Page 90 - Delhi

Kejriwal clears regulation and licensing of transport aggregators scheme

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has approved a scheme for the regulation and licensing of aggregators providing passenger transport services and delivery service providers in the national capital. The scheme also paves the way for bike taxis and mandates that the aggregators should on-board electric two-wheelers for passenger services. The file pertaining to the Delhi Motor Vehicle Aggregator and Delivery Service Provider Scheme 2023 has now been submitted to the lieutenant governor's office, according to an official statement. Kejriwal said, "Today, I have given my approval to the historic Delhi Motor Vehicle Aggregator and Delivery Service Provider Scheme. It marks a significant milestone in Delhi's fight against pollution. With this, Delhi has become the first state/UT in India, and among very few cities globally, to mandate a time-bound transition of commercial vehicle fleets of aggregators, delivery service providers and e-commerce entities to zero-emission electric ...

Excise policy case: SC reserves verdict on bail pleas of Manish Sisodia

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on the regular bail pleas of former deputy chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia in corruption and money laundering cases arising out of the Delhi excise policy 'scam'. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti reserved its verdict on two separate bail petitions by Sisodia after hearing his counsel Abhishek Singhvi and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on February 26 for his alleged role in the 'scam'. He has been in custody since then. The ED had arrested Sisodia in a money laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9 after questioning him in Tihar Jail. Sisodia resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28. The high court had denied him bail in the CBI case on May 30, saying having been the deputy chief minister and excise minister, he is a "high-profile" person

Delhi govt approves premium bus service scheme to reduce vehicle usage

The Delhi government has approved a scheme for a premium bus service that aims at reducing intracity usage of private vehicles and help reduce pollution, officials said on Monday. The government uploaded the draft of the Delhi Motor Vehicles Licensing of Aggregator (Premium Buses) Scheme, 2023 on its website in August and sought public feedback. The city government hopes to encourage the middle and upper-middle classes to switch to public transport through the scheme. According to the scheme, a licence holder shall ensure that no premium bus shall be engaged or acquired with a registration date beyond three years from the date of notification of the scheme. "Subsequently, induction of any new Premium bus, the prevailing emission norms, BS-VI must be compliant, either Air-Conditioned CNG or electric buses. After January 1, 2025 the induction of only electric buses shall be allowed, no CNG-operated bus even if having BS-VI compliance shall be allowed to be inducted under this scheme,"

3.1 magnitude earthquake strikes Faridabad near Delhi at 4.08 pm

An earthquake of magnitude 3.1 struck Faridabad in Haryana at 4.08 pm on Sunday, the National Centre for Seismology said. It said the epicentre for the quake was nine kilometres east of Faridabad and 30 kilometres southeast of Delhi. The quake triggered panic among people, with many in Delhi and the National Capital Region reporting vigorous shaking of furniture.

Delhi's air quality plunges into 'poor' category with an AQI of 245

The air quality in Noida also dipped into the poor category. Early morning visuals showed cars making their way through the smog-filled highway of the city

Delhi LG expresses concern over spike in stubble fires in Haryana, Punjab

Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena has written to the chief ministers of Punjab and Haryana expressing concern over the rise in stubble fires in their states and asked them to take remedial measures to protect the national capital from increased air pollution during winter season. In his letter to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Saxena said it is "extremely worrisome" that the incidents of stubble burning between September 15 and October 11 have reached 1,063 -- 300 more than the figure for the corresponding period last year. Saxena had written to Mann last year as well when Delhi was choking under pollution caused by smoke from across its borders. "Between October 24, 2022 and November 2, 2022, there had been an increase of 19 per cent in the incidents of parali burning in comparison to the corresponding period of the previous year. You would also recall that last year, of the 5 states that affect Delhi's air quality, Punjab had remained the only non-performing outlier," said the ..

Delhi air in 'poor' zone on Saturday, min temp 2 notches above normal

The minimum temperature in the national capital on Saturday settled at 21.4 degree Celsius, two notches above the season's average, officials said. Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 260, in the 'poor' category, around 8 am. The IMD has predicted a mainly clear sky becoming partly cloudy towards afternoon or evening. The maximum temperature is likely to settle at 36 degrees Celsius. The humidity at 8.30 am was recorded at 83 per cent. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.

Bihar accident: Delhi-bound up line restored, work underway on down line

The Delhi-bound up line at the accident site near Raghunathpur railway station in Bihar's Buxar district has been restored and work is underway to repair the down line, the East Central Railway said on Friday. The up line is ready for limited movement of trains but normal movement on this route will be allowed only after restoration of the down line. Four people were killed and several people were injured after 23 coaches of North East Express, on the way to Assam from Delhi, derailed near Raghunathpur railway station around 9.53 pm on Wednesday. Eastern Railway Chief Public Relation Officer (CPRO) Birendra Kumar told PTI, "Up line at the accident site is fit in all respect. The down line will soon be restored. We have teams working round the clock... restoration work is being carried out on a war footing." He said most of the debris has been cleared off the tracks. Most of the injured are undergoing treatment in Buxar town and neighbouring Ara. A total of 25 people have been adm

SC dismisses plea on banning screening of children for nursery admissions

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea challenging the Delhi High Court's decision refusing to direct the lieutenant governor to give assent to or return a 2015 bill which proposed a ban on screening children for nursery admissions. A bench of Justice SK Kaul and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia said it cannot pass a direction to enact a law. "Can there be a mandamus to enact a law? Can we direct the government to introduce the bill? Supreme Court can't be the panacea for everything," the bench said. The high court had on July 3 dismissed a PIL filed by NGO Social Jurist, saying it cannot interfere with the legislative procedure and direct the L-G to either give assent to the Delhi School Education (Amendment) Bill, 2015, or return it. The organisation, through advocate Ashok Agarwal, filed the appeal in the top court saying the child-friendly bill banning the screening procedure in nursery admission in schools has been hanging between the Central and the Delhi government for the las

