Noida Authority to run a sludge-removal pilot at Sector 29 nallah

In an effort to clean up the waste water at Sector 29 nallah [drain], a US-based company, Bio-cleaner, has been roped in by Noida Authority to provide microbe-based solutions to turn the raw sewage into recyclable water to be used for purposes such as flushing, gardening and agriculture.  

The aim is to break down the sludge fast, with the lowest carbon footprint. And this will be achieved through a patented technology based on microbes.  The technology, which adheres to Bio Safety Level 1, would eliminate foul odor without the use of additional chemicals. It would also reduce the biological and chemical oxygen demand from the water, which is the amount of dissolved oxygen needed by aerobic biological organisms in a body of water. noida news

Moreover, the system is easily installed and portable.

The cost of the treatment is way less than traditional technologies and requires no extra space for installation. The water would be treated in the nallah itself.

However, at this point, Noida Authority is doing a free pilot run and will discuss financial aspects only after the treated water is found acceptable. If the project is greenlit, US Exim Bank — which has tie-ups with the company — will back the project for the Authority.

1:10... but can 10 saplings compensate for a decades-old tree?

Recently, people rose to the occasion and initiated a Chipko-like movement in Delhi to save 16,000 full-grown trees from being felled in South Delhi for housing redevelopment purposes. To quell the growing unrest, Minister of Urban Development, Hardeep Puri, wrote on Twitter: “Till the time I am a minister no tree will be cut and for every tree that is cut we will plant 10 trees. Green cover will go up by three times after re-development of seven colonies in South Delhi. Young activists are too fast to blame.”

Later, a press release from the ministry read: “Compensatory plantation of trees to be done in the ratio of 1:10 resulting in enhanced tree coverage area.” But the announcement did little to allay the fears of environmental activists, and rightly so.  

Can a century-old Peepal tree be replaced by 10 saplings of some other species 10 km away from the site of the transgression? Most experts disagree —they say, a line of ornamental trees that will not survive once support is withdrawn.

Pradip Krishen, the author of Trees of Delhi, elaborates, “Compensatory afforestation is the fig-leaf that authorities use to cover up their naked assault on trees. We are always told that they will plant more trees than they’ll cut. This may well be true, but what is the quality of the trees they are planning to plant in the new areas? How many of them will survive? These are important questions that the authorities always avoid. The truth is that compensatory planting is nearly always done in poor, degraded soils in outlying villages — ‘rubbishy species’ are planted. And the numbers of trees planted per square metre is way too much, so 70 percent of them are guaranteed to not survive. Further, the Forest Department withdraws support to these trees after a year. The result is virtually nothing!”

In Delhi, over the decades, lakhs of full-grown trees were cut down by different agencies like Delhi Metro, PWD, DDA and the MCD with permission from the forest department.

According to sources in the forest department, more than 50,000 trees were cut in last six years in Delhi alone. The data obtained from Delhi Metro reveals that in the first phase 13,858 trees were cut and in second phase 17,997 trees were felled. For the third phase, permission for felling 16,001 trees has been given to the DMRC.

The agencies have no idea about the species felled and the varieties that will replace —they have little idea about the ecological value of the trees felled. So green it may be, but certainly of degraded value.

The callous and ignorant approach of compensatory plantation is clear while looking at the greenery of Yamuna floodplain. The trees are mostly Eucalyptus, which are not good for the ecosystem. Experts say that such compensatory planting has left an adverse effect on the ecosystem of Delhi. “Sadly, when the government proudly announces it has planted 4 million trees, it amounts to very little because they plant the wrong species!” says Krishen.

Environmentalist Vijay Dhasmana concurs. “In my opinion, compensatory plantation is a big joke. You can go to various sites in and around Delhi and see for yourself how this whole process comes to naught! Trees are planted at a distance of 2 metres to match the numbers required. What I fail to understand is when you cut trees from a certain part of the city and compensatory plantation is done 50 km away from that location, how is it compensatory? What you have destroyed cannot be compensated!”

Postdoctoral fellow at National Centre for Biological Science, Sandeep Pulla, too, makes similar observations. “Any role that trees play in their current location — such as provide habitats or food for plants and animals, regulate the micro-climate, improve the physical and mental health of people, decrease air pollution — will be lost. In the past, narrow, short-term thinking led to plantation of monocultures, often of non-native species, which has had negative impact on the ecosystem functioning. Trees take a long time to grow and when you consider the functioning of an entire ecosystem, it can take decades to centuries for it to fully recover. Plantations are only "compensatory" when examined through a narrow lens, like the amount of carbon they sequester.”

Delhi Metro commuters must brace for impact tomorrow

Delhi Metro commuters for brace for a harrowing time, as over 9,000 non-executive employees of Delhi Rail Metro Corporation (DMRC) have threatened to go on strike from Saturday over pay hike, payment of arrears, right to form a union and fixed guidelines for sacking an employee.  

The non-executive workforce includes train operators, station controllers, technicians, operations staff and maintenance staff.  

Delhi News

Around 100 such employees protesting at Yamuna Bank metro station (Blue Line — Dwarka to Noida and Viashali) said they are firm on their decision to go on a mega protest from tomorrow.

Talking to City Spidey, a metro operator said, “We have been protesting since the last two weeks at different metro stations, but we continued to work. But on Saturday, it will be a complete protest.”

Another metro operator, on condition of anonymity, remarked that the commuters will be travelling at their own risk, as no trained operator will be on duty on Saturday. “If anything goes wrong, DMRC would be responsible,” he said.

City Spidey was informed that a meeting was held between chief general manager- HR (DMRC) and a group of employees today morning, but the meeting remained inconclusive.

“We were called for a meeting with CGM-HR, but our demands were not accepted, hence we have decided to remain off-duty on Saturday,” said an employee.

The labour commissioner of Delhi government had called both the parties for a meeting at its office in Patel Chowk today.

When City Spidey contacted the DMRC, an official said, “All issues raised by the employees are under discussion and all possible efforts are being made to reach a mutual acceptable resolution as early as possible.”

Boy electrocuted in Dwarka near Ramphal Chowk

Finally, naked wires have claimed a life in Dwarka.

A young student from Maharashtra was electrocuted a couple of day back near Ramphal Chowk area in Sector 7 while trying to cross a waterlogged street. To take support, he tried to grab an iron board close to an electric pole and that lead to the electrocution.

The whole incident was witnessed by head constable Deepak and constable Jhabarmal while they were patrolling the area on June 27 at around 9.00 pm. An FIR was lodged at Dwarka South Police Station the next day. Dwarka News

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Dwarka, Shibesh Singh, shared the details of the incident on various WhatsApp groups of the media and the police of South West District. He wrote: “Head constable Deepak, along with constable Jhabarmal, was on patrol duty at Ramphal Chowk. At about 9.00 pm, he saw four boys — Bhavesh, Rupesh Jain, Jayesh and Mervyn Roy — all aged 18-20 years and students of pilot training course, standing at the corner of Ramphal Chowk. Bhavesh tried to cross the pavement by holding an iron board just close to electric pole to avoid water puddles. He got an electric shock and when his three friends tried to save him by holding his hand, they also came in contact with the current.  Head constable Deepak, by showing great presence of mind and exemplary courage, landed a strong kick on the boy’s hand, freeing all the other three boys. Then, he revived Bhavesh through CPR and immediately rushed to Venkateshwar Hospital, where the boy succumbed to his injury, but the lives of other three young boys were saved. A case vide FIR no 191/18 u/s 287/304A IPC has been registered in Dwarka South Police Station.”

The incident has shocked the community of Dwarka, where naked wires can be seen everywhere.

The subject was recently highlighted by City Spidey in one of its reports.

Residents are angry and want to file a case against the electrical agency, BSES.  A resident of Sector 12, Ravi Verma, said, “Open fuse boxes with naked wires is a common sight in Dwarka. During monsoons, it turns fatal. Civic bodies should ensure that no such incident happens in future.”

Dwarka pilot among five dead in Ghatkopar crash

Dwarka resident Captain PS Rajput died in a plane crash yesterday at Ghatkopar, Mumbai. Four others were killed in the crash. He was a resident of Gold Croft Apartments in Sector 11.

He hailed from Jalandhar and had recently shifted to the society. Dwarka News

According to sources, the 12-seater aircraft (VT-UPZ), which took off from Juhu airport, crashed onto the premises of an under-construction building, Jagruti, in Sarvodya Nagar of Ghatkopar area at around 1.10 pm.

All occupants of the chartered plane succumbed to injuries, including one pilot, three co-passengers and a pedestrian. Their names: Captain Pradeep Singh Rajput, Captain Mariya, Engineer Surbhi, technician Manish and a pedestrian.

Delhi: Vegetable prices suddenly surge; expected to further go up in coming days

The prices of vegetables have suddenly surged in the national capital in last 2-3 days. The wholesale traders in Azadpur market said that the prices of green vegetables are likely to increase more in the coming days due to the shortage of supply from neighbouring states. delhi news

There has been a sharp surge in the prices of vegetables such as tomatoes, green beans, peas and bottle gourds. For instance, tomatoes which were sold at Rs 20-25 per kg in retail markets till last Sunday have now being sold at Rs 60-65 across Delhi-NCR

Prices of onions in retail markets have risen from Rs 30 per kg to Rs 40-45 per kg while potato prices have risen to Rs 30 per kg from Rs 20 per kg earlier.

Prices of other vegetables available in the retail markets have also seen a sharp increase. These include beans (from Rs 30 per kg to Rs 60 per kg) and cucumber (Rs 30-35 per kg to Rs 50-60 per kg).

Prices of cauliflowers have gone up to Rs 45-50 per kg from its earlier price of Rs 20-25 per kg. Prices of almost all vegetables have risen in last few days.

Wholesale vendors in Ghazipur market in East Delhi said that prices of vegetables usually go up in July-August but this sudden surge from Rs 20 to up to Rs 50 and Rs 60 of most vegetables have come due to cartelisation by wholesale vegetable traders.

A market expert on condition of anonymity said, “There is neither shortage of supply nor any urgent reason for a steep rise in the prices. Vegetable prices normally go up during monsoon in three months - July, August and September. But, prices have gone up before monsoon this time.”

He also added, “There is a huge difference between wholesale and retail prices. The game of increasing price is being played mainly due to cartelisation of vendors and wholesale vegetable suppliers of Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC).

However, the officials of Azadpur Market Corporation talking to City Spidey denied the possibility of reduced vegetable supply by wholesale suppliers. The officials instead said that reason behind a sudden surge of vegetable prices was the shortage of its supply from neighbouring states - Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

“These days the huge quantity of tomato is being supplied from Karnataka, Maharashtra and other states. Hence, transportation charges have gone up. When the same vegetables are transported from neighbouring states - Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, their transportation charge is less in comparison to other states. Prices of potatoes have also increased marginally because most of them come from UP,” Sushil Kumar, an official in Azadpur Market Corporation said.

Delhi Metro operations may get affected due to strike on Saturday

The commuters of Delhi Metro may face a tough time on Saturday as over 9,000 non-executive employees have planned a strike on the day.

DMRC’s non-executive employees have been on sit-in protest at East Delhi’s Yamuna Bank and Shahdara Metro stations wearing black armbands since last one week.

The non-executive employees including train operators, station controllers, technicians, operations staffs and maintenance staffs have been demanding implementation of agreements pertaining to pay revision. society management app

“We demand that our union should be recognised by DMRC else it will serve no purpose. Along with it, we want the implementation of agreements as per the third pay revision scale,” said an employee.

The employees participating in sit-in protest have threatened to go on symbolic hunger strike and block the Metro platforms if their demands were not fulfilled by DMRC.

The protesters claimed that there was an agreement between the employees and the DMRC that every employee of the organisation would be promoted to the next grade after completion of five years in one grade.

However, they alleged that there was no hike in pay scale and employees have been stuck in one grade for last 10 years.

As per the report, a senior DMRC official told the press that there were some issues which would be resolved soon

Chipko Update: NBCC holds press meet; says green cover to increase four-fold

The Chipko-like movement in Delhi reached its fifth consecutive day today. RWAs, environment activists, college students — everybody — joined hands to oppose the central government’s housing redevelopment scheme in South Delhi colonies, requiring felling of 14,000 trees.

The National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC), which is to carry out the work, held a press conference today to address the issue. It was said during the press meet that the redevelopment would help increase green cover in the residential localities four-fold, from the current 14 per cent to 55 per cent. 

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Anoop Mittal, CMD NBCC, said, "Permission to cut the trees has been obtained from the Delhi government and other authorities. As many as 3,748 trees would be cut for redeveloping Naoroji Nagar and Netaji Nagar. In return, NBCC will plant 10,000 saplings in the same localities. Our redevelopment model is on display at New Moti Bagh, which shows green coverage of about 65 per cent, as against the barren land we had acquired."

He added, "There are a total of 12,970 flats as of now, which are several decades old and are 'unserviceable' now. After the redevelopment, the number of flats would be increased by 25,667, with an extensive green cover and organised parking facilities."

The six south Delhi colonies where the trees are to be felled include Sarojini Nagar, Naoroji Nagar, Netaji Nagar, Thyagaraja Nagar, Mohammadpur and Kasturba Nagar.

However, Delhi High Court has stayed the ban on tree felling till July 4.

The question about the survival of the city’s green cover soon turned into a blame game between the Centre and the AAP-led Delhi government.

Union minister Harsh Vardhan blamed the AAP government for permitting the cutting of trees in non-forest areas. However, AAP blamed Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and the Ministry of Environment and Forest for allowing the tree felling.

In fact, AAP joined hands with residents and lent its support to the campaign.

Here's what happened.

The proposal to cut trees in Naoroji Nagar was tabled in November 2017, for which the NBCC paid Rs 8,35,0500 as security deposit for creation and maintenance of compensatory plantation for a period of seven years.

Similarly, the NBCC has paid Rs 14,19,30000 to cut 3,906 grown-up trees in Netaji Nagar and the permission was given by the forest department of the Delhi government in April 23 this year.

A copy of approval accessed by City Spidey reads: “The applicant (NBCC) Delhi shall make an advance deposit of an amount of Rs 14,1930,000 towards security deposit for creation and maintenance of compensatory plantation for a period of seven years.”

The compensatory plantation of trees, the forest department assured, would be done in the ratio of 1:10, thereby resulting in an enhanced tree-coverage area.

But here’s the vital question… can the forest department allow the felling of  14,000 full-grown trees, which serves as the city’s lungs, in lieu of compensatory plantation?

Can the saplings compensate for trees that have been around for decades?

Why MLU markets in Dwarka have become a threat to residential colonies

Residents of DDA pockets near MLU (mixed land use) markets are facing problem due to open exhaust fans, ACs and chimneys, which blow out hot, grime-filled air towards residential pockets. The problem is particularly persistent in Sectors 4, 5, 6, 10, 11 and 12.

In these pockets, the flats lie alongside the boundary walls of the markets. Residents also allege some shops have toilet windows and kitchen windows facing the complex, leading to privacy issues.

RWAs contend these are violations of building norms prescribed by the DDA. For MLUs, any change in the original design is possible only when the whole building plan is revised by the DDA.

Former joint secretary of RWA, Sector 12, Pocket 5, Dwarka Kunj Apartments, Prabhakar Gautam, says, “On our repeated complaints, an inspection was done in December 2011 in the pocket 5 market by the DDA executive engineer. He wrote about the malpractices to the director of buildings, urging the enforcement wing to take action, but nothing has been done yet.”

President of Rihayashi Apartments in Pocket 7, Ved Prakash, adds, “The matter is serious, and should be treated as such by the DDA. We have to deal with hot air constantly blowing in, and also the grime from the exhaust fans.” apartment management app

Also, there’s always the fear that the chimneys or ACs could fall on unwitting residents.

At DDA Sector 5 Pocket 1, the RWA moved court under public grievance section.

RWA general secretary Mahesh Gupta says, “It’s been two years since we are fighting on this issue — these people have installed exhaust fans, chimneys and ACs faced towards our society. Summers become unbearable for us due to the chimneys. The trees and plants along the boundary wall are also getting damaged due to the hot air and pollution. We are still waiting for action against the violators.”

There’s more.

Residents of Sector 12 — Dwarkadheesh Apartments and Surabhi Apartments — say these shops have now started throwing garbage inside the pocket as well.

Former general secretary of Dwarkadheesh Apartments, Anjna Sinha, complains, “Everybody knows the problem, but no one is bothered. We have made our plight clear to area representatives and concerned officials.”

Why Dwarka's Chanchal Samajpati is a sleepless man

Chanchal Samajpati owns a shop of food supplements in Dwarka's Sector 12 market, and he lives in fear. Yesterday, two unidentified men entered his shop and tried to loot him at gunpoint, while two more kept watch — and this is a repeat of what happened in February. But this time he resisted and they fled. society management app

He filed an FIR at Dwarka North Police station, and, this time, circulated a message and a video clip of the incident on various WhatsApp groups.

“The incident yesterday has left me feeling very scared — it was a repeat of what happened on February 18, when they made away with about Rs 2.5 lakh, but yesterday I resisted. Last time, I was tied up, but this time, I caught hold of the gun of one of the miscreants and started making noise. This was so unexpected that they fled,” recounts Samajpati.

He is also certain that both the incidents are connected. He says, “Last time too there were four people — three entered the shop and one remained at the shutter. This time, two were on guard outside and two entered the shop.”

"The crime rate is clearly on the rise in Dwarka, and such incidents are happening in broad daylight,” complains Samajpati.

Samajpati was not happy with the approach of the police, as they seem lax. “When I filed an FIR about yesterday’s incident, the police told me that one of my two cell phones looted in February was tracked and a person with that cell phone was arrested. But that's all.”

Shop owners in the market are alarmed as well, and feel the DDA should install CCTV cameras in the market in view of the rising incidents of crime.

Samajpati agrees to say, "This market has no CCTV camera — there should be! Fortunately, there’s footage from the CCTV camera in my shop. Last time, they had taken away the drive, so no footage was available.”

Dwarka's Green Circle to move NGT in support of Delhi's Chipko

Dwarka residents yesterday led the citizen’s campaign to save 16,000 trees from being felled at Sarojini Nagar. Representatives from various organisations, such as Green Circle and Sukh Dukh Ke Sathi (SDKS), led the protests.

Anil Kumar Parashar of Green Circle, who led the protests at the site, said, “We have to save these trees from felling. We are carrying out the campaign in our own locality as well to make it more effective.” society management app

Dwarkites participated in various activities at the spot, including making posters and banners. And most importantly, they carpooled to South Delhi.

Protesters from other parts of Delhi joined in as well. To protect the trees from being cut at night, they formed night patrol groups.

Parashar said Green Circle will move National Green Tribunal (NGT) today or tomorrow to file a petition in support of the petition filed by NGO Chetna, which initiated the whole campaign.

City Spidey spoke to vice-president of SDKS, SS Mann. He said, “Residents of Delhi must raise their voice against any such thoughtless felling of trees. No development can be acceptable at the cost of environment. We will be carrying out an awareness campaign in Dwarka to support the movement in Delhi.”

Dwarka: Many trees on verge of getting dead due to concretisation at roots

The negligence towards the welfare of trees is a burning topic in present times. We have seen a public movement to save cutting of more than 16,000 trees in the national capital recently. Now, it has been found that hundreds of full-grown trees are dying because of the ignorance of authorities in Dwarka.

The trees have been dying because of concretisation in the roots. Such trees can be seen along the roadside and inside the DDA pockets. Authorities like DDA and Municipal Corporation do not seem to be serious on the issue.

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People said that the roots of the trees had been concretised during the repair works of the roads by the concerned departments. Such concretisation at the roots is not only creating a problem in growth and life of the trees but also violating the Delhi Tree Act.

According to the guidelines, trees having around six feet circumference should be kept free from concretisation. National Green Tribunal and also the Delhi High Court have directed to follow such guidelines but they are being breached repetitively.

An environment activist and resident of Youngster Apartments in Sector-6, Suman Malik said, “This is sad that the authorities like corporation or DDA are not serious about the laws which protect the trees. If you close the roots of the trees with concrete then it would die after some time because its root would be weaker and it would not get proper water or air.”

Similarly, a resident of Sector-4, Shruti Sharma said, “I am shocked to see that many trees in front of Sector-4 market are suffering from concrete and bitumen at their roots. The roots of the trees should be properly opened but the civic bodies are violating it. Not only roads but societies are also facing this problem.”

Many such trees can be seen in front of schools and societies in Sector-6 and Sector-10. One would be shocked to see the condition of trees located on the service lane while passing through Sector-3 Police Chowki towards Dwarka Mor.

More than 50 trees have been concretised during the repair work of the service lane done by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). Residents allege that the surface of the trees has been completely closed by bitumen and stones about four years back and now some of the trees have become dead.

On the other hand, the community people have also concretised the footpaths for parking purposes and closed the roots of the trees. As a whole, the sub-city has been in the sad state as far as the trees are concerned.

Environment activists of the sub-city are saying that concretisation made the soil compact and it restricts the growth of roots which causes root mortality. They advocate strong actions against the violators of the rules.

Treasurer of Lovely Home Apartments in Sector-5, Vishal Gupta said, “Community can play a significant role in protecting the trees and spreading awareness of Tree Act. At least, the RWAs and the social workers can intervene in the subject when they notice such violation during repairing of the roads.”

According to sources, the Delhi High Court had ordered for an undertaking in writing from all the civic agencies that space around trees should be concrete-free. Earlier, the NGT too issued notices to 14 authorities directing them to remove all boards, nails and advertisements from the trees and to de-concretise them.

The Delhi High Court in 2007 and 2010 had also issued similar notices to follow the urban greening guidelines. But, the present condition of the trees is showing that there is no seriousness from the civic bodies.

“According to the urban greening guidelines 2014, roots of trees should be protected and topsoil should be preserved during the civic work. Still, norms are being violated and this is resulting in weaker trees,” said Ramesh Mumukshu, an RTI activist.

Unnati Group’s CMD released hours after arrest for cheating home buyers

The police on Tuesday arrested the Anil Mithas, CMD of Unnati Group, for cheating and false commitment to home buyers in Noida and Greater Noida. However, he was released on a notice under 41A CRPC asking him to be present with all the relevant documents at 11 am on Thursday. This is second occasion in a week’s time when he was arrested by the police.

Mithas was arrested by East Delhi police under the Section 420 (cheating), 406(breach of trust) of IPC. Delhi News

As per the police, the arrest was made on the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) filed by Satish Jain, a resident of Anand Vihar area, who had booked a 3-BHK flat under Unnati Group in Noida.

A complainant on condition of anonymity told City Spidey, “I had booked a flat with Unnati Group in Noida in 2014. I paid Rs 1.50 crore in 2014 itself. The group had then assured that the buyers will get possession of their booked flats by end of 2016. The home buyers who had paid amount (many of them had paid total amount) kept on waiting till October 2017 but the company had not started the construction of building construction till then.”

Another home buyer, who had booked a flat with Unnati Group in Sector-119 in Noida had another story of fraud against Unnati Group. He alleged that during the agreement, his flat was on 26th floor of the building.

“Through an RTI report later, I came to know that Noida Authority has allowed construction of the building up to 25th floor only. Then, I realised how I was cheated by Unnati Group. How can I get a flat in 26th floor of the building when it is legally approved for 25th floor only?” the complainant said requesting not to be named.

Mithas was earlier arrested by Noida police on June 23 (last week) under the Real Estate Regulatory Act (RERA), which was brought into effect to safeguard the rights of the builders and home buyers. It was the first arrest by Noida police after the RERA was introduced but he had managed to come out from the police custody only after few hours.

“He was arrested last week in Noida but managed to come out using his high placed connection. We are hopeful that the Delhi police would listen to our grievances and would act against him,” another home buyer said.

Gurgaon to beef up night vigil with ex-army men

To control crimes against women and other criminal activities especially in the dead of night, Haryana government has allowed engagement of additional 1,000 ex-servicemen from the Army as Special Police Officers (SPOs) in Gurgaon. gurgaon news

The decision was taken in the state cabinet meeting chaired by the chief minister yesterday.

The ex-servicemen should be between 25 and 50 years and they should not have been removed or dismissed from their earlier service on grounds of indiscipline, misconduct or medical unfitness. Preference would be given to those who had been on active armed duties in the Army.

They are to be employed for a year on a monthly honorarium of Rs 18,000. Members of this auxiliary force would not be posted in their home police stations, but in adjoining police stations near their homes.

As the constables in Haryana Police, they would have casual leaves. They would also be eligible for ex-gratia compensation of Rs 10 lakh in the event of death; Rs one lakh to Rs 3 lakh for permanent disability and up to Rs 1 lakh for grave injury.

No written test or physical measurement would be held in their engagement. However, the ex-servicemen should have minimum of five years’ service in the Army. Medical category at the time of discharge of service should be ‘A’ and character at the time of discharge from the service should be exemplary or outstanding.

Their selection would be made through interview by a board consisting of deputy commissioner of police as chairperson, one assistant commissioner of police and one inspector of the concerned commissionerate to be nominated by the police headquarters.

NITI Ayog: Will the taps shut down in two years’ time?

What’s Zero Day? The term originated in Cape Town, South Africa, when the government had to shut down water supply. How does it concern us?

Well…

According to NITI Ayog’s report, Delhi and other 20 other cities of India are likely to run out of water in less than two years’ time. The study is available on the think-tank’s website.  

The report says the national capital is staring at an unfathomable crisis, with groundwater depleting continuously in the last two decades. Almost 90 per cent of the city has been categorised as semi-critical or critical in terms of groundwater levels.

Groundwater level in Delhi has been decreasing from 0.5 metre to over 2 metre every year at different places.

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“Supply gaps are causing city dwellers to depend on privately extracted ground water, bringing down local water tables. In fact, by 2020, 21 major cities, including Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad are expected to reach zero groundwater levels,” the report claimed.

It further reads that most states have achieved less than 50 per cent score when it came to augmenting depleting groundwater resources.

NITI Aayog has also come out with a Composite Water Management Index to assess and improve the performance in management of water resources. It is the country’s first comprehensive and integrated national data set for water.

Unfortunately, low performers on the index house nearly 50 per cent of the country’s population, including the populous northern states of UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, and others. Thus, more than 600 million people are staring at a water disaster.

Delhi’s Chipko Movement takes root; forces govt to rethink

A statement issued by the Union urban and housing affairs ministry on Thursday allowed felling of nearly 16,000 trees in south Delhi area to support redevelopment of government housing. The news spread like wildfire, igniting an urban Chipko movement.  

The campaign was started by an NGO, Chetna.

President of Chetna, Anil Sood, had filed a petition on the subject with the National Green Tribunal. He shared with City Spidey, “We will undertake activities that will lead to the conservation of trees. Chipko movement and other similar activities illustrate the importance of trees in our lives.”

In Dwarka, Green Circle has already started Chipko activities in parks, while an NGO, Hello Mom Dwarka, would take up similar activities this Saturday to support the campaign.

“Chipko has become an emotional war cry — a call to save the trees. I participated in the campaign yesterday and felt wonderful after doing my bit,” said Romila Gandhi, a resident of Dwarka, who went to support the protests yesterday. delhi news

Raj Sharma, President of Vriksha Mitra, an NGO,  also joined in the movement.  

Commenting on the movement, Raje Kurup, president of Hello Mom Dwarka, said, “It is our moral responsibility to support the cause in Delhi. In Dwarka, NGOs, RWAs and individuