Finally, a new bridge to be built on Yamuna (Times of India 26 February 2011)

New Delhi: Even as Delhi was denied the anti-collision device and the Sukhi Griha scheme for slum-dwellers,there is one project in the budget which has created some excitement.The railways,despite strong objections from the Archaeological Survey of India,are now ready to construct the alternate rail bridge on the Yamuna near Shahdara.The decision was taken after the Old Yamuna Bridge was closed to rail traffic for more than two days,thus cutting off Old Delhi station from the Sahibabad junction.`` We are aware of the ASIs objections related to Salimgarh Fort but we have kept the allocations since this will benefit thousands of rail passengers, said Manish Tiwari,CPRO,Northern Railway.
Railway engineers claimed its the time to decommission the old bridge.There is single-line entry to the Old Delhi railway station.As a result there is congestion on the bridge and that has weakened it.Its a safety hazard now, said an official.
The railways say they are in talks with ASI to complete the work at the earliest.`` We are in talks with ASI.We wont like Salimgarh Fort to be damaged in any way.We have made the necessary alignment changes and are hoping that this time it will receive the necessary approval, said Tiwari.Out of the essential Rs 80 crore estimated to be used for construction,railways have decided to release Rs 39.27 crore this fiscal.ASI said it was `` impossible for them to grant permission.`The National Monuments Authority is been set up by mid-March.The railways have to approach it for permission, said an official. Railways will run two new Durantos from the city besides the doubledecker service to Jaipur.The new Durantos will ply between Mumbai Central and New Delhi and between Nizamuddin and Ajmer on a bi-weekly basis.A Shatabdi Express to Ludhiana has also been introduced.The Sealdah Duranto frequency has been increased from two days a week to five days.A Vivek Express (to celebrate the 150th birth year of Vivekananda),a Kavi Guru Express (to celebrate 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore) and a Janam Bhoomi Gaurav Express (to celebrate tourism) will ply from NCR.

Four more lanes for Kalindi Kunj bridge (Times of India 26 February 2011)

Noida: The New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA) is planning to widen the Kalindi Kunj bridge by adding four lanes to deal with the increased volume of traffic going towards Delhi or Noida.It will take about one and a half years to broaden the existing bridge also known as the Okhla Barrage after the NOIDA board approves a detailed project report and bids are called for building the extension to the narrow bridge. The NOIDA board has agreed in principal to widen the bridge.NOIDA chairman,Mohinder Singh,told mediapersons on Friday evening,The work related to the project will begin in earnest.After the technical design is approved and the bids are invited,it should not take more than one and a half years to complete the project.
A Noida traffic police official said,The bridge was built in the early 80s.At that time only about 10,000 vehicles used to pass over it daily.It was built to connect the traffic coming from Mathura Road in Delhi to Noida.The barrage would keep the flow of the Yamuna in control and check floods.Nowadays,about 70,000 vehicles pass over the bridge daily.The figure was close to 20,000 about a decade ago. The officer added,The daily traffic is poised to cross the onelakh mark in the next few years,which is about the same as the volume of traffic on the Delhi Noida Direct Flyway.The colonies sprouting up along the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway are mainly responsible for the increase in the traffic on the bridge. Sources in NOIDA said it would take about two to three months to complete the research on the bridge before bids can be invited for the expansion.
In its board meeting on Friday,NOIDA also passed a detailed proposal on the security,surveillance and e-governance system being set up in Noida.According to a report by Ernst and Young and Rail India Technical and Economic Services,the implementation and commissioning of the system will take 18 months.The company setting up the system will take care of the operation and maintenance of the system for seven years.The cost of commissioning of the system is expected to be between Rs 380 crore and Rs 400 crore.
lalit.kumar@timesgroup.com

Jairam wades into river issue (Times of India 22 February 2011)

NEW DELHI: Minister of environment and forests Jairam Ramesh is expected to write to the chief ministers of Delhi and Haryana, asking them to take immediate action against those found polluting the Yamuna. The minister had earlier written to Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in December last year, threatening action against "persistent polluters" after two water treatment plants in Delhi had to be shut down due to excess ammonia in raw water.
The minister had intervened between the two states recently as well when Delhi had to shut down its plants once again on February 14 after level of ammonia and chloride went up in the raw water. The states started a blame game, accusing each of being the 'bigger polluter'. Ramesh had said he would meet representatives of the two states towards the ends of the month and sort out the issue.
His letter to the Haryana CM, dated December 29, said that "untreated industrial and domestic effluent from Panipat, Samalkha and Sonipat (was being) discharged into the Yamuna. I would request you to take necessary action to ensure that the Haryana State Pollution Control Board not only monitor water quality and sewage treatment but also take stiff action against polluters". The letter said if the situation did not change, the minister would take action under Section 5 of the Environment Protection Act against the defaulters. This time, Delhi government has also come under the spotlight for failing to curb pollution in the river. According to Central Pollution Control Board, the city generates 630 million litres per day of sewage against an installed treatment capacity of 512mld. Even after this, only 380mld of sewage gets treated. CPCB data identified that level of pollutants go up significantly in the Delhi stretch of the river as the city deposits all its waste into the river that has no fresh water for most part of the year.
Delhi officials said Haryana was supposed to provide optimum quality water at Wazirabad since all of it was meant for Delhi's drinking purpose. The capital, meanwhile, was supposed to provide only irrigation quality water downstream of Okhla.

65 species of water birds spotted (The Hindu 21 February 2011)

Seasonal delight: Migratory birds seen at the Okhla Bird Sanctuary in Delhi.
NEW DELHI: As many as 65 species of water birds, including the ferruginous pochard and the black-tailed godwit, which are listed as nearly threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, were recorded in the Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) that was recently carried out by Wetlands International, South Asia Division, in Delhi. Most of these birds were spotted at the Okhla Bird Sanctuary on the banks of the Yamuna.
The census, which adopts a scientific research to arrive at data for planning and strategic policy for conservation of wetlands and migratory water birds globally, carried out the exercise through a team of dedicated volunteer birders led by Delhi AWC coordinator Tarun K. Roy.
According to the census, while some of the rare species presented themselves, the most attractive of the tall birds, the greater flamingos, gave Delhi a miss this winter. “The wader species were not attracted as the marshlands and smaller islands were almost submerged due to high water-level in the sanctuary. Only two different flocks of black-tailed godwit and Eurasian spoonbill, managed to find a small island habitat,” Mr. Roy said.
While the arrival of certain birds, like the gray-leg geese, common teals and black-headed and brown-headed gulls was more than in the previous years, it were the northern shovelers (3,218 against 484 last year) and common coots (1,838 against 231 last year), which arrived in abundance.
Another reason for cheer was the first sighting of a white coot in India. Incidentally, this was also only the third time that such a bird has been spotted anywhere in the world in the recent past.
Noting that some prominent migratory species, like the great white pelican, the comb duck and the mallard have not been migrating since 2009, whereas the Asian open-billed stork, the black stork and the black-necked stork have not come since 2008, Mr. Roy said the arrival of the little blue kingfisher and the black-tailed godwit this time was recorded after many years.
Stating that the Yamuna river habitat has become degraded ecologically as well physically due to human exploitation for seasonal vegetable cultivation, huge development works like construction of bridges and roads along riverbeds and fishing in the river, the report of the AWC calls for preserving of the habitat to ensure better arrivals in the future as well.

We will link Ganga, Cauvery if voted to power, says BJP chief (The Hindu 21 February 2011)

ATTACKS CENTRE:BJP president Nitin Gadkari addresses party workers during the celebration of completion of Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa's 1000 days in office, in Bangalore on Sunday.
BANGALORE: Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari on Sunday said that the NDA, if voted to power, would link the Ganga and the Cauvery to solve the problem of water shortage in the southern States.
“We will make South Indian States, especially Karnataka, which is facing water shortage, a green and abundant region by linking Ganga and Cauvery rivers,” Mr. Gadkari said at a convention of party workers organised here to mark the completion of 1000 days of the BJP government in Karnataka.
Mr. Gadkari said resources for the proposed river-linking project would be raised by bringing back the black money of Indians stashed away in Swiss banks.
“I am confident that tomorrow belongs to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and we are sure to form the government at the Centre in the next polls. If there is a political party which can change the country's future and effectively handle the menace of terrorism, it is the BJP,” he said.
The BJP chief accused the Union government of failing in several key areas, including national security and poverty alleviation. “The country's borders are unsafe,” he said
Mr. Gadkari criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his statement that: “I am not as much a culprit as I am being made out.” He asked Dr. Singh to specify “what is the percentage of his culpability.”
Taking exception to Dr. Singh blaming coalition politics for his not being able to take stern action on several issues, he wondered why the coalition dharma should come in the way of prevention of corruption and acting against the corrupt.
Alleging that the scams involving the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government were to the tune of Rs. 4 lakh crore against the central budget size of Rs. 10 lakh crore, he said these scams had dented the UPA's image.
Mr. Gadkari urged the party workers in Karnataka to take a pledge to ensure that the party swept all the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the State to help the NDA come to power at the Centre.
BJP national general secretary Ananth Kumar alleged that a cold war had started between Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Dr. Singh. Ministers were issuing contradictory statements on various issues while the UPA constituents were feeling that they had been let down by the Congress, he said.

Yamuna: Delhi can't blame Haryana alone (Times of India 18 February 2011)

NEW DELHI: In the ongoing tussle between Delhi and Haryana over who pollutes the Yamuna more, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data shows that the capital really doesn't have much of a defence. Since it taps all the raw water that comes to it from Haryana, only sewage flows through the Delhi stretch.
Downstream Agra gets practically black water. Some infusion of fresh water takes place when the river gets joined by a fresh water channel from Hindon after it leaves Delhi, but even after treatment, this water is not fit for drinking. "At Palla, just before the river enters the city, it has good levels of dissolved oxygen. Soon after, the water is lifted at Wazirabad and what flows through Delhi is only sewage. There is no oxygen in the river and lots of toxins. The degraded quality of the river is evident by the fact that there is no fish in the Delhi stretch," said a CPCB official.
After a Supreme Court order, CPCB has been monitoring various stretches of the river on pH, total dissolved solids, chemical oxygen demand, bio-chemical oxygen demand and dissolved oxygen. Dissolved oxygen, of which a minimum of 4mg/l is needed, is zero in the Delhi stretch for almost the entire year with a slight improvement only after monsoon. The total dissolved solids also go up to more than 1,000mg/l. The bio-chemical oxygen demand, a measure of the oxygen needed by micro-organisms to decompose waste, goes up to 85mg/l, indicating presence of massive waste material in the water.
"The river is in a pathetic condition and we are in the process of upgrading our sewage treatment plants and setting up the interceptor sewage system so that in the next 3-4 years we are able to send cleaner water downstream. Our mandate is to supply irrigation quality water at Okhla. While that is not happening right now, we will be able to manage it in the next few years. However, Haryana is supposed to supply optimum quality water at Wazirabad since it is entirely meant for drinking purposes," said Ramesh Negi, CEO, Delhi Jal Board. On Sunday, the levels of ammonia and chloride suddenly went up in the river due to presence of untreated sewage and industrial discharge in the Yamuna. Delhi was forced to shut down two if its treatment plants as they are not equipped to treat such high levels of pollutants. However, sources said such incidents place about twice or thrice a year. "At Okhla, the river meets the Shahdara drain, and till the time this water reaches Mathura and Agra, there is only one point where there is any fresh water incursion. This too has been happening since the past few years since Agra was unable to treat the water it got otherwise. Even now, despite several levels of treatment, it cannot be consumed. This problem will not be resolved till Delhi starts cleaning its sewage. At present, not only are its STPs not working to capacity, there are several unauthorized colonies and settlements which discharge sewage directly into the river," said government sources.

Now a green initiative for after-life (The Hindu 18 February 2011)

If you're environmentally conscious in life, how about the after-life? Eight Indian cities will now get cremation systems in Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's Harit Moksha (Green Heaven) initiative.
With two lakh hectares of forest area being felled annually just for burning bodies in the rites of death, the Harit Moksha systems, which promise to use 60 per cent less wood, could be significant. So far ONGC plans to set up 30 units in eight cities — including ten in Mumbai and six in Delhi — at a cost of Rs.9.19 crore in collaboration with an NGO, Mokshda Paryavaran Evam Van Suraksha Samiti.
“These units need to be installed on a large enough scale to make a difference,” said Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh inaugurating the venture on Thursday.
He admitted that he had initially supported the use of electric crematoria, an idea which had not found many takers.
A fuel-efficient wood-based crematorium, on the other hand, is more culturally acceptable, and has the added bonus of being more affordable for poorer families.
Mr. Ramesh welcomed ONGC's corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts and suggested that the public service undertaking spend its surplus CSR budget of Rs. 200 crore by partnering with his Ministry's afforestation efforts. “If I can get five PSUs like yours, I have my entire Rs.1,000 crore budget,” he said.
The Samiti, which will implement the project on a turnkey basis over the next three years, estimates that it would help in saving 13,700 tonnes of wood and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26,500 tonnes every year. Air and river pollution would also be reduced.
Mr. Ramesh was not averse to eliciting some wry political laughs from his audience. As he prepared to leave for the meeting of the Group of Ministers on Coal to discuss the controversial issue of coal mining in heavily forested areas, he quipped that “many people at the meeting would be hoping that I would be the first candidate for this Harit Moksha, and hoping to get rid of the Harit Mantralaya.”

Reviving biodiversity on Yamuna bank (Times of India 15 February 2011)

NEW DELHI: Rapid urbanization along the Yamuna riverfront has taken its toll on the flora and fauna. In an attempt to preserve the "natural heritage" of the riverfront, around 45km of land along the Yamuna bed — from Palla to Okhla barrage — will be converted into a biodiversity park to revive the ecosystem in this area. The project has been taken up by Delhi Development Authority, along with Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems of Delhi University. It will include revival of wetlands along the river. These wetlands will help recharge the groundwater level and also, in storing flood water. "The riverfront will be a mosaic of wetlands interspersed with grasslands and several forest communities. We hope that plantation along the area will attract wildlife similar to the kind that is found in Bharatpur sanctuary once the project is over," said CR Babu, project incharge of Biodiversity Parks Programme.
A variety of grasses will be grown in this area along with aquatic plants. The proposed forest communities include Bombax dominated, Syzygium dominated , Terminalia tomentosa, Holoptelia dominated , Terminalia Arjuna dominated.
"The plantation will help stabilize sediments along the river besides attracting a wider range of wildlife. The wetlands — many of which were made redundant due to agricultural activity on this land — will help provide catchment area for rainwater and will recharge groundwater. These will also help prevent flooding in the city. The water can be stored at different depths and will ensure ecological diversity in the area," added Babu. There will be treatment wetlands also which will help treat the downstream water. Vegetation and green plants, which support microbes, will be planted around such wetlands so that it can work on the particulate organic matter. According to scientists at the Yamuna Biodiversity Park, the wetlands will be developed into "aquatic parks". This project comprises the Yamuna biodiversity park and work under phase-II also includes setting up food courts and amphitheatre. The project will cost Rs 12 crore. Work will also start soon along the 9,770 hectares of Yamuna riverfront. "We had started some work at the Yamuna riverfront biodiversity last year but it was discontinued as PWD was carrying out work on Ring Road bypass. The project has been divided into three zones. One zone is the biodiversity park, the other a recreational zone and the third zone helps in integrating the first two zones. Plant species which can sustain floods and sandy soil conditions will be planted," said a DDA official. Once the 45-km biodiversity park is created people can walk or cycle from Wazirabad to Okhla along the pathways identified in this area.

Ammonia levels rise in Yamuna waters; two plants shut down (The Hindu 15 February 2011)

Pollution at Haryana end threatens water supply to several Delhi areas
Ammonia, chloride levels, hardness rose sharply in raw water supplied from Haryana to Delhi
Consequently, Delhi Jal Board closed Wazirabad, Chandrawal water treatment plants at 2 p.m.
NEW DELHI: Barely a week after Haryana vehemently denied responsibility for polluting the Yamuna, two water treatment plants here in the Capital were shut down after the level of impurities in the water released by the State for Delhi's use was found to be higher than permissible levels.
On Monday, ammonia and chloride levels rose sharply in the raw water supplied from Haryana to Delhi, as did the hardness. Consequently the Delhi Jal Board had to close down the Wazirabad and Chandrawal water treatment plants.
With their closure, several areas in North Delhi, North-West Delhi, parts of West Delhi, Central Delhi, parts of South Delhi, NDMC area and Delhi Cantonment will face disruption in supply. Jal Board officials cautioned residents that tanker supply in these areas may not be available due to non-availability of treated water at filling stations.
“The level of ammonia is extremely high at Wazirabad, mainly because of the pollution coming into the river from the Panipat area. The untreated slush has led to the closure of both Wazirabad and Chandrawal plants since 2 p.m.,” said a senior DJB official.
According to the official, the ammonia level was 1.4 ppm against the permissible 0.6 ppm and less. “Such large ammonia levels make it impossible for us to filter the water. Also, the chloride levels have risen sharply. We have alerted the Haryana Chief Secretary and the Haryana State Pollution Control Board [HSPCB].”
A sudden change in the weather has compounded the Jal Board's misery. In the absence of strong sunlight, the Board cannot add more chlorine to treat the water.
“Chlorine is not soluble in water — it mixes with water and stays there. But if the sun is strong, it evaporates easily,” said an official.
The board wants the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Central Government to step in.
“If Haryana claims it is not polluting the Yamuna, and that there are effluent treatment plants at Panipat, how does this untreated waste find its way into the Panipat canal?” asked the official.
Demanding an inspection of Haryana's claim, the official said: “A body comprising Central Government officials and HSPCB and CPCB representatives should inspect the sites and factories to ascertain whether effluents are being treated at all. We have been bringing this transgression to the notice of the authorities, but no action has been taken so far.”
Haryana Irrigation, Forest and Environment Minister Ajay Singh Yadav recently wrote to Union Minister for Forests and Environment Jairam Ramesh blaming untreated effluents from Delhi's 22 drains falling into the river at Badarpur for the pollution. Captain Yadav had claimed “there was no discharge of effluents from any town in Haryana directly into the Yamuna upstream of Wazirabad water works.”

DTC chose Yamuna bank over other sites for bus depot: RTI (The Hindu 11 February 2011)

DDA had offered several other permanent sites
NEW DELHI: The Delhi Development Authority had offered the Delhi Transport Corporation several sites for construction of bus depots to meet the demand for shelters during the Commonwealth Games and yet the DTC chose to stick to the temporary site on the Yamuna floodplains. This was revealed in a reply to a query filed under the Right to Information Act by Vinod Jain, head of the non-government Tapas.
Mr. Jain, who is fighting for the removal of DTC's temporary bus shelter from the Yamuna floodplains, has alleged that despite the DDA's assurance that they will meet the land requirements for construction of bus depots across the city, the DTC chose to construct a depot on the floodplains, a prohibited site for construction.
“The DDA has clearly told the DTC that they will be easily able to meet their land requirement of 105 acres for the setting up of 21 bus depots across the city. They were told that there is land in each district wherever the depots were planned. Yet, for some reason the DTC chose the floodplains,” said Mr. Jain.
“Even when the bus depot came up near the Commonwealth Games Village on the floodplains, it was mentioned that the depot will be temporary and removed from the site immediately after the Games. And till date despite various agencies protesting against its presence, the depot continues to remain and now we hear that the DTC wants the land used changed so that they can continue to occupy the space.”
As per the records accessed through RTI by Mr. Jain, the DDA offered the DTC a site near Mayur Vihar district centre. “The DDA has over 10,000 acres for the purposes of public use. There is also a letter written by the DDA in 2008 that points out that the Yamuna river front cannot be used for developing an idle bus park as no activity is permitted there by the orders of the L-G,” said Mr. Jain.

Polluting Yamuna: Who is responsible? (Hindustan Times 09 February 2011)

Accountability Environment minister Jairam Ramesh to meet Delhi and Haryana CMs to end blame-game on the issue.
Who is to be blamed for high pollution level of river Yamuna? Delhi or Haryana. None of them, if the claims of both the state governments are to be believed. Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh will now try to find an answer at a meeting with Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Del hi chief minister Sheila Dikshit.
"We seem to be going round -and-round blaming each other," Ramesh said, after both the state governments blamed each other for the river’s pathetic condition and refused to act.
Yamuna in Delhi is almost dead with water not suitable for even bathing at most places, leave along supporting aquatic life. It is mainly due to high ammonia level emanating from high discharge of industrial pollutants in the river.
Delhi Jal Board (DJB) in December 2010 had to shut down its two major water treatment plants because of high ammonia content and blamed domestic effluents from Haryana townships neighbouring Delhi — Panipat, Samalkha and Sonepat — for it.
Ramesh was quick to act and asked Hooda to ensure monitoring of water quality in river Yamuna in Haryana and take action against polluters under section 5 of Environment Protection Act, which allows the state pollution control board to shut the industries.
Hooda wrote back saying that level of ammonia in Yamuna water at Palla, the entry point into Delhi, was nil as per joint monitoring report of Central and state Pollution Control Boards. The bio-chemical oxygen demand (BOD) level was 1.10 to 2.70 milligram per litre against the permissible limit of 3 milligram per litre.
"It is pertinent to mention that there is no discharge of effluents from the towns of Sonepat and Samalkha directly into the river Yamuna. The effluent from Panipat was being treated," said Captain Ajay Singh Yadav, Haryana environment minister, in a letter to the union environment minister.
"As a result the quality of water in Yamuna before entering Delhi remained within the permissible limits."
The deteriorating of the river starts in Delhi, the Haryana government has claimed. Quoting water quality figures between January and November 2010, the Haryana government said the BOD level at Badarpur, where it enters Haryana, ranged between 12 - 30 milligram per litre.
"Haryana is getting polluted water from the state of Delhi due to discharge of untreated/partially treated effluents from 22 drains falling into river Yamuna in Delhi," Yadav said, in a letter to Ramesh last week, seeking directions to Delhi government to control pollution in the river.
The Najafgarh drain receives large amount of untreated sewage and is a cause for pollution in Yamuna, thereby making it stink during dry season. Despite court orders the government had failed to rejuvenate the river.
Ramesh wants to take the task for cleaning river Yamuna by first resolving pending issues between the two states and then implementing a new plan for creating water reservoirs to provide sufficient fresh water supply in the river to support aquatic life.
Ministry officials expect a meeting between three of them soon.

Yamuna Bank was meant to be green area, says NGO (The Hindu 08 February 2011)

NEW DELHI: The tussle over the “legitimacy” of allowing the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to build a block of 90-odd flats for its employees at Yamuna Bank has intensified. An application filed under the Right to Information Act has revealed that the land on which the building is coming up was “inappropriately” shown as “transportation land” in the performa submitted to the Delhi Urban Arts Commission at the time of seeking their conceptual approval for the building plan in 2007.
Non-government organisation Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan, which has been fighting for the relocation of the building from the riverbed, has learnt from the Delhi Development Authority that the land use of the site was not changed by it but by the Union Urban Development Ministry in contravention of laid down rules.
“It is shocking that while the DMRC claims that it has all the relevant approvals for construction of the building, the land use conversion of the site itself is questionable. In response to an RTI query, the DDA has claimed that no specific use of the land in the riverbed occupied by the DMRC has been changed by it. It said it is the Ministry of Urban Development that has in the zonal development plan of zone ‘o' shown the land as ‘transportation' zone,” said Manoj Misra, convenor of the YJA.
Describing the change of land use by the Ministry as “illegal”, Mr. Misra said: “Under law, the DDA and the Union Government had to first notify their intentions and invite comments and objections from the public, which did not happen. The Ministry seems to have made its own changes, which it is not authorised to do.”
Contrary to the claims made by the DMRC, the land has been marked as “green area” in the Master Plan, said Mr. Misra.
“The Yamuna Bank depot and the building are all on land that was meant to be green. The DUAC was also misled into believing that the land use was permitted for “transportation use”. The conceptual approval from the DUAC was sought on incorrect information that the DMRC's architect at that time, Kuldip Singh, submitted,” Mr. Misra alleged.
DUAC member Ratish Nanda said: “The DMRC whether for the metro projects or even where they serve as contractors continue to flout laws. In the case of the building of 90 flats in tower blocks not only was the DUAC purposely misinformed of land use -- with the ‘river bed' being projected as ‘metro operational area' by the DMRC and the consulting architect but it did not even submit the housing design, which cannot be included in operational area, for approval as it is meant to be.”
For his part, Kuldip Singh said: “As architects we designed the depot and the buildings, we were given the site plan by the DMRC, for the land that was theirs. It was given to them by the Government for a project that is not for profit but for public use.” When questioned about the land use of the site, Mr. Singh said, at the time of submitting the performa at the DUAC, they believed that the government has permitted the DMRC to construct at the site. “We understood that the building is part of the depot and for those employees who are involved in essential services at the depot.”
He went on to say: “The mishap could have occurred because of the ambiguity in the Master Plan that was still to be drafted at the time of seeking the DUAC approval.”
YJA activists have also written to Lieutenant-Governor Tejendra Khanna urging him to intervene. “This suo motu approval of change in land use at the site in question is illegal and should be declared null and void,” said Mr. Misra.

अक्षरधाम मंदिर ने तोड़ा अपना अवैध निर्माण (Nav Bharat Times 06 February 2011)

अक्षरधाम मंदिर में हो रहे अवैध निर्माण को तोड़ दिया गया है। मंदिर प्रशासन ने खुद ही अवैध निर्माण गिरा दिया। डीडीए ने अवैध निर्माण पर नोटिस जारी किया था और 7 फरवरी तक का वक्त दिया था। अक्षरधाम प्रशासन का कहना है कि हमने नोटिस के आधार पर अवैध निर्माण गिरा दिया साथ ही डीडीए से मिलने का वक्त मांगा है क्योंकि बहुत सी बातें साफ करनी हैं। डीडीए की टीम ने 18 जनवरी को अक्षरधाम मंदिर का दौरा किया और पाया कि वहां कुछ निर्माण ऐसा हो रहा है जो ओरिजिनल प्लान में नहीं है। इसके दूसरे दिन नोटिस जारी किया गया। डीडीए के पास शिकायत आई थी कि स्वामी नारायण अक्षरधाम मंदिर में अवैध निर्माण चल रहा है। इसके बाद डीडीए की टीम मंदिर के ओरिजिनल प्लान के साथ वहां पहुंची। डीडीए के मुताबिक 17 जनवरी को उनकी टीम को वहां जाने नहीं दिया गया बाद में वह 18 जनवरी को वहां गए और जांच की। अक्षरधाम के पीआरओ जनक दवे ने बताया कि जिस काम पर डीडीए को ऐतराज था हमने वह हटा दिया है। वहां गाय और स्निफर डॉग के लिए टेंपरेरी शेल्टर बन रहे थे जिसे डीडीए ने अवैध निर्माण बताया था। बाकी सारा काम हम समझौते के आधार पर ही कर रहे हैं और उसमें कुछ ही गलत नहीं है। दवे ने कहा कि हमने डीडीए से मिलने का वक्त भी मांगा है क्योंकि हमें बहुत सी बातें साफ करनी हैं। हम इस पर भी आपत्ति है कि डीडीए ने कहा कि उनकी टीम को मंदिर परिसर में जांच के लिए नहीं जाने दिया गया जबकि हकीकत यह है कि उनकी टीम बिना किसी सूचना के सोमवार को आई थी। सोमवार को मंदिर बंद रहता है इसलिए जब टीम आई तो उसे कुछ देर इंतजार करना पड़ा।

DDA to waterproof CWG flats basement (Times of India 06 February 2011)

New Delhi: The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is going to carry out waterproofing of the basement area of the Commonwealth Games Village.For this,experts from Australia and Mumbai have been roped in to ascertain the best method of doing the same,the cost of which will be borne by Emaar MGF.Various methods will be tried and tested before settling for one to render the basement waterproof.It might also be done by using a combination of various methods.DDA will supervise the entire exercise,but the cost will be borne by Emaar MGF, said DDA spokesperson,Neemo Dhar.Last year,just before the start of the Games,controversy brewed over the flooding of the basements at the Village.
We have submitted a proposal to DDA to provide another coating of waterproofing in the Village basement.This is in view of the unprecedented torrential rain in Delhi last year and the Yamuna reaching beyond danger level.We have approached national and international companies of repute to provide waterproofing solutions at the CWG Village.The exercise will be carried out under the supervision of Emaar MGF,DDA and other technical and structural bodies, said Sanjiv Saddy,senior VP,corporate affairs,Emaar MGF.
The basements of the 34 towers in the Games Village which is located on the Yamuna riverbed had got flooded before the start of the Games due to heavy rain and the rise in waterlevel in the area.This had also resulted in the malfunctioning of the elevators.But this years monsoon can spell a bigger disaster if water seeps into the power sub-stations that are located in basement-II of the Village.Sources say that the DDA was not given a go-ahead by the state and central electricity authorities to set up power sub-stations in the Village basement,but the L-G issued a gazette notification and permitted DDA to do so.
The waterproofing exercise,sources say,is aimed at avoiding any kind of trouble once the flats are auctioned off.As of now,DDA has proposed to auction around 100 of the 11,000 flats to ascertain the market price of the flats before we decide on how to go about allotting the rest of the flats.This proposal has been sent to the urban development ministry for approval, said Dhar.

अंतिम सांसें गिन रही है यमुना! (Amar Ujala 16 February 2011)

शामली। यमुना नदी वेस्ट के जिलों में मृतप्राय हो चुकी है। यमुनोत्री और इलाहाबाद में यमुना का स्वास्थ्य बढ़िया है, लेकिन मुजफ्फरनगर व बागपत समेत नोएडा और दिल्ली में यमुना मृतप्राय स्थिति में है। यमुना का अस्तित्व बचाए रखने को दिल्ली की एनजीओ द्वारा किए जा रहे रिसर्च में यह तथ्य सामने आए हैं।
दिल्ली की एनजीओ पीस इंस्टीट्यूट चैरिटेबल ट्रस्ट द्वारा ‘जीये जमुना, जीये जन जन’ के नारे के साथ यमुना बचाओ चलाया जा रहा है। इसके तहत सामुदायिक नदी स्वास्थ्य सूचकांक (पीआरएचआई) भी बनाया गया है, जिसमें अलग अलग जनपदों में यमुना के स्वास्थ्य की जांच कराई गई है। संस्था द्वारा अभियान के तहत जगह जगह ग्रामीणों को भी जोड़ा जा रहा है। कैराना क्षेत्र के गांव रामड़ा में सोमपाल सिंह की अध्यक्षता में यमुना ग्राम सेवा समिति बनाई गई है, जिसके तहत यमुना को बचाने के लिए गांव दर गांव जागरूकता रैली निकालकर यमुना के आसपास की जमीन को कब्जामुक्त कराने के साथ ही प्रदूषित पानी इसमें न जाने देने के प्रति जागरूक किया जा रहा है। रिसर्च एसोसिएट भीम सिंह रावत के अनुसार हर सौ किलोमीटर पर यमुना की स्थिति बदल जाती है। यमुनानगर में यह बीमार है, जबकि मुजफ्फरनगर, दिल्ली और ग्रेटर नोएडा में मृत है और बरसाती नदी का रूप धरे है।
आगरा में मृतप्राय है तो यमुनोत्री और इलाहाबाद के बीकर में काफी हेल्दी है। उन्होंने बताया कि इटावा में चंबल नदी के मिलने और हमीरपुर सिंध, पहुंज, कैन और बेतवा के मिलन से यह पचनदा रूप लेती है। इलाहाबाद के बाद यमुना गंगा को जीवन देती है।

एक्शन प्लान पूरा होने तक बचेगी यमुना! (Nav Bharat Times 2 February 2011)

नई दिल्ली।। दिल्ली जल बोर्ड के सीवेज ट्रीटमेंट प्लांट पूरी दिल्ली के सीवेज को ट्रीट नहीं कर पा रहे हैं। इन प्लांट्स की क्षमता काफी कम है और जो सीवेज पैदा हो रहा है वह काफी ज्यादा है। यमुना नदी को साफ करने के लिए बने यमुना एक्शन प्लान के तीसरे फेज में इन ट्रीटमेंट प्लांटों की हालत सुधारनी है और नए प्लांट भी बनने हैं। लेकिन तब तक यमुना की क्या हालत होगी, इसकी कल्पना ही की जा सकती है। चूंकि तीसरा फेज पूरा होने में सात साल लगेगा और तब तक हर रोज हजारों मिलियन लीटर सीवेज बिना साफ हुए ही यमुना में जाता रहेगा। दिल्ली में जल बोर्ड के 30 सीवेज ट्रीटमेंट प्लांट हैं। इनकी ट्रीटमेंट क्षमता कहने के लिए तो 2325 मिलियन लीटर प्रतिदिन (एमएलडी) है लेकिन सरकारी दस्तावेजों से पता चलता है कि सभी ट्रीटमेंट प्लांट मिलकर 1570 एमएलडी सीवर ही ट्रीट कर पा रहे हैं। सरकारी अनुमान के मुताबिक, 2011 में दिल्ली में 3400 एमएलडी सीवेज पैदा होगा। मौजूदा प्लांट की क्षमता को देखें तो अभी ही सीवेज पैदा होने और साफ करने की क्षमता में 1075 एमएलडी का अंतर आ रहा है। यानी इतना सीवेज बिना साफ हुए ही यमुना में गिर रहा है। दिल्ली में 6500 किलोमीटर लंबी सीवर लाइनें हैं लेकिन कई जगहों पर क्षतिग्रस्त होने की वजह से सीवर ओवरफ्लो करता है। जल बोर्ड ने दिल्ली को छह ड्रेनेज जोन में बांटा है जिनमें ओखला, केशोपुर, रिठाला-रोहिणी, कोरोनेशन पिलर, शाहदरा और आउटर दिल्ली शामिल हैं। जल बोर्ड ने योजना बनाई है कि सीवेज ट्रीटमेंट क्षमता के अंतर को चरणबद्ध तरीके से भरा जाए। योजना के मुताबिक पुराने सीवेज प्लांट की क्षमता बढ़ाने के साथ ही नए सीवेज ट्रीटमेंट प्लांट भी बनाए जाएंगे। सरकारी दस्तावेजों के मुताबिक मौजूदा ट्रीटमेंट प्लांट में से कई बेहद पुराने हो चुके हैं। कई प्लांट 30 साल पुराने हैं जबकि ओखला का 136 एमएलडी का प्लांट तो 1937 में बना है। पुराने प्लांट अपनी क्षमता से आधा काम भी नहीं कर पा रहे हैं। यमुना एक्शन प्लान में यूपी, दिल्ली और हरियाणा शामिल हैं। पहला फेज अप्रैल 1993 में शुरू हुआ जो फरवरी 2003 में पूरा हुआ। इस पर 682 करोड़ रुपये खर्च हुए। दूसरा फेज 2004 में शुरू हुआ। इसकी अनुमानित लागत 624 करोड़ रुपये है। यह फेज अभी पूरा नहीं हुआ है। अनुमान है कि यह जून 2011 तक पूरा हो जाएगा। जल बोर्ड के मुताबिक एक्शन प्लान का तीसरा फेज अप्रैल 2011 से शुरू होगा। अनुमान है कि यह प्रोजेक्ट सात साल में पूरा होगा। इस पर 1749.40 करोड़ का खर्चा आएगा। इस फेज में सीवर लाइनों की हालत सुधारने के साथ ही 814 एमएलडी क्षमता के टरशरी ट्रीटमेंट प्लांट बनेंगे। इसमें ओखला में 428 एमएलडी, कोंडली में 204 एमएलडी और रिठाला में 182 एमएलडी का टरशरी ट्रीटमेंट प्लांट शामिल है। ओखला के 1937 में बने प्लांट की जगह 136 एमएलडी का नया प्लांट भी बनेगा।

Jairam ready to fight States for wetland protection (The Hindu 3 February 2011)

BHARATPUR (Rajasthan): Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh is prepared to go on the warpath yet again. His latest battleground: the endangered wetlands.
Over the next few months, he intends working proactively and aggressively with States to implement the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2010.
“Why should we wait one year for the States to take action and identify wetlands for notification?
“We will prepare a list of wetlands with the information we already have and the help of World Wildlife Fund and other organisations, and send it to the States.”
The Minister was addressing a consultation of State officers on the Rules, meeting at the Keoladeo bird sanctuary here on the occasion of World Wetlands Day.
“The States will have to respond within two months.”
Considering that in many States, wetlands are identified as wasteland in land revenue records — a fact that industries seeking land are quick to exploit — it is unlikely that State governments will be happy about his ultimatum. “States may not want to notify any of the wetlands that we identify,” Mr. Ramesh admitted.
Power to notify
“But we have got the Central rules, and we have the power to notify the Central rules. There will be a little bit of tension with the States, but I am prepared for confrontation with the States because we have reached a stage when we cannot allow the wetlands to be taken over in the name of development.”
Mr. Ramesh listed various recent threats. “There is the Nirma plant in the wetlands of Kutch in Gujarat, there are the power plants in Srikakulam [in Andhra Pradesh], and there are high-rises threatening the wetlands of Coimbatore...Wetlands have an environmental and social value that must be protected.”
When several State officials pointed out that many communities depended on wetlands for their livelihood, the Minister promised them that the existing claimants would be protected. “But this is only for livelihood, there can be no commercial activities permitted in the wetlands,” he said.

Ganga water link to gall bladder cancer? (Times of India 29 January 2011)

MUMBAI: The incidence of gall bladder disease is high among people living near the Ganga and its tributaries, says the largest-ever study of the local population over six years. A team of doctors from Mumbai conducted the study and found high concentrations of heavy metals in the water and soil of 60 villages along the Indo-Gangetic plains that could be contributing to the disease. The study was published last week in the online edition of HPB, the official journal of the International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association. It has identified eight villages in Bihar's Vaishali district, located near the river Gandak, with an unusually high rate of gall bladder disease. "It's a ticking environmental time bomb," said Dr P Jagannath, one of the principal investigators of the study. He estimates between 20,000 and 30,000 people develop gall bladder disease each year because of the environmental factors in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar alone. The medical team felt that there is a need to carry out large-scale screening of people from villages. The study started with an observation that more than half of the patients with gall bladder cancer who came to Tata Memorial Hospital in Parel hailed from Bihar or Uttar Pradesh. Dr Jagannath, who was earlier with Tata Memorial Hospital and is now with Lilavati Hospital, along with International Institute of Population Studies, started on-site research for the reasons. "Cancer can have lifestyle and environmental reasons, he said. For instance, the staple diet in Bihar is sattu, which is roasted chickpea. Sattu is rich in proteins. If this is not balanced with the intake of carbohydrates, it can cause gall stones causing chronic irritation and eventually gall bladder cancer. Gall stones, however, don't always lead to cancer," said Dr Jagannath. Polluting small-scale units along the rivers have been a concern for long; industrial effluents are known to contain heavy metals that have carcinogenic effects. As part of the study, 8,421 people with symptoms were sent for ultrasonography tests. These villagers lived near rivers. About 40% of the 4,851 households surveyed in Varanasi lived within a 5-km range near the Ganga, 30% of the 3,885 households in Patna were near the Ganga and 25% near Punpun. Around 66% of 4,598 household in Vaishali were near the Gandak river. Apart from sonography scans to establish physical evidence of disease, the study also looked at samples of water and soil collected from Patna and Vaishali in Bihar. Water samples were collected from taps or from tube or borewells commonly used by the villagers. Soil was collected from three randomly selected fields. All samples were analysed for the presence of nickel, cadmium, chromium and DDT. "After the study is over, we will try for funding to ensure clean water supply to villages," Dr Jagannath said. Gall bladder cancer has high mortality of up to 80% mainly because the diagnosis is very late. "The study looked at 20 villages each in three districts even though there are 150 villages in each district. There was a prevalence of GBD of 6.2% among men and women over 30 years of age (4.45% in men and 7.37% in women). If this is the prevalence in 60 villages, it can be extrapolated how many are affected in the region," he said.

अक्षरधाम मंदिर प्रशासन ने गिराया अवैध निर्माण (Dainik Jagran 6 February 2011)

नई दिल्ली, जासं : अक्षरधाम मंदिर में हो रहे अवैध निर्माण को मंदिर प्रशासन ने स्वयं तोड़ दिया है। डीडीए के पास स्वामी नारायण अक्षरधाम मंदिर में अवैध निर्माण होने की शिकायत आई थी। अक्षरधाम मंदिर के पीआरओ जनक दवे ने बताया कि जिस काम पर डीडीए को ऐतराज था, हमने वह हटा दिया है। वहां गाय और स्निफर डॉग के लिए टेंपरेरी शेल्टर बन रहे थे, जिसे डीडीए ने अवैध निर्माण बताया था।

HC firm on shutting down polluting Tirupur dyeing units (Times of India 01 February 2011)

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Monday declined to alter its order directing closure of all dyeing and bleaching units in the hosiery town of Tirupur for causing pollution despite its earlier directives. When Tamil Nadu pollution control board and Tirupur dyeing factory owners association made oral submissions seeking alteration of the January 28 order, a bench comprising CJ M Y Eqbal and Justice T S Sivagnanam declined to hear it and directed them to file a review petition. Taking a serious view of continued discharge of effluents into Noyyal River, the bench had on Friday directed TNPCB to close down over 720 dyeing and bleaching units on a contempt petition. Besides, it had also directed disconnection of electricity supply to the units in Tirupur, a major hosiery hub and export centre near Coimbatore. When the matter was listed before the bench on Monday for some corrections, additional advocate general P Wilson appearing for TNPCB and counsel for Tirupur dyeing factory owners association made a submission for a review of the order. Justice Eqbal said, "We cannot alter the order, we have no jurisdiction to change the order on the contempt petition. Asking review of the contempt order is unknown to law."

'Bus Depot On Riverbed Without DDA Permission' (Hindustan Times 31 Jaunary 2011)

The contentious Millennium Depot of the Delhi Transport Corporation on the Yamuna riverbed has come up without permission from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the land-owning agency. In an RTI reply last week, the DDA's planning department said that "no permission for construction of depot at this location has been given."
"We had given permission for temporary parking for some 600 buses during the Common-wealth Games," said a senior DDA official on condition of anonymity.
The DTC has requested the DDA to change the land-use to make the depot permanent. The site was earmarked for the dumping of fly ash. The controversy over the bus depot started after the Common-wealth Games with the Delhi government's reluctance to shift out of riverbed, where permanent construction is not allowed. The matter reached the high court recently.
Meanwhile, no department of the Delhi government wants to share the blame for the depot.
Source: Hindustan Times By Avishek G Dastidar 'Bus depot on riverbed without DDA permission'
Click On "Full Story" For More....
Even the DTC itself, in an RTI reply, put the responsibility of building the depot on the public works department. When the RTI query asked whether the Millennium Depot was a permanent or a temporary structure, the DTC said, "The depot has been constructed by the PWD; the information can be had from the Chief Engineer's office of the PWD."
The Prime Minister's office (PMO) recently referred a protest petition on the issue from environmentalists to chief secretary's office in Delhi. The chief secretary in turn referred it to the environment department, which then referred the matter to the Delhi Development Authority saying the issue pertained to riverbed, which was under the DDA's jurisdiction.
In 2009, the office of the Delhi Lieutenant-Governor as gave Delhi government the permission for temporary parking of buses on the Ash Pond area for the Games. Although no permanent structure was supposed to have come up there, the Delhi government went ahead and spent Rs 60 crore to develop the 61-acre area. In the petition to the PM, environmental groups called this an "open loot" of Delhi's natural asset, the floodplains.

L-G's intervention sought over ‘neglect' of Yamuna (THe Hindu 30 January 2011)

Non government organisation Yamuna Jiye Abiyan has alleged that the Delhi Development Authority has “neglected” the Yamuna and its flood plains and by allowing the change of land use over the years it has been party to the declining floodplains in the city.
In a letter to Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna, YJA has complained that the DDA, the premier land owning and planning body in the city, has been going against the interests of the river and the river bed.
The YJA's letter comes in the wake of reports that the Delhi Transport Corporation wants the DDA to permit the change of land use of the area of the flood plains where a temporary bus shelter now stands. The bus shelter was constructed for the duration of the Commonwealth Games and has become a sore point for the environmentalists, who are trying to safeguard the floodplains from concretisation.
“There were major floods in the river in September 1988 covering the entire available flood plains in the city. And instead of learning from it, the DDA in 1989 declared the flood plain between Wazirabad Barrage and Okhla Barrage as ‘Development Area' under section 12(1) of the DDA Act, 1957. Again major floods in the river struck the city in September 1995, when the entire east Delhi area was in imminent risk of being flooded. The DDA then allotted land in the river bed to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for its depot and commercial property development in the narrowest part of the river in Shastri Park….,” said YJA convenor Maonj Misra. .
Mr. Misra rued that instead of clamping a ban on any construction on and near the floodplains, the DDA has been “guilty” of allowing the use of floodplains for commercial activities.
The YJA has urged the L-G to intervene and prevent the change of land use that the DTC has applied for. The NGO has also referred to the existing structures on the river bed and how they continue to encroach the space meant for the river. “Akshardham was sold only 12 ha of land on the riverbed in 2000, but today it has been allowed to enclose 27.5 ha in the river bed,” said Mr. Misra.
The YJA wants Akshardham to be directed to dismantle its boundary wall that encloses a 6 ha piece of land that was earmarked for parking in the Zonal Plan for Zone O, but is being used for other purposes.
“Since there is no need of any additional parking space in the area as both Akshardham and Games Village have ample parking space with them, the DDA should be directed to change the land use of the 6 ha land to ‘green' (city forest) from ‘parking' so that then at least 6 ha land in the river bed could be secured for ground water recharge,” Mr. Misra said.

Haryana witnessing rapid growth: Governor (The Hindu 27 January 2011)

Haryana Governor Jagannath Pahadia on Wednesday said that the State was witnessing rapid growth in all sectors including agriculture, education, sports, industries, health, information technology, tourism, social welfare, water supply and sanitation and it had preserved its rich cultural heritage.
Speaking at Republic Day celebrations after unfurling the National Flag at Panchkula near here, he said the supreme sacrifice of martyrs and freedom fighters “gave us the most cherished and priceless gift of freedom”. Describing the Indian Constitution as “unique”, he said it enshrined the ideals of equality, justice, liberty and fraternity.
Asserting that Haryana was on the fast track of development, he said sportsmen and sportswomen from the State had brought glory to the nation with their sterling performance in the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.
He also conferred a bravery award on ten-year-old Prachi, a resident of village Muradgarh Indri in Karnal district and nine-year-old Vishal of village Asaudah in Jhajjar district. Meanwhile, addressing the Republic Day function in Kaithal, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda announced that a 1,500-MW gas-based power plant would be set up in Faridabad and efforts were on to make the State self-reliant in power by 2012. Stating that his regime had inherited power shortage, he said it was decided to generate 5,000 MW of power and now the power generation capacity had increased to 3,480 MW as against 1,587 MW in 2004-05.
Water conservation being the top priority, 2011 is being observed as ‘Water Conservation Year', he added.
He claimed that all-round development had been made during the past six years and the State's land acquisition policy had come out as a model for the whole country. “We understand the sentimental attachment the farmer has for his land and the new land acquisition policy has been framed while keeping this relationship in mind,” he added.
A new industrial and investment policy is being implemented to create more job opportunities for the youth as more industries would be set up in the industrially-backward areas of the State.Meanwhile, Haryana Finance and Forests Minister Ajay Singh Yadav announced that employees of the Forest Department would get promotion on the pattern of Police Dept.
They would also be given uniforms as per a proposal approved by Mr. Hooda. Unfurling the National Flag at Kurukshetra and referring to the “sound financial position of the State”, Capt. Yadav said the Plan budget had increased to Rs.18,620 crore in 2010-11 from Rs.2,108 crore in 2004-05. The recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission had also been implemented, he added.

Millennium depot fate hinges on PIL (Times of India 22 January 2011)

New Delhi: The much-touted millennium bus depot of the Delhi government and DTC is under the gaze of the Delhi high court for alleged encroachment over the Yamuna river bed. HC on Friday clearly told both authorities that the survival of the parking lot, made to house buses recently purchased by DTC in the run up to the 2010 Commonwealth Games, will depend on the outcome of the PIL filed by an NGO. The court, however, declined to stay the construction of an embankment by the city government on the flood plain of the river Yamuna where the world's largest bus depot has been built. "Any construction carried out shall be subject to outcome of writ petition. The defendant (Delhi Government and DTC) shall not claim any special equity right over the same", a bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said while hearing a PIL filed by V K Jain, the president of the NGO 'Tapas'. The NGO had moved an application challenging the move to use the area as a permanent bus depot and sought a direction for its demolition. In its plea, the NGO alleged that the depot has been built on the Yamuna river bed violating the zonal laws of Delhi and while it was supposed to be a temporary structure just for the duration of the Games, the authorities have made it permanent parking lot. "The Delhi government is proceeding to encroach upon the river flood plain in utter disregard to the zonal development plan 2021 of the DDA, approved by the Ministry of Urban Development," the petitioner alleged. "The action of the government is all the more violative of the concept of good governance for it has, instead of setting an example in showing respect to the law, carried out the construction which is violative of the zonal plan," the petitioner added. He also said the construction of the depot near Nizamuddin Bridge would cause an environmental disaster as the depot is located on the active flood plain and water recharging area. However, the Delhi government defended the construction saying it doesn't encroach onto the river bed. It also pointed out that there had been constructions on the same land even earlier.

DDA allocates Rs 690 crore for maintenance of greens (Times of India 22 January 2011)

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has allocated Rs 690 crore for maintenance of greens in the budget estimates for the year 2011-2012. This also includes development of new greens and biodiversity parks. Besides this, to meet the demand for residential, commercial and institutional land, development works have been taken up at Rohini, Dwarka, Narela, Jasola, Okhla, Mayur Vihar, etc. For the next financial year, a provision of Rs 1,415.30 crore has been made under this head. The land agency made these announcements while presenting its budget estimates for the year 2011-2012 in Raj Niwas on Friday. "The L-G, Tejendra Khanna, has directed that the status of all the 2,600 parks in Delhi developed by DDA should be assessed through a survey to pinpoint deficiencies. The report on the same will be submitted within three months. Full action for overcoming the deficiencies - such as lack of adequate lighting of parks, etc - will then be taken up," said spokesperson, Neemo Dhar. It has also been decided that Swaran Jayanti Park of DDA at Rohini and four more district parks will be developed and upgraded as 'model parks'. In addition, DDA is going to spend on upgrading its existing bio-diversity parks in Aravali and Yamuna and developing the new parks coming up in Northern Ridge, Yamuna riverfront, Neela Hauz and Tilpat Valley. "We are going to take up various development projects in the next financial years, which include constructing five new sports complexes in Dwarka, Narela, east Delhi, etc. A total of 30,000 dwelling units for the economically weaker sections are also being developed in the city and improvement of arterial roads are being taken up in seven villages,'' said a DDA official.

Court stays construction of Yamuna embankment (The Hindu 22 January 2011)

The Delhi High Court on Friday told the Public Works Department of the Delhi Government that construction of an embankment along the Millennium Bus Depot on the east side of the Yamuna river floodplain by it shall be subject to a decision on a petition challenging construction of the depot.
A Division Bench of the Court comprising Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Sanjeev Khanna passed the order when the petitioner, social activist Vinod Kumar Jain, submitted that construction of the embankment was an attempt on the part of the Government to post facto claim it was not a floodplain.
Mr. Jain further submitted that the bus depot had been built on the Yamuna floodplain in violation of the Delhi Development Authority's Zonal Plan and without sanction by any authority.
He said the Lieutenant-Governor had only given permission to create a makeshift bus depot for a temporary period to deal with the rush of traffic during the Commonwealth Games last October but it violated the permission and built a permanent bus depot.According to the Zonal Plan, the Yamuna floodplain could be put to use only for recreational purposes like bio-diversity park or garden, the petitioner submitted.

Turf war over Okhla sanctuary (Times of India 21 January 2011)

NEW DELHI: The development of the Okhla Bird Park has been on hold for several years as its notification has become a bone of contention between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. UP notified the park as a sanctuary in 1990, including areas that came under Delhi. While the state is in the process of formulating a redevelopment plan for the bird habitat, Delhi wants to reclaim the areas that legally fall within its territory. Environment secretary Dharmendra said that several letters had been written to UP in the past 20 years, including many by chief minister Sheila Dikshit but the capital had received no response from its neighbour. The government has finally referred the matter for legal counsel. "We want that the area wrongly notified by UP should be denotified so that we can take charge of the land and develop it as we want. The bird park is in a mess right now, parts of it filled with sewage. A concept note for its development has been prepared but unless we know what area belongs to us, we cannot put the plan into action," said a senior official. The park has suffered massively, especially after the construction of Mayawati's Millennium Park. The Supreme Court had asked all states in 2006 to notify a buffer zone around sanctuaries and wildlife parks. UP had failed to notify any such area around the bird sanctuary because of which Millennium Park was allowed to come up, even though it is barely 100 metres from the sanctuary's boundary. However, despite plans on both sides for the park's redevelopment, nobody is even sure of who owns what part of it. Sources said that despite Delhi's insistence, no concrete work has been put into carrying out a land survey or determining the boundary. UP has notified the entire 400 hectares of the sanctuary. "UP has said that we can notify the areas Delhi feels are under it but it is legally not possible to notify an already notified area. It will take a central government order to denotify the boundary. Delhi Development Authority, the land-owning agency, should have taken steps to stop UP from notifying the entire area when it was happening rather than wait for so long," said sources. Delhi's biggest problem at present is a shortage of forest staff. Senior officials said that the department does not have a sufficient number of forest rangers and guards to manage even its present assets and hence they would need to embark on a massive hiring spree before they are able to manage a park like the Okhla Bird Sanctuary.

HC wants Neela Hauz restored in 5 months (Times of India 20 January 2011)

NEW DELHI: One of the oldest and biggest water bodies in south Delhi, facing extinction due to unchecked construction work, may now be saved. The Delhi high court on Wednesday laid down a five-month time frame for the Delhi Development Authority to preserve and restore the medieval Neela Hauz Lake that lies beneath the sprawling Neela Hauz flyover. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Sanjiv Khanna asked the DDA, Public Works Department and Delhi Jal Board to "work in harmony and stop pollution of the lake" while giving time till May 31 to the DDA to finish restoration of the water body. HC's order came while hearing a PIL by one Malvika Kaul, a resident of Vasant Kunj, who pointed out how authorities were ignoring the welfare of the endangered water body. Kaul accused government agencies of being indifferent to piling debris pointing out how this construction waste imperiled the lake's existence. On Wednesday, PWD informed the court it had removed the debris and was ready to hand over possession of the lake back to DDA. The DDA has been made the nodal agency in charge of overall restoration of the lake, by a committee of Delhi government officials. DDA's mandate is to ensure the lake is fully restored to its original glory since the flyover over it has now been opened to the public. On its part, DJB through its counsel, Sumeet Pushkarna, assured the bench that none of its entities were guilty of releasing effluence into the lake or causing pollution of the water body. After recording the undertakings, HC gave a month's time to PWD to hand over control of the lake to the DDA which will then have time till May 31 to wrap up restoration work. HC also permitted the petitioner to file a fresh PIL if the authorities failed to carry out their work. Kaul's PIL had raised concern over ecological imbalance caused by construction of the flyover across the lake. It relied upon information collated from RTI replies directed at PWD that showed no environment impact study was done to take into account ecological damage to the water body prior to construction of the flyover. "Preserving this lake is important because it is the only source of natural recharge to ground water in Vasant Kunj. The water level in this area is already very low with a spurt of constructions including malls and housing complexes on the ridge land surrounding Vasant Kunj. These constructions will keep on depleting the underground water unless lakes like Neela Hauz are fiercely protected,'" the PIL contended, seeking HC's intervention. Later, speaking to TOI, Kaul said she was very happy that "bottlenecks have been removed and specifics have been taken care of by the HC". She hoped the lake will now be restored.

Illegal construction in Akshardham (Times of India 20 January 2011)

NEW DELHI: Despite orders banning any new construction on the Yamuna riverbed, fresh construction has been reported from within the premises of Akshardham Temple. After a part of it was found to be illegal, the temple was served a showcause notice by Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Wednesday evening. According to the land agency, it has asked the temple authorities to explain on February 7 why the illegal portion should not be demolished. "We had recently received reports that there was some construction taking place in Akshardham Temple. When we went to inspect the site earlier this week, we were not allowed to do so. On our second visit, on Tuesday, when we finally surveyed the area, we found that while a portion of the construction was as per the approved plans, the remaining was found to be illegal. We have served a showcause notice to the temple authorities on Wednesday. They have been asked to appear for a hearing on February 7 to explain why the illegal portion should not be demolished," said DDA spokesperson Neemo Dhar. The illegal portion seems to be a shed, according to DDA officials. The land agency further stated that if it does not find the reply of the temple authorities to be satisfactory it will serve a notice for sealing/demolition. "The time period to carry out such action varies from case to case,'' added Dhar. Meanwhile, temple authorities claimed they are in the process of bringing down the structure. "We received a notice from DDA on Wednesday evening. The illegal portion that DDA is referring to is a semi-pucca structure made for public utilities which is right behind our assembly hall. We are looking into the matter,'' said J M Dave, chief public officer, Akshardham Temple. Construction on the temple started in 2000 after land was acquired from the DDA and UP irrigation department. In 2003, UP State Employees Association went to the SC challenging the construction on grounds of environment violations. But the court rejected the petition since petitioners could not rebut DDA's claims of ownership of land. However, an embankment was created to ensure that loopholes in the system were also plugged. In a bid to stop any more unauthorized constructions on the riverbed, the L-G had passed a moratorium on further construction on the Yamuna riverbed in early 2008, bringing an early end to several projects that had been planned and some that were already underway. The only exceptions were the Metro depot and the Games Village. Six months down the line, DDA also classified the riverbed as zone 'O' in its master plan, the objective of which was to augment water supply, contain pollution and have eco-friendly green development. THERE IS more to Malegaon than just bomb blasts. The place is slowly making a name for itself among movie buffs, thanks to ' Mollywood' -- its indigenous film industry. Far from the lavish excesses of Bollywood, the town has developed an industry that churns out low- budget entertainers -- mostly spoofs -- that cater primarily to Malegaon's residents. Mollywood's seeds were sown sown v.A past participle of sow1.Adj. 1. sown - sprinkled with seed; "a seeded lawn"seededplanted - set in the soil for growth way back in 1998, when Shaikh Nasir -- who ran a video parlour in the town at the time -- came up with the idea of remaking Ramesh Sippy's cult blockbuster, Sholay, in a Malegaon setting. Nasir called his film Malegaon Ke Sholay. The film was made on a shoestring budget of ` 50,000 but went on to earn profits of over ` 2 lakh lakhNoun(in India) 100 000, esp. referring to this sum of rupees [Hindi lākh]Noun 1. lakh - the cardinal number that is the fifth power of ten100000, hundred thousand .

Movie buffs in awe of Malegaon's films on a shoestring. (Mall Today 19 January 2011)

" That was when Mollywood -- or the Malegaon film industry, as the locals love to call it -- was born. Malegaon Ke Sholay starred the local people, who played various characters in the film. It was shot on VHS (Video Home System) A half-inch, analog videocassette recorder (VCR) format introduced by JVC in 1976 to compete with Sony's Betamax, introduced a year earlier. and I edited the film on VCRs," Nasir says. Nasir made Malegaon Ke Sholay as a video film that he screened in his shop. But the success of that first film started a new trend. A few years later, when Nasir launched Malegaon Ki Shaan, his crew mostly comprised local weavers. That film, however, got a proper theatrical release. " I learnt about filmmaking, camera movement and direction largely by watching English flicks in my parlour," says Nasir, whose latest film Malegaon Ka Superman was made on a budget of ` 1 lakh. This is Nasir's costliest film till date. Malegaon Ka Superman was screened four times at the Osian Cinefan film festival in Delhi and also at the International Film Festival of India in Goa. A Mumbai- based short filmmaker has even made a documentary on Nasir's movie. The Making of Malegaon Ka Superman has been screened in Japan and the US. " I want to release Malegaon Ka Superman commercially all over India. It is a message- based film, where Superman fights against the gutkha menace. The film also promotes the pulse- polio polio: see poliomyelitis. drive," Nasir says. Nasir has already garnered a loyal fan base that eagerly awaits the next film in the Malegaon series. He has also inspired half- a- dozen budding filmmakers in his town. They are following Nasir's blueprint of making lowbudget films for the local audience. Television is also capitalising on Nasir's growing popularity. These days, he is busy directing a silent comedy serial, Malegaon Ka Chintu, which is already on air.

Brewery to sully Yamuna but govt grins and beers it Construction (Mall Today 19 January 2011)

SO YOU feel the Yamuna can't get any dirtier? Think again. A brewery is set to come up along the banks of the river on the Delhi- Haryana border. Experts fear effluents from the factory would further contaminate the Yamuna. What will worry Delhiites more is that the potable potable /pot·a·ble/ (po´tah-b'l) fit to drink.
po·ta·bleadj.Fit to drink; drinkable.
potablefit to drink. water that is supplied to households across the Capital passes through the area where the liquor factory is being set up. This has added to fears that our drinking water drinking watersupply of water available to animals for drinking supplied via nipples, in troughs, dams, ponds and larger natural water sources; an insufficient supply leads to dehydration; it can be the source of infection, e.g. leptospirosis, salmonellosis, or of poisoning, e.g. may also be contaminated over the long run. Manoj Mishra, an activist associated with the Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan, says: " The brewery will poison the water which is used for drinking purposes by residents of the Capital. Toxic waste toxic waste is waste material, often in chemical form, that can cause death or injury to living creatures. It usually is the product of industry or commerce, but comes also from residential use, agriculture, the military, medical facilities, radioactive sources, and from the factory will harm the health of Delhiites." The brewery is privately owned and is being set up along the Yamuna bank at the Dahisara village situated on the Delhi- Haryana border. The village comes under the jurisdiction of the Sonepat district.
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The Haryana government, on its part, had no qualms in allowing the setting up of a brewery on the Yamuna's floodplain floodplain, level land along the course of a river formed by the deposition of sediment during periodic floods. Floodplains contain such features as levees, backswamps, delta plains, and oxbow lakes. . And despite the assumed threat to the Capital, the Delhi government has also not bothered to oppose the factory so far and construction of the brewery is in full swing. Mishra raises questions over the role of various authorities in " this travesty". " It is gross negligence An indifference to, and a blatant violation of, a legal duty with respect to the rights of others.Gross negligence is a conscious and voluntary disregard of the need to use reasonable care, which is likely to cause foreseeable grave injury or harm to persons, property, or on the part of the Delhi government, the Haryana government and the Centre. Other departments such as the pollution control board and the environment department have also been caught napping. What is shocking is that nobody has opposed this so far," he says. Mishra says he has shot off a complaint letter to Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh about the construction of the brewery. But to expect the Delhi government to take steps to take action; to move in a matter.See also: Step against the setting up of the brewery may be a tall ask. If officials are to be believed, the state government is not even aware of the matter. State environment secretary Dharmendra said he did not know about any factory being set up on the riverbed but said he would look into the matter. Local villagers say construction of the factory has been going on for the past few months. They say the process started about six months ago, when a local builder approached them and offered to purchase the land in Dahisara. " The builder told us that the land would be used for agricultural purposes. We sold it as the land is along the Yamuna and gets submerged during the monsoon," Surender Singh, a villager, says. But locals were surprised when they found out a few months later that a factory was going to be set up on the land instead. " We opposed the setting up of the liquor factory but nobody listened to us," Kartar Singh, another villager, says. Villagers allege a nexus between the factory owner -- who has not been identified -- and the local administration in the matter. " The land we had sold was not registered, though we had been trying to do so for many years. But as soon as we sold it to the local builder, registry was done in no time and the factory owner bought it. Every official involved in the deal has made money out of this," Singh alleges. Villagers also claim that they were cheated by the builder as the land was sold to the factory owner at a much higher rate. " We sold it at the rate of ` 4 lakh lakhNoun(in India) 100 000, esp. referring to this sum of rupees [Hindi lākh]Noun 1. lakh - the cardinal number that is the fifth power of ten100000, hundred thousand to ` 5 lakh per acre but the land was finally sold to the owner at ` 15 lakh to ` 16 lakh an acre," Singh adds. Sonepat deputy commissioner Ajit Balaji Joshi claims there is " nothing illegal or unauthorised about the factory" so far as his jurisdiction is concerned, saying the state industry department has approved the project. He also claims the factory would not contaminate the water. " I don't think it would be a problem. In certain industries, there is a mechanism of zero discharge," he says. But he didn't comment when asked if this brewery would employ the zerodischarge mechanism.