Page 74 - Delhi

CM Kejriwal yet to receive formal invitation for 'pran pratishtha' ceremony

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has not yet received any formal invitation for the 'pran pratishtha' ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22, sources in the AAP said on Wednesday. The chief minister, however, received a letter a few days back informing that he should block his dates and that a formal invite along with details will follow, said a source in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). "No subsequent formal invite has come yet," he added. However, a top Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) functionary claimed that an "invitation" was sent to Kejriwal a few days back. "I cannot confirm whether it was given to him personally or through post or digitally but he has been invited for the ceremony," he said. The invitation cards for the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya are being hand-delivered to all the guests through representatives of the temple trust and a large number of volunteers, official sources had said earlier. Besides, various representatives of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi

Delhi L-G approves Delhi Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Bill

Lt Governor VK Saxena has approved the Delhi Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Bill, 2023, passed by the assembly last month, Raj Niwas officials said on Wednesday. The bill passed by the Delhi Legislative Assembly aims at ensuring uniformity between central and state legislations on provisions of the Goods and Services Tax, they said. The bill has made amendments in the Delhi Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, to provide for a reference to the word "goods" and certain time limits and input tax credits, according to recommendations of the GST Council in its meetings. The GST Council -- in its 47th, 48th and 49th meetings -- recommended various amendments in the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, through the Finance Act, 2023. The bill amends sub-section (1) of Section 132 to decriminalise offences and to increase the monetary threshold from Rs 1 crore to Rs 2 crore for launching prosecution for offences under the act, except for those related to the

Gopal Rai issues order to restart functioning of Delhi's only smog tower

Earlier, on Monday, Rai wrote to the principal secretary of Environment, directing the latter to release outstanding payments to personnel working at the smog tower

GST officers detect over 29,000 bogus firms involved in fake ITC claims

The government on Sunday said GST officers have detected 29,273 bogus firms involved in fake Input Tax Credit (ITC) claims of Rs 44,015 crore in eight months till December 2023 during a drive against fake registration, which helped save revenue of Rs 4,646 crore. In the October-December quarter, 4,153 bogus firms that involved suspected ITC evasion of around Rs 12,036 crore were detected. As many as 2,358 of these bogus firms were detected by the Central GST Authorities. Maharashtra topped the list with 926 bogus firms detected, followed by Rajasthan (507), Delhi (483) and Haryana (424). The detection during the December quarter protected revenue of Rs 1,317 crore of which Rs 319 crore has been realised and Rs 997 crore has been protected by blocking ITC. As many as 41 persons were arrested in these cases while 31 of these arrests were made by Central GST Authorities, the finance ministry said. "Since the initiation of the special drive against fake registrations in mid-May 2023, a

CM Kejriwal holds meeting with ministers to discuss budget preparations

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal held a meeting with ministers of his government on Saturday to discuss preparations for the 2024-25 budget, the government said in a statement. The chief minister asked his ministers to ramp up preparations for the budget and fix priorities of their departments within a week so that they could be firmed up in the next meeting, the statement added. The budget is expected to focus on education, health, water, electricity and infrastructure. The feedback of stakeholders will be take on the budget proposals and good ones will be incorporated, the statement further said. A meeting of the minister and officers chaired by the chief minister will be held next week in which the budget priorities will be finalised, it said. Kejriwal directed Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj and Education Minister Atishi to prepare plans of new initiatives to make health and education model of the Delhi government, according to the statement. Water supply, roads and urb

Fire breaks out in forest near Modi Mill Flyover, traffic affected

According to Delhi Fire Service Department, a call regarding a fire in a forest near Modi Mill Flyover, Mathura Road was received

DMs of all districts in Delhi to spend a night in villages, hold talks

District magistrates of all 11 districts in Delhi will spend the night in villages on Sunday, hold consultations with residents and chalk out development work plans, officials said here. The exercise will be undertaken on the direction of Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) V K Saxena, they said on Saturday. After a 'Samvaad @Raj Niwas' dialogue initiative with representatives from 180 villages earlier this month, the LG announced that DMs will be spending a night in the villages in their respective districts, according to Raj Niwas officials. Accordingly, the district magistrates will reach the villages on January 7 morning and spend the night there as well. During the stay, the officials will hold 'Samvaad' sessions with residents of the areas and neighbourhood villages, and prepare a plan to be implemented by the executing agency Delhi Development Authority (DDA), they said. The exercise is aimed at chalking out a restoration and development plan for Delhi's villages, in consultatio

Delhi's per capita income rises over 14% to Rs 444,768, shows data

Delhi's per capita income increased from Rs 3,89,529 to Rs 4,44,768 in the current financial year, which is 158 per cent higher than the national average, Kejriwal government said on the release of its Statistical Handbook-2023 on Saturday. The handbook containing data on socio-economic parameters of the national capital was released by the Economic and Statistics department of the Delhi government. Despite various obstacles, the Kejriwal government has established new benchmarks in the public services sector in 2023, Planning Department Minister Atishi said on the release of the statistical handbook. The Kejriwal government significantly improved public transportation services in the capital, with an average of 41 lakh passengers commuting daily on buses in 2023. Delhi is leading the electric vehicle revolution in the country and the city currently has 7,200 buses on the streets, including 1,300 electric buses, she said. Compared to 2021-22, the number of electricity consumers in

Tech issue hits services on Delhi Metro's Yellow Line, speeds restricted

Services on Delhi Metro's Yellow Line are being regulated due to a signalling issue on a section of the corridor, officials said on Thursday. Earlier in the day, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation(DMRC) said in a post on X that services had been delayed on the Lok Kalyan Marg-Udyog Bhawan section of the Yellow Line. The Yellow Line connects Samyapur Badli in Delhi and Millennium City Centre Gurugram in Haryana. Services on the Yellow Line are "regulated today owing to a track circuit drop (signalling) issue between Lok Kalyan Marg and Udyog Bhawan stations", a senior official said. "Due to this issue, trains are running at restricted speeds in this small section, resulting in the bunching of trains. Normal train services are available on the rest of the sections of the Yellow Line," he said. The official said the necessary repair of the track circuit will be "undertaken during night hours after the closing of revenue services" to avoid inconvenience to the public during the daytime.

Delhi liquor policy case highlights: ED summons are illegal, says Kejriwal

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal news: Catch all the highlights on Delhi liquor policy case here

Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist wanted for attacks in J&K arrested in Delhi

The terrorist, identified as Javed Ahmed Mattoo, is accused of carrying out many terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir

MCD undertakes 19 sealing actions following revocation of Grap-III

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has undertaken 37 demolition and 19 sealing actions in last two days after restrictions under anti-pollution measure GRAP-III were lifted, according to an official statement issued on Wednesday. Demolition actions were suspended after the enforcement of Graded Response Action Plan-III in December last year and were revoked on Monday following visible improvement in Delhi's air quality. The MCD carried out an anti-encroachment and sealing drive from January 2 to January 3 in areas such as Bhatti, Mandi, Burari, Jaitpur, Jamia Nagar, Nangloi, Govindpuri, Mahabalipuram (Bhatti), Vasant Kunj, Kamla Nagar, and Model Town, the statement said. Over the last three months, 1,204 cases of unauthorised constructions have been registered. A total of 989 demolition, 322 sealing and 68 prosecution actions have been initiated and complaints lodged with police, the civic body said. According to the statement, six major actions against the illegal plotting/ ...

Arvind Kejriwal writes to ED, questions the intent of summons served to him

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal failed to show up for questioning in relation to the Delhi excise policy case on Wednesday

Truckers' protest impacts vegetable supply in Delhi wholesale markets

Supply of vegetables in Delhi's wholesale markets has been affected, which may cause a spike in prices of kitchen staples, due to the truckers' strike against the new penal law on hit-and-run road accidents, traders said Tuesday. There has been a 10-15 per cent rise in prices of vegetables in the national capital due to the slowdown, with rates of vegetables such as tomato, onion, and capsicum going up by Rs 5-7 per kg in many wholesale markets, they said. "So far, the supply of vegetables in Delhi is not halted due to the truck drivers protest. However, there has been a slowdown in the supply as truckers' in many parts of the country are being stopped at check points, causing delay in reaching the wholesale markets," said Sanjay Bhagat, wholesale vendor in Azadpur Mandi -- Asia's biggest farm produce market. The full blown impact of truckers' strike on the wholesale markets of the city will be yielded by Tuesday night, vendors said. If the situation continues, traders fear that th

Delhi had highest share in total EV sales in country in December: Minister

This is the highest-ever monthly contribution among all states in the country to date, reflecting the success of the Delhi EV Policy launched in 2020

Dense fog in National Capital delays 26 trains, check the full list here

Dense fog continues in the national capital disrupting transportation in the entire northern region. Some of the trains are delayed by 6 hours. Check the full list here

elhi sees massive traffic jams on New Year's day, several roads choked

Several roads in Lutyens' Delhi area witnessed a chock-a-block situation while revellers stood in serpentine queues inside and outside metro stations as huge crowds thronged the India Gate, Connaught Place and various religious places in the national capital on New Year's Day. "Be it in metro or on roads, there is no space in several areas of central Delhi," a commuter said. As people had a hard time entering and exiting Rajiv Chowk, Patel Chowk, and Central Secretariat metro stations, an official said many commuters did not have smart cards or online tickets which contributed to the long queues. Those with smart cards or online tickets were being allowed by CISF personnel to go first at security checkpoints. Some people claimed on social media in the evening that entry was closed at the Central Secretariat Metro Station. Massive crowds gathered at the India Gate, Prachin Hanuman Mandir, Bangla Sahib Gurdwara and Connaught Place circle, resulting in traffic chaos. Traffic was heav

Centre revokes restrictions set under Stage-III of Grap in Delhi-NCR

The Centre on Monday ordered the revocation of anti-pollution restrictions under Stage-III of GRAP in the entire Delhi-NCR with immediate effect. The Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM), a statutory body responsible for formulating strategies to combat pollution in the region, met on January 1 following improvement in air quality. The sub-committee of CAQM revoked the Stage-III of GRAP in view of the forecasts by the IMD/IITM for meteorological conditions and air quality index of Delhi, officials said. According to the forecast, the AQI of Delhi has been progressively improving and has been recorded as 346 at 4:O0 PM which is about 55 AQI points below the threshold for invoking the GRAP Stage-III actions (Delhi AQI 401-450) and there is a likelihood of sustaining the improvement in AQI. Furthermore, the forecast does not indicate any deterioration further and there is a likelihood of the AQI improving while remaining in Ve

Delhi govt to extend its electric vehicle policy for another three months

The Delhi government has decided to extend its Electric Vehicle (EV) policy, set to expire on Sunday, for another three months, officials said. The policy, notified in August 2020, aimed at raising the share of electric vehicles in Delhi to 25 per cent by 2024. It will now be extended till March 31, 2024, and the cabinet will accord its approval, an official said. The Delhi Electric Vehicles Policy, 2020, expired on August 8 this year and since then it has received repeated extensions. According to officials, work on the new Electric Vehicle Policy is underway but it has not been decided when it will come into effect. Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot had earlier told PTI that the Electric Vehicles Policy 2.0 would look at incentivising the retrofitting of vehicles considering its high cost. For converting a normal Gypsy, it takes almost Rs 5 lakh to Rs 6 lakh, which is on the higher side, he had said.

Delhi liquor sales log 14% on-year jump in Dec, 45 mn bottles sold: Data

The sale of liquor in Delhi recorded a 14 per cent on-year growth in December, with 4.56 crore bottles sold in the national capital during the month. According to official Excise department data, 3,99,60,509 (3.99 crore) bottles of liquor were sold in December 2022 through a network of 520 shops. This year, 4,56,00,135 (4.56 crore) bottles have been sold till December 29 from 635 vends. Department officials said with two more days to go, a significant surge in sales owing to New Year's celebrations is expected. According to the data, 19,42,717 (19.42 lakh) bottles were sold on December 24 -- the highest single-day sales during the month this year. On the same day last year, 14,69,357 (14.69 lakh) bottles were sold. December 31, 2002, however, witnessed a record sale of 20,30,664 (20.30 lakh) bottles -- the highest single-day sales figure for that month. The Excise department has also intensified enforcement to check illegal sale of liquor during the festival season. The departm