Page 44 - Delhi Government

Shortage of drugs at Delhi govt hospitals to be addressed: Health minister

Any shortage of medicines or other deficiencies at Delhi government-run hospitals will be addressed, Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said on Friday. In a post on X, Bharadwaj said he held a meeting with top officials of all the hospitals under the city government to ensure the health system under the Arvind Kejriwal government runs smoothly and free medicines are available to all. In a post on X, the minister said he was informed about the availability of medicines and other issues at the hospitals. "The shortage of medicines and other deficiencies at the hospitals will be rectified," he said in his post. Earlier in the day, in another post on X, he wrote, "Held a meeting with the CDMOs of all the health departments on 27.2.2024 on Tuesday, it came to light that tests were not conducted in most of the mohalla clinics in February. "Instructions have been issued to make alternative arrangements to ensure that free tests should continue. Otherwise, the problems of poor people will

Power use in Delhi rises 37%, total consumers up 52% in last 10 yrs: Report

Power consumption in the national capital rose nearly 37 per cent in the last decade from 25,593 Million Units (MUs) of electricity to 35,042 MUs, according to the Delhi Economic Survey report 2023-24 tabled in the Assembly on Friday. The report tabled in the assembly by Finance Minister Atishi, also revealed that the number of consumers in the city rose over 52 per cent during the same period. Delhi, being an urban centre with high load density has seen electricity consumption increasing from 25,593 MUs in 2011-12 to 35,042 MUs in 2022-23. The distribution of electricity in Delhi to various categories of consumers increased from 21,361 MUs in 2012-13 to 30,054 MUs in 2022-23. During the same period, the number of power consumers in Delhi rose from 44.64 lakh to 68.51 lakh, said the report. Also, the the total power purchase in Delhi was 40,997 MUs in FY23. While 09.65 per cent of total power purchase is generated by the Delhi government power plants, 90.35 per cent is purchased

Delhi L-G stalling implementation of Solar Policy, alleges AAP's Atishi

Delhi Power Minister Atishi on Wednesday alleged that Lt Governor V K Saxena is obstructing the AAP dispensation's Solar Policy to ensure that it is not notified before the enforcement of the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha polls. Atishi raised the issue in the Delhi Assembly and also addressed a press conference on the issue. "First, the Lt Governor sat on the file. I asked the LG office personally about the policy file. When the file came back with several objections, it went from one officer to another. There is only one objective and that is to stop the policy from getting notified before the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha polls kicks in," Atishi said. "Today, LG sir, despite sitting on a constitutional post, is batting from the BJP's side," she alleged during a press conference. She urged Lt Governor to not make efforts to delay the implementation of the policy. "It is an excellent policy and will lead to reduction in pollution. Please do not make efforts to

ED issues 8th summon to Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi excise policy scam case

The Enforcement Directorate has issued summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for the eighth time for his questioning in an excise policy-linked money laundering case, official sources said on Tuesday. They said Kejriwal, the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party, has been asked to depose on March 4 at the agency's headquarters here. On Monday, Kejriwal, 55, skipped the seventh summons issued to him in the case, saying he would appear before the agency if a court ordered him to do so. A city court, approached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over Kejriwal skipping its summonses, has directed the chief minister to appear before it on March 16. The ED, while issuing the eighth summons, rejected the contention that a fresh notice for Kejriwal's attendance was wrong as the matter was sub-judice.

HC reserves order on BJP MLAs' pleas against suspension from Delhi Assembly

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday reserved its order on the pleas by seven BJP MLAs challenging their indefinite suspension from the legislative assembly for interrupting Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena's address at the start of the budget session. Justice Subramonium Prasad asked the parties to file short written submissions, if any, within two days. The court was hearing petitions by the BJP MLAs -- Mohan Singh Bisht, Ajay Mahawar, O P Sharma, Abhay Verma, Anil Bajpai, Jitender Mahajan and Vijender Gupta -- challenging their indefinite suspension from the assembly till the conclusion of the proceedings before the privileges committee. Earlier, the court had asked the privileges committee of the Delhi Assembly to hold off its proceedings against the suspended MLAs in view of the pendency of the matter before it. The MLAs, represented through senior advocate Jayant Mehta, had contended their suspension till the conclusion of the proceedings before the privileges committee was in ...

'Delhi model' showing direction to whole country, says Kejriwal in Assembly

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said the Delhi governance model is showing direction to the entire country in terms of education, health and electricity. Kejriwal was highlighting the achievements of his government in Delhi in the three sectors during an address in the Assembly. Before he began, the chief minister asked the members to salute senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia, who was arrested the same day last year by the CBI in connection with the Delhi excise policy case. "The AAP government has undertaken so much work in Delhi that was not done in the last 75 years. Today, the 'Delhi model' is showing direction to the entire country. I will talk about three sectors -- health, education and electricity," he said. Kejriwal said almost four to five lakh students in Delhi have left private schools and sought admissions to government ones. "If we can provide good education to poor children in Delhi, it can also be done in the country. Why are government sch

Delhi CM Kejriwal skips seventh ED summons; asks to wait for Court decision

AAP has emphasised that the matter is currently sub judice, with the next court hearing scheduled for March 16

Atishi declares order of appointing Delhi govt standing counsel 'invalid'

Delhi Law Minister Atishi has declared as "invalid" an order issued by the principal secretary (Law) appointing another lawyer as standing counsel to represent Delhi government before the Delhi High Court on interim basis instead of standing counsel (civil) Santosh Kumar Tripathi. The minister, in an order issued on February 15, said "Tripathi will continue to handle the responsibilities of standing counsel (civil), Delhi High Court, GNCTD". A copy of the order has also been sent to the registrar general of the high court. Earlier this month, Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena had said that government counsel have made "misleading" statements before the high court related to a report on the opening of liquor vends in conforming and non-conforming wards while implementing the now-rescinded excise policy in the national capital, officials had said. Later on February 14, the principal secretary (Law) issued an order stating, "As an interim arrangement and to ensure proper ...

Delhi L-G writes to CM to expedite 'stalled' process of Budget presentation

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Saturday wrote to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urging him to expedite the "stalled" process of budget presentation in the Assembly. The Delhi government in a statement said the budget was en route to the LG office for his approval. "The budget was by Finance Minister Atishi with the presidential nod, around February 20. It is a financial document of utmost importance for the entire 2024-25 fiscal, so due diligence at micro level is required, and this takes time," read the statement. The Delhi Assembly's Budget Session, which started on February 15, was extended till the first week of March with the finance minister citing a delay in its finalisation and seeking approval of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The Budget Session was initially scheduled to end on February 21. Saxena said that he addressed the Assembly on February 15, and the House was informed by the chief minister and the finance minister that the presentation of the budget

HC asks govt, police to inform about plan to tackle bomb threats to schools

The Delhi High Court has asked the city government and the police to inform it about an "action plan" to deal with frequent instances of bomb threats to schools in the national capital. The court also issued notice to the authorities on an application filed by the petitioner, lawyer Arpit Bhargava, who claimed out of five incidents of bomb threats to schools last year, three are yet to be investigated and taken to their logical conclusion. In a recent order, Justice Subramonium Prasad asked the Delhi government and the Delhi Police to file their response to the plea, and said, "The counter affidavit must indicate the action plan to be taken by the respondents". The petitioner is the father of a child studying at DPS, Mathura Road which received one such threat call last year. "Even this Hon'ble Court was targeted in a similar fashion when a bomb threat email on 15.02.24 sent everyone on their toes and a strict security drill had to be initiated in all courts across Delhi," the late

Delhi CM will be arrested in next 2-3 days, says AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj

Bharadwaj further claimed that the BJP is afraid that the party will face difficulty wherever the AAP and Congress form an alliance

Court dismisses bail plea of accused charged under UAPA In 2020 Delhi riots

A court here on Thursday rejected the bail plea of an accused charged in the UAPA case related to the alleged conspiracy behind the 2020 northeast Delhi communal riots, saying he could not claim parity with three other co-accused. Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai was hearing the regular bail application of accused Tasleem Ahmed. The court noted that Ahmed sought parity with the co-accused, Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal and Asif Iqbal Tanha who had been granted bail by the Delhi High Court on June 15, 2021. It further noted the submissions of Ahmed's counsel, saying according to the chargesheet, the role of his client and the three other co-accused was similar. The court said that the high court had granted relief to Kalita, Narwal and Tanha after observing that the allegations against them under UAPA provisions were prima facie not true. It said, "The opinion of the high court is with respect to the co-accused persons only and is not general and, therefore, cannot be ...

Notice issued to Centre, Delhi govt on plea against Manual Scavengers Act

he plea also sought a direction to rehabilitate the sewer cleaners and provide them with all the benefits received by manual scavengers under the act

'Will you apologise to L-G,' Delhi HC asks seven suspended BJP MLAs

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked seven BJP MLAs, suspended from the Delhi Assembly for interrupting the lieutenant governor's address, if they were willing to apologise to him. Justice Subramonium Prasad asked the senior counsel appearing for the suspended legislators to take instructions on this aspect after the senior lawyer for the assembly said a similar approach was adopted in the Supreme Court in the case of MP Raghav Chadha. Appearing for the assembly, senior advocate Sudhir Nandrajog said the matter is not political and it involves the dignity of the office of the LG. "I spoke to the speaker. He also suggested the route followed by the Supreme Court in Raghav Chadha's case. If members were to come and meet the speaker and apologise to the LG, the whole thing could be put through," he said. Senior advocate Jayant Mehta, appearing for the MLAs, said there was no difficulty in apologising to the LG. The court asked the petitioners' counsel to come back in the post-lunch

Order inquiry into GST evasion in Delhi: LG Saxena advises CM Kejriwal

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Monday wrote a letter to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal "advising" him to ask the finance minister to conduct a detailed inquiry into alleged Goods and Services Tax (GST) evasion in the city. In a statement, the Delhi government condemned instances of tax evasion and said that despite its efforts to develop a software to address the problem, a proposal to this effect has been "languishing among bureaucratic offices for almost a year". In his letter to Kejriwal, Saxena said Delhi has achieved the "inglorious distinction" of recording the highest tax evasion in the country. In all, 483 "bogus firms" were detected which evaded Rs 3,028 crore of tax, he said. "It is indeed dubious that the capital of the country tops the list of tax evasion amongst all states and union territories, with the one on the second place behind Delhi by as much as Rs 827 crore. This is a serious matter in which the possibility of collusion of officials in the GST ...

Serious constitutional crisis has arisen in Delhi, says CM Arvind Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said a "serious constitutional crisis" has arisen in the national capital as officers are saying they will not work because of alleged "threats and pressure" from the BJP. This problem stems from Delhi not enjoying full statehood and the real power lies with the central government, which is led by a different party, and "that other party does not want that the elected government (of Delhi) does its work", he said during his address in the Delhi Assembly. Kejriwal also said the one-time settlement scheme to rectify water bills is being "obstructed" by some officers. The chief minister alleged that the officers are being threatened to block the one-time settlement scheme for correcting water bills because of pressure from the BJP. There was no immediate reaction from the BJP. Kejriwal also claimed the officers' unwillingness to work has led to a "serious constitutional crisis" in Delhi. He appealed to Lt Governor VK Saxena to call the

Delhi excise policy case: CM Kejriwal skips ED summons for sixth time

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will not appear before the Enforcement Directorate on Monday for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy, the AAP said. Terming the agency's sixth summons to its national convener as "illegal", the party said that the ED should wait for the court's decision instead of repeatedly sending summonses to Kejriwal. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had approached a city court after Kejriwal skipped multiple summonses. On Saturday, the court had granted exemption to Kejriwal from personal appearance for the day in connection with the complaint filed by the central agency. The application moved by Kejriwal's counsel stated that the Budget Session of the Delhi assembly has commenced on February 15 and shall continue till the first week of March. He will physically appear before the court on the next date of hearing on March 16, it said.

Temporary structure falls at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, 11 rescued

At least 11 people trapped under the debris of a collapsed temporary structure at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in south Delhi were rescued on Saturday, officials said. The incident occurred at 11 am, police said. A Delhi Fire Services official said a call was received about the pandal (temporary structure) collapsing at the stadium. Initially, two people were rescued from under the debris. Later, nine more people were brought out. A police officer said most of the injured are workers. "The pandal was being erected for a wedding function near Gate No 2. The injured have been taken to AIIMS trauma centre for treatment," the officer said, and added no casualties have been reported so far. Personnel from the police and the fire department, and ambulances are on the spot, the officer added.

Delhi court exempts CM Kejriwal from personal appearance in excise case

A Delhi court on Saturday granted exemption to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal from personal appearance for the day in connection with a complaint filed by the ED against him over non-compliance with its summonses in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped excise policy. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra granted relief to Kejriwal after the AAP leader appeared before the court via videoconferencing and urged for exemption from physical appearance for the day. Kejriwal told the court that he was unable to appear before it due to the ongoing Budget session of the Delhi Assembly. Appearing for Kejriwal, senior advocate Ramesh Gupta told the court that the Delhi chief minister will appear before it in person on the next date of hearing. The court has adjourned the matter to March 16. In its complaint, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has alleged that the Delhi chief minister intentionally did not want to obey the summonses and kept on giving "lame excus

7 BJP MLAs suspended from Delhi Assembly's Budget session for disruptions

Seven BJP MLAs were on Friday suspended for the remainder of the Budget session of the Delhi Assembly for interrupting the Lt Governor's address. The BJP MLAs had interrupted Lt Governor VK Saxena multiple times during his address on Thursday as they sought to attack the Arvind Kejriwal government. Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel had also sent the matter of disruption to the Privileges Committee. AAP MLA Dilip Pandey moved a resolution in the House seeking action on this issue, which was accepted by the Speaker. Pandey said that opposition members on Thursday acted in an "planned manner" while disrupting the LG's address which lowered the prestige of the House. "It was unprecedented and unfortunate," he said. While reading out from the rule book, he said the behaviour of the opposition members has lowered the dignity of the House, and demanded action. Speaker Goel while accepting the resolution of Pandey, said the matter be sent to the Privileges Committee. Seven members