Page 9 - Rekha Gupta

Massive fire at Dilli Haat-INA market guts several stalls, no casualties

A massive fire broke out at the Dilli Haat, a popular market, at INA in South Delhi on Wednesday night, an official of the Delhi Fire Service said. Delhi Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra said that the fire has been brought under control and that there was no immediate report of any casualties in the incident. An official in the Delhi Fire Services said, "We received a call regarding fire at Dilli Haat Market INA at 8.55 pm and have deployed 13 fire engines at the spot. Further operation is underway." Several stalls were gutted in the fire. Smoke was seen bellowing from the stalls and flames leapt towards the sky as the blaze swept the popular art and craft mart. A senior police officer said that a police team immediately rushed to the spot and started further investigation. Meanwhile, Minister of Art, Culture and Language of Delhi Kapil Mishra in a post on X said, "The fire at Delhi Haat has been brought under control. There are no reports of any casualties in the fire. "Fire depart

Delhi Cabinet to decide on hospital staff outsourcing in a meeting today

The Delhi government, in a meeting scheduled on Tuesday, is likely to take a call on the Health Department's proposals regarding outsourcing of staff through PSUs and equipping hospitals with MRI machines using a PPP model, official sources said. The proposals will be discussed in the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, scheduled for 12 noon, they said. The Health Department seeks to centralise the outsourcing of staff required for documentation and other formalities at government hospitals and other health facilities of the government by roping in public sector undertakings (PSUs), they said. Presently, the hospitals and other facilities like clinics hire these personnel through private placement entities, said an official. The other proposal is regarding the installation of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines through a public-private partnership to meet the growing demand for such crucial scans, he said. There is a shortage of MRI machines in government

Delhi slum fire: CM Rekha Gupta mourns deaths, says govt helping victims

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday condoled the loss of lives in a fire at a slum in northwest Delhi's Rohini and said the government is taking all necessary measures to help the affected people. The local MLA and the sub-divisional magistrate immediately reached the spot to coordinate relief efforts, including provision of mobile toilets, medical assistance and food for the affected residents, Gupta said in a post on X. Two children died and five people were injured in the massive fire that gutted over 800 densely packed shanties in the jhuggi cluster this morning. Thick plumes of smoke billowed into the sky as firefighters toiled for three hours to douse the flames. Gupta expressed her "deep sadness" over the tragic incident and extended her condolences to the families who lost their loved ones. "We are monitoring the situation to ensure that timely support and rehabilitation are extended to every affected individual. The government of Delhi stands firmly with all those impact

Delhi govt to allow ads on 100 footbridges to fund their maintenance

The Delhi government has decided to allow advertising on around 100 Foot Over Bridges (FOB) in a bid to generate additional revenue for their upkeep. The Public Works Department (PWD) minister Parvesh Verma has directed the department to start working on the project and come up with a proposal so that the extra revenue could help in the better maintenance of these FOBs, which are built on the main roads with heavy traffic flows. "The idea is to generate just enough revenue for the proper maintenance of the FOBs. Currently many of these are in a poor condition, with their lifts and escalators requiring repairs and overhead plastic roof cracked and discoloured. Through the advertisements, we will fund the upkeep of the bridges," Verma said. "The plan is to have a revenue-sharing model with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, which will give the NOC (no objection certificate) for this project. Currently, there are just a few FOBs -- like the one at Akshardham -- where advertising is ..

Lack of water is a huge problem for the people of Delhi: CM Rekha Gupta

In her speech, CM Gupta announced the commencement of several infrastructure projects in slum areas and underdeveloped blocks, including pipeline installation, street and drain construction

Delhi govt ensuring no Pakistani stays beyond deadline: CM Rekha Gupta

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday said the Delhi government is ensuring strict compliance with the Centre's order to ensure that no Pakistani stays in India beyond the deadline set for them to leave the country. India announced on Thursday that all visas issued to Pakistani nationals will be revoked from April 27 and advised Indian nationals residing in Pakistan to return home at the earliest, as tensions between the two countries escalated over the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, mostly tourists, on April 22. According to sources, the home minister personally called up the chief ministers of all states and asked them to ensure that no Pakistani stays in India beyond the deadline. "The Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt of India, has revoked all Visas issued to Pakistani Nationals, except Medical, Diplomatic & Long-Term visas, with effect from 27th of April, 2025," Gupta said in a post on X. "The existing medical visas shall also stand invalid after 29th of April, ...

Delhi to expand bus fleet with 2,080 electric vehicles, retire 1K old ones

The Delhi transport department is set to add 2,080 electric vehicles to its bus fleet over the year, an official said on Monday. It currently operates around 7,000 buses in the city. But around 1,000 of those are set to get off road this year with some already being retired. "We have signed a memorandum of understanding with five different concessioners to procure 1,040 buses. For the second set of 1,040 buses, we will sign agreements soon. Once they start rolling out, it would plug the gap created due to decommissioning of ageing buses," said a transport department official. According to the plan, 1,040 buses will be added to the fleet in the first phase under the Centre's National Electric Bus Programme (NEBP). The scheme aims at introducing e-buses across the nation. The second lot of 1,040 buses will be part of the PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme. The scheme aims to incentivise over 14,000 e-buses across nine major cities with

Delhi govt unveils Heat Action Plan 2025 amid soaring temperatures

Launching the plan, Delhi CM Rekha Gupta said that it is a critical initiative to safeguard our citizens, especially the most vulnerable, from the escalating dangers of extreme heat

Delhi CM flags off 1,100 GPS tankers to boost summer water supply

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday flagged off 1,111 tankers fitted with a location tracking system to boost water supply in the city during the summer. The system will enable the tankers' location to be tracked on an IT dashboard from the Delhi Jal Board headquarters. "This is a step towards complete transparency. This is not the final solution, we will work on a new town plan to provide water from the tap to every resident," Gupta said during the ceremony marking 60 days of her government in Burari. Water Minister Parvesh Verma, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, BJP MPs and MLAs were present at the event. In its budget for the 2025-26 fiscal, the Delhi government has allocated Rs 9,000 crore for the water sector. This amount includes allocation for installing smart meters, reviving water bodies, laying pipelines and desilting drains, among others, Gupta said. "We have deployed 50 super sucker machines across the city to deal with sewer overflow. The previous ..

Delhi CM Rekha Gupta orders probe into Mustafabad building collapse

Arrangements have been made for proper treatment of all the injured, said the CM

Delhi govt to launch anti-pollution drive with tankers, border checks

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Friday said the government will roll out a comprehensive framework to tackle the rising pollution levels which will include deploying 1,000 water tankers with sprinklers, installing anti-smog guns in high-rise buildings and setting up CCTV cameras and LED screens at the city borders to prevent the entry of old vehicles. He said the roadmap will outline the city's strategy to fight pollution from 2025 to 2026. Sirsa said one of the key goals is to bring PM2.5 levels down. "We are installing water mist systems at various hotspots to clean the air and help particulate matter settle. This initiative has already shown success over a five-kilometre stretch in Dwarka," he said. The government is now expanding the project to 13 identified hotspots across the city. To intensify dust suppression, over 1,000 GPS-enabled water tankers with sprinklers will be deployed. "These tankers will move to areas with high pollution levels. Their route

Govt making every effort to ensure waterlogging-free monsoon, says Delhi CM

The Delhi government is making every effort, including deploying automatic pumps and personnel at vulnerable spots, to ensure that the national capital remains free from waterlogging during monsoon, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Friday. Accompanied by Public Works Department Minister Parvesh Verma, the chief minister inspected the waterlogging-prone Minto Bridge underpass to take stock of the preparations for monsoon. "Automatic pumps have been deployed here that will flush out water during heavy rain and a 2.5-kilometre-long pipeline has been laid to carry the accumulated water out. Operators will also be on round-the-clock duty" Gupta said. Vulnerable spots have been identified and corrective measures are being taken. The Delhi government will take every step in a time-bound manner to ensure there is no waterlogging this year, she told reporters. Gupta will also inspect monsoon preparedness at other major waterlogging points, including Ring Road near the WHO building and the

Delhi govt targets dummy schools, issues notices, starts de-recognition

The action comes amid rising concerns over dummy schooling and the neglect of Economically Weaker Section (EWS) students

Delhi govt approves ₹4,000 crore for Yamuna cleaning, prison, EV infra

The BJP government in the first meeting of its Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) chaired by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Wednesday approved funds worth Rs 4,000 crore for cleaning of Yamuna and construction of a high security prison in Narela besides others. Speaking at an event here, the chief minister said the EFC approved infrastructure projects worth Rs 4,000 crore, including Rs 3,140 crore for construction of 27 sewage treatment plants (STPs) and laying of sewerlines to augment efforts to clean the heavily polluted Yamuna in Delhi. The meeting chaired by the chief minister was attended by Cabinet Ministers Parvesh Verma, Ashish Sood, Kapil Mishra and Pankaj Singh along with senior officers. Gupta said that construction of 27 decentralized sewage treatment plants have been approved in the meeting. Additionally, to strengthen Delhi's transport infrastructure, approval was given for the establishment of charging stations for electric buses at DTC depot, ISBT, and Cluster Bus .

Ayushman Bharat: CM Rekha Gupta calls for implementation of scheme in Delhi

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Wednesday discussed the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat scheme in the national capital with BJP MLAs and party leaders, and said that no time should be wasted in delivering its benefits to eligible people. Gupta said that she has directed all MLAs to help eligible residents in their constituencies get their health cards made. We conducted the meeting to ensure that Ayushman Bharat cards for all Delhi residents are made at the earliest, she said. The chief minister also said that work has begun to identify locations for setting up 'Arogya Mandirs' across the city. We have set a target to identify 1,139 locations. The Delhi government will start working on this from today itself, she told reporters after the meeting. Gupta said that Ayushman Bharat, which has finally been extended to Delhi after a long wait, must now reach the citizens without any further delay. "The meeting today was to assign specific responsibilities to all MLAs to help

CM Rekha Gupta warns Delhi's private schools against arbitrary fee hikes

The CM stated that immediate action has been directed, with officials instructed to investigate and take strict measures

Delhi govt approves 3-month extension of EV policy, continues power subsidy

The Delhi government on Tuesday approved extension of its Electric Vehicle (EV) policy by three months and continuation of power subsidy in the national capital. The Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta also approved the continuation of the existing power subsidy for four categories: domestic consumers, farmers, lawyers with chambers, and victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. At a press conference held at Delhi Secretariat later, Transport Minister Pankaj Singh said there will be no ban on autos or any other category of vehicles. Speaking to PTI, he said, "There are many things the government wants to do for its residents, and we will incorporate those in the revised EV policy. However, I want to make it clear that there will be no ban on autos, nor is there any proposal to ban any category of vehicles. The current EV policy is expected to continue for approximately the next three to four months. Home Minister Ashish Sood addressed the misinformation circulating abo

Delhi CM issues notices to schools over arbitrary fee hikes and expulsions

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday said notices have been issued to schools against which complaints of arbitrary fee hikes have been received. These schools have been asked to respond, failing which strict action will be taken against them, the chief minister told PTI. Addressing a 'Jan Samvad' (public meeting), the chief minister received a complaint about a private school in Model Town allegedly increasing fees and expelling students. Sharing the incident in a post on X, Gupta said, "Today, a case related to Queen Mary's School in Model Town came up, where parents complained about unjust fee collection and the expulsion of students." The matter has been taken seriously and officials have been directed to carry out an immediate investigation and take necessary action, she said. "No school has the right to harass parents over fees or remove students unfairly," she said, adding that all schools are expected to follow set rules and regulations, and any violation will resul

Ambedkar Jayanti: Delhi CM announces 15-day education drive in schools

She further informed that as part of the initiative, students will also be taken to visit key landmarks associated with Dr. Ambedkar

BJP govt in Delhi insulted Ambedkar's legacy, failed Dalit students: AAP

AAP's Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj on Sunday accused the BJP-led Delhi government of showing "utter disregard" for the legacy of Dr BR Ambedkar and failing to deliver on key promises made to Dalit students. Bharadwaj alleged the BJP government had removed portraits of Ambedkar from prominent spots in government offices -- a practice that was institutionalised during the AAP government under former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, an official statement of AAP said. There was no immediate response available from the BJP on AAP's charges. Bharadwaj said, "Earlier, it was mandatory for all government offices, including those of ministers and the chief minister -- to have a portrait of Babasaheb Ambedkar in the background. This ensured his constant presence in official photographs. Now, these portraits have been relegated to obscure corners, which is deeply disrespectful," Bharadwaj said. He further accused the BJP of failing to fulfil multiple promises made to Scheduled Caste (SC)