Sanjay Singh moves Delhi HC against arrest in money laundering case

The Delhi High Court on Friday agreed to list during the day a plea by AAP leader Sanjay Singh against his arrest in a money laundering case related to alleged irregularities in the scrapped Delhi excise policy. The matter was mentioned for urgent hearing by a lawyer for the Rajya Sabha MP before a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula. Singh's lawyer said proper grounds of arrest were not provided to him. Alright, the court said. On October 10, a trial court had remanded Singh, arrested earlier this month, to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate till October 13. The ED's money laundering case stems from the CBI FIR. According to the CBI and the ED, irregularities were committed while modifying the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 and undue favours were extended to licence holders. The Delhi government had implemented the excise policy on November 17, 2021, but scrapped it at the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruption.

Assembly polls: Congress to vacate its Delhi 'war room' running since 2008

This bungalow is allotted in the name of former RS MP Pradeep Bhattacharya whose tenure ended on August 18, 2023

PM Modi to inaugurate 9th Parliamentary Speakers' Summit in Delhi on Oct 13

According to the statement, the summit is being hosted at Yashobhoomi by the Parliament of India under the broader framework of India's G20 Presidency

Massive fire breaks out at shoe factory in Delhi's Peeragarhi: Officials

Since then over 30 fire brigade vehicles have been trying to control the fire

Teams formed to improve air quality at 13 pollution hotspots in Delhi

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Wednesday said the city government has formed interdepartmental teams to improve air quality at the 13 air pollution hotspots in the capital. The 13 identified hotspots are Narela, Bawana, Mundka, Wazirpur, Rohini, R K Puram, Okhla, Jahangirpuri, Anand Vihar, Punjabi Bagh, Mayapuri, Dwarka. These hotspots were identified based on the annual average concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 in these areas. At a press conference, Rai said specific action plans have been developed to identify and mitigate local sources of air pollution, with the goal of achieving an immediate improvement in air quality. He said an inventory of pollution sources reveals that construction work, emissions from diesel vehicles, broken roads, and traffic congestion are the primary reasons for poor air quality at Anand Vihar. Rai said, "Interdepartmental teams have been established to address these issues. We will deploy 12 mobile anti-smog guns to control dust pollution in t

Amanatullah acquired huge cash from illegal recruitment in Waqf Board: ED

A day after conducting raids against Aam Aadmi Party MLA Amanatullah Khan, the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday alleged he acquired "huge proceeds of crime" in the form of cash from illegal recruitment in the Delhi Waqf Board and invested it in purchasing immovable assets in the name of his associates. The federal agency had on Tuesday raided 13 locations in the national capital linked to the legislator and persons associated with him. "The searches were conducted in the case related to illegal recruitment of staff in Delhi Waqf Board and illegal personal gains by way of unfairly leasing out of Waqf Board properties during the chairmanship of the Board by Amantullah Khan during 2018-2022," the agency claimed in a statement. It said a CBI FIR and three Delhi Police complaints formed the basis of its action against the Aam Aadmi Party MLA. Amanatullah Khan, the ED said, "acquired huge proceeds of crime out of the said criminal activities in cash and this cash amount was invested

Delhi's AQI 'moderate', minimum temperature drops to 19.4 degrees Celsius

Delhi's AQI remained in the 'moderate' category with a reading of 135 on Wednesday while the minimum temperature dipped a notch below normal to 19.4 degrees Celsius, the weather office said. An Air Quality Index (AQI) between 0-50 is considered 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory", 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor" and 401-500 "severe". An AQI above 500 falls in the 'severe plus' category. The relative humidity in the national capital was recorded at 81 per cent. The weather office has forecast a clear sky during the day.

Delhi L-G forms committee to streamline recruitment in govt-aided schools

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Tuesday constituted a four-member committee to suggest measures to streamline the process of recruitment in government-aided schools. The move comes days after Saxena ordered the termination of seven teachers of the Delhi Tamil Education Association appointed allegedly on forged documents in 2022. The LG also approved a CBI inquiry into the matter. Saxena has asked for scrutiny of the records of recruitment in government-aided schools over the last 10 years and constituted a committee to study the appointment process in these schools. The committee formed by the LG to study the recruitment process and suggest measures to streamline it is headed by PK Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary of the general administration department. It comprises R Menaka, Special Secretary of Finance, and Ashok Kumar, Secretary of Education, as members, while Director of Education Himanshu Gupta is the convener.

NewsClick Row: Court sends Purkayastha, Chakravarty to 10-day custody

They were arrested last week by Delhi Police in a case filed under the anti-terror law UAPA following allegations that News Portal NewsClick received huge money for pro-China propaganda

Send notice to anti-dust norms violators: Govt to pollution control panel

During the inspection process, Rai found that the various norms related to the anti-dust campaign were violated and instructed Delhi Pollution Control Committee to issue a notice regarding violations

AAP holds protest against action of central agencies against its leaders

Aam Aadmi Party workers held a demonstration on the DDU Marg here on Tuesday to protest the action of central agencies against its leaders. The protest took place hours after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan's residence here as part of a money-laundering investigation against him and some others. Several protesters were detained by the police as they tried to march from the AAP office to the BJP headquarters on DDU Marg. Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh are currently in jail in a money-laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the implementation of the now-scrapped excise policy. AAP leaders, including Kejriwal, have strongly denied the allegations and claimed that the cases registered by probe agencies are false.