegal and politically motivated". He alleged they were aimed at preventing him from campaigning in elections.

10 million availed 'Aam Aadmi Clinic' services: Punjab health minister

More than one crore people have availed treatment at 'aam aadmi clinics' in Punjab, State Health Minister Balbir Singh said on Tuesday. There are 664 'aam aadmi clinics' --? 236 in urban areas and 428 in rural areas -- ?in the state. These provide free of cost treatment, offering 80 types of free medicines and 38 types of free diagnostics tests. "Over one crore people in the state have availed free treatment from these 'aam aadmi clinics' in the last one and half years," Singh said in a statement. At a virtual meeting with civil surgeons, deputy medical superintendents and senior medical officers to review ongoing projects, he also noted that all the clinics are IT-enabled with end-to-end digitisation of registration, doctor consultation, investigations and prescriptions. The state government has already rolled out the 'Farishtey' scheme under which free treatment is being provided to all road accident victims, irrespective of their nationality, caste or socio-economic status, he .

Delhi's governance model has been put on the ventilator: BJP attacks AAP

Addressing a press conference, Lekhi said that Delhi's governance model has been put on the ventilator

Delhi govt utilised taxpayers' money to prioritise education: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said his government is utilising the taxpayers money to prioritise education, adding the students should make the country proud. He made the remark while addressing the students at the inauguration of a government school building in Pashchim Vihar. "When we (AAP) came to power, we doubled the budget for education. But it was not possible to build all these schools without the support of Delhi residents. It is the taxpayers money which has helped us to provide free education," Kejriwal said. "When you grow up and achieve something in life, remember the country paid for your education," he added. The chief minister said even if he dies he will be satisfied to have worked for the education of the kids from poor families. Kejriwal said he is doing a virtuous deed to provide free education to the children from poor backgrounds. The chief minister inaugurated the newly built building of Dr BR Ambedkar School of Specialized Excellence A6 i

BJP-led Centre trying to scare AAP leaders by conducting ED raids: Atishi

Delhi minister and senior AAP leader Atishi on Tuesday said the BJP-led Centre is trying to "scare and silence" the party by conducting ED raids on its leaders. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched the premises of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's personal secretary Bibhav Kumar and AAP Rajya Sabha MP and party's treasurer ND Gupta as part of a money laundering case, official sources said. Atishi said raids were being conducted by the ED at the premises of Kumar and Gupta since 7 am. More raids on the premises of other AAP leaders are to be conducted throughout the day, she claimed. The minister also alleged that the statements of witnesses and accused related to the excise policy case were extracted by the probe agency by force and threat. She alleged the BJP-led Centre using ED to "scare and silence" AAP by conducting raids on its leaders. Despite two years of probe, nothing has been found by the agencies in the alleged excise policy scam, she said. About 10 premises

Just 6 CT scan machines in Delhi govt hospitals for 30 mn people, HC notes

Delhi High Court on Monday expressed anguish that there are only six CT scan machines in all Delhi government hospitals for three crore citizens and stressed the need to ramp up infrastructure and fill vacancies in the health sector. The high court pointed out that people are losing lives because they are not being attended to at government hospitals due to a shortage of facilities and staff. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora noted that Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, in a status report, has admitted that there are a lot of shortcomings, including shortage of doctors, paramedics and medicines, and also given his suggestions. Bharadwaj, who inspected several government hospitals, claimed that whenever he convened meetings with hospital staff, Delhi Health Secretary SB Deepak Kumar remained absent. However, Kumar, who was present in the court, denied the allegations and said he attended all the meetings. "I have accompanied the minister in vari

Delhi govt sanctions Rs 280 cr towards pensions of retired DTC employees

The Delhi government has sanctioned around Rs 280 crore for payment of pensions to more than 20,000 retired employees of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) pending from September to January. The retired DTC employees had approached the government multiple times for the release of their pensions. "About Rs 280 crore has been sanctioned for payment of pending pension of more than 20,000 retired pensioner employees of DTC from September to January. The pending pension will be transferred to the pensioners' accounts within the next two to three days," Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said in a post on 'X' in Hindi. The Delhi government's finance department released grants of Rs 650 crore to the DTC last week, officials said.

Delhi High Court upholds summons against Kejriwal in defamation case

The Delhi High Court on Monday upheld summons issued to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as an accused in a criminal defamation case for retweeting an allegedly defamatory video circulated by YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in May 2018, saying that reposting alleged libelous content will attract defamation law. The high court said a sense of responsibility has to be attached while retweeting content about which one does not have knowledge and added that retweeting of defamatory content must invite penal, civil as well as tort action if the person retweeting it does not attach a disclaimer. This court is of the view that rigours of Section 499 (defamation) of IPC will be attracted prima facie in case a person retweets/ reposts the alleged defamatory remarks or content, for the purpose of the general public to see, appreciate and believe, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said. The high court, while refusing to quash the trial court's 2019 order summoning Kejriwal, said when a public figure tweets a .

Delhi govt to offer free travel for third gender in DTC, cluster buses

The Delhi government is planning to offer free travel to people belonging to the third gender in DTC and cluster buses, officials said on Monday. Women are already provided free travel on these buses in the national capital. The free travel scheme for women began in October 2019. "Women are already provided free travel in Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and cluster buses operated by the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Limited (DIMTS). We plan to extend the facility of free travel to people from the third gender too," a senior transport department official said. The official said that the social welfare department of the Delhi government has data on people belonging to the third gender in Delhi which will prove helpful for the scheme. Those looking to avail the benefit of this scheme will have to furnish certificates issued by the revenue department, the official said. In April last year, the Delhi High Court asked the city government to decide on a representation to