Page 52 - Delhi Government

Stubble burning cases top total of the last two years, shows data

The retreat of the southwest monsoon from northern India and an early harvest have contributed to the rise in instances of stubble burning in the six states

Delhi govt likely to pay last instalment of Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor soon

The Delhi government is likely to pay the last instalment of its share in the upcoming Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor soon with the transport department moving a proposal in the matter, officials said on Monday. The amount for the last instalment is Rs 415 crore and will total around Rs 485 crore after taxes, said a senior government official. Officials said that the transport department had last week sent a file to the finance department for payment of Rs 415 crore as the last instalment of the Delhi government's total contribution of Rs 1,180 crore in the RAPIDX corridor. The 82.15 km long Delhi-Meerut corridor connecting Sarai Kale Khan in the city to Meerut's Modipuram is estimated to cost Rs 31,632 crore. The corridor, with 24 stations, will cover the distance in an hour. The Delhi government paid Rs 265 crore as the first instalment in March 219. The last instalment of Rs 415 crore plus taxes will also be paid from the environmental cess corpus as

Delhi 'Green War Room' to combat pollution will function from October 3

The Delhi government's control centre to monitor air pollution and redress complaints -- 'Green War Room' -- will start functioning round-the-clock from October 3, officials said on Monday. Launched in 2020, the Green War Room has state-of-the-art air quality monitoring equipment and a team of experts, including scientists and data analysts, which keeps an eye on all sources contributing to Delhi's air pollution and helps the city administration implement its action plan. Though the Green War Room functions round-the-year, the 24X7 monitoring will start Tuesday onwards, an official said. The Delhi government on Friday launched a 15-point action plan to mitigate air pollution in the capital during the winter season, with a strong emphasis on addressing dust pollution, vehicular emissions and the open burning of garbage. During a press conference, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that separate and specific action plans have been designed for each of the 13 air pollution hotsp

Have urged Centre to implement OPS for Delhi govt employees: CM Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday voiced support for the old pension scheme and said he has requested the Centre to implement it for Delhi government employees. His remarks came amid a massive protest at the Ramlila Maidan here by central and state government employees from more than 20 states for the restoration of the old pension scheme. "We strongly support the demand of govt employees to bring back OPS. NPS is an injustice against employees. We have implemented OPS in Punjab and have written to Centre for implementing it for Del govt employees. Some other non-BJP govts have also implemented OPS," Kejriwal said in a post on 'X'.

Delhi govt launches mobile app to address school related concerns

The Delhi government on Thursday launched a mobile application to enhance the academic experience for students and teachers and empower them to raise school-related concerns, officials said. The DoE Nirikshan app has been designed to empower the students and the teachers to raise school-related concerns and ensure their prompt redress, they said. "The app can be accessed by using student and teacher IDs. It promises to revolutionise the way issues in Delhi government schools are addressed," the Directorate of Education (DoE) said in a statement. "The DoE Nirikshan app serves as a dynamic platform for instant communication, enabling users to submit requests concerning various school-related matters to the administration directly," it added. The DoE further said the app will play a crucial role in disseminating information and streamlining and digitising the inspection of essential attributes such as infrastructure, supplies, midday meals, stationary and uniform-related issues. Spea

Centre-Delhi services row: SC asks for common compilation of arguments

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered a common compilation of submissions be filed by both the parties in a petition by Delhi government challenging the central government's law establishing pre-eminence of the lieutenant governor over the elected AAP dispensation in controlling services in the national capital. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra was urged by senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the Delhi government, that the matter be listed before a five-judge Constitution bench for urgent hearing. I can't express the agony of the (Delhi) administration, the senior lawyer said. There are older Constitution bench matters. We are listing and there are two seven-judge bench matters also coming up. All these are also important and are pending for years, the CJI said, adding it may be listed after some time. The bench, however, asked Singhvi and Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain to sit together and decide the

Officials threatened by vigilance counterparts record conversations: Atishi

Delhi cabinet minister Atishi has claimed that vigilance officials are "threatening" their counterparts in other departments to make them issue "illegal orders" and directed officials to record their conversation if anyone tries to intimidate them. Atishi, who holds charge of vigilance and services departments, said this in an order issued on Monday. The minister said she has learnt that officials from the vigilance department are "threatening", "intimidating and "harassing" officers from different departments to make them issue "illegal orders". In view of this, she directed officials to record phone calls in case they receive a threat on the phone. "In case the officers are called into the vigilance department and the threats are made in person, then the official who is being threatened or intimidated should record the conversation on their phone recorder," read the order. Atishi noted that these recordings are admissible as evidence in both disciplinary and legal proceedings.

Delhi L-G reviews civic infrastructure, flags poor condition of some roads

Lt Governor VK Saxena on Saturday reviewed the cleanliness and the infrastructure at various places in Delhi and flagged the poor condition of some roads and drains. In an interview to PTI earlier this month, Saxena had said the beautification of other parts of Delhi would also be carried out. He has already started carrying out inspections of areas that need beautification. Saxena spoke to PTI ahead of the G20 Summit. Vast stretches of the national were redeveloped for the mega event. "Starting from Yudhisthir Setu at ISBT, reviewed cleanliness and civic infra across GT Road-Shastri Park, Dilshad Garden and Kakardooma," Saxena said in a post on X. "Roads in disrepair, chocked drains, heaps of garbage, unpruned trees and encroachments mar the area. Will personally monitor a revamp from tomorrow," he said.

Supreme Court says no to barium-made firecrackers, upholds Delhi govt's ban

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court had asked Delhi police not to issue temporary licences for the sale of firecrackers in the capital city

Delhi joins campaign to build climate resilience, commits to green cover

Delhi has joined the "Race to Resilience", a UN-backed campaign to catalyse a step-change in the global ambition for climate resilience, with pledges including achieving a 25 per cent green cover within the next five years. Delhi's participation in the "Race to Resilience", announced during an event at the Climate Week NYC on Wednesday, comes with a set of commitments aimed at enhancing climate resilience while fostering sustainable development. These include investments in circular economy to re-purpose and reduce waste and in decentralised renewable energy sources to enhance access to clean and sustainable energy. As part of the campaign, the Delhi government has also committed to increasing the green space and tree planting, aiming to achieve a 25 per cent green cover in the next five years. According to the India State of Forest Report, Delhi's green cover currently stands at 23.06 per cent. The government said initiatives, such as the Delhi City of Lakes project, will rejuven

Delhi govt inks pact with Switch Mobility for 950 low-floor e-buses

The Delhi government has inked an agreement with Switch Mobility for 950 low-floor electric buses. Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot told PTI that the 12-metre buses would start arriving within four to six months. These e-buses will be equipped with CCTV cameras, panic buttons and GPS devices, Gahlot said, adding that Delhi has the highest number of electric buses in the country. In a post on X, Delhi Transport Commissioner Ashish Kundra said, "Delhi Government signs an agreement with @SwitchMobility for 950 low-floor 12-meter electric buses under National bus programme." Switch Mobility is the electric vehicle division of Hinduja Group's flagship company Ashok Leyland.

Kejriwal home renovation row: HC allows PWD officials to raise grievance

The Delhi High Court Thursday granted six PWD officials the liberty to approach the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) against issuance of show cause notices to them over alleged gross violation of rules in the renovation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's official residence. A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula disposed of an appeal by the Delhi government's Directorate of Vigilance and Special Secretary (Vigilance) challenging a single judge bench order of no coercive action against the PWD officials who were issued show cause notices. The Directorate of Vigilance, in its appeal, sought setting aside of a September 15 interim order of a single judge of the high court which said no coercive steps shall be taken by any authority against the petitioner PWD officials till October 12. The single judge had passed the interim order after taking serious exception to the city authorities failing to exercise restraint and taking contravening steps ..

LIVE: Canada issues travel advisory for its residents going to India

Catch all the latest updates from across the globe here

Delhi govt targets 1.5 mn construction workers, jump in welfare spending

Delhi government has targeted to raise the number of registered construction workers in the city to 15 lakh this year and increase spending on various welfare schemes for them by 20 times, officials said on Monday. The move comes in the wake of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal earlier this year expressing dissatisfaction over less number of registration of workers and emphasising to increase it further. As per official data, the number of registered workers was 13 lakh by end of 2022-23. The Delhi government will also raise spending on welfare schemes meant for construction workers to Rs 246 crore this year, up from 12.66 crore last year, officials said. Last year over 4,500 applications were received from registered construction workers for various welfare schemes run by Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board. Out of which, just over 2,000 were processed for benefits of different schemes with an expenditure of Rs 12.66 crore, a labour department officer said.

Delhi govt bans firecrackers for 3rd year in a row, SC refuses to interfere

The Supreme Court refused to interfere in Delhi government's decision to ban firecrackers. Delhi Government banned bursting, sale, storage and even manufacturing of firecrackers in the Capital city

Outcome Budget: Delhi govt sets targets departments, agencies for 2023-24

The Delhi government has set targets for its departments and agencies, including opening more mohalla clinics for women and new classrooms in schools, in the current fiscal, according to an Outcome Budget document. The Planning Department on Tuesday shared the Outcome Budget document detailing targets achieved in 2021-22 and 2022-23 as well as the targets set for 2023-24. It detailed the targets and budget allocations for various schemes and programmes of the 22 departments and agencies in 2023-24. The Delhi government has mapped 248 schemes and listed various outcome and output indicators on which performance will be assessed at the end of the financial year. This will be then be presented in the assembly as the Outcome Budget. Delhi's Outcome Budget is an extensive exercise linking the budgetary allocations with quantifiable outputs and measurable outcomes, giving an idea about efficiency of governance and expenditure of resources, officials said. The concept of Outcome Budget wa

Delhi govt to launch mobile registration vans for construction workers

The Aam Aadmi Party government will facilitate the registration of construction workers by launching special mobile registration vans, Delhi Labour Minister Raaj Kumar Anand said on Wednesday. "The labour department will register the construction workers at all labour sites in Delhi using vans so that they can be enabled to take benefit of various welfare schemes of the government," he said after a meeting with department officials. Launching mobile registration vans will be a significant step in this direction as it will help deliver essential documents for all welfare schemes to as many labourers as possible, he added. Anand said that a specially designed skill development programme would soon be launched for Delhi's construction workers. "The plan is to commence it at the end of this month. This programme will provide opportunities to labourers to improve their skills and open new employment avenues to them," he added. The minister said the labour department will also create .

Delhi govt to allow diesel, petrol vehicles to be converted into EVs

The process of converting internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles into an EV involves changing the original engine and other related components and installing a new alternative powertrain

Delhi govt's free services schemes provided relief from inflation: Kejriwal

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday claimed inflation is the lowest in Delhi and the city government's schemes for free education, health care, electricity and water have provided "tremendous" relief to people of the national capital. Retail inflation in India declined to 6.83 per cent in August after touching a 15-month high of 7.44 per cent in July, mainly due to softening prices of vegetables, but remains above the RBI's comfort zone, according to official data released on Tuesday. Sharing a news report that compared the inflation figures of some states with the national average, Kejriwal said in a post on X that his government's free services schemes and its honesty provided relief from inflation to the people of Delhi. "According to the data, inflation is again the lowest in Delhi, as always. The Delhi government's free education, free treatment, free travel for women, free water, free electricity, free pilgrimage as well as honest government have provided tremendous ..

Delhi govt to explore cloud seeding to check air pollution: Gopal Rai

In a bid to mitigate air pollution in the national capital during winter, the Delhi government is mulling over the use of cloud seeding technology to induce artificial rain, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Tuesday. Rai added that the government is preparing a separate action plan for each of the air pollution hotspots in the city. Rai's announcement came after his meeting with 24 environmental experts to discuss the 'Winter Action Plan' where scientists from IIT-Kanpur gave a presentation on inducing artificial rain in Delhi. At this meeting, suggestions were also taken from 24 members and researchers from the Council for Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), and Environmental Defense Fund, among others. "The experts brainstormed ways to reduce vehicular pollution, dust pollution, biomass burning, and other kinds of pollution. Scientists from IIT-Kanpur gave a presentation on inducing artificial rain in Delhi and the costs involved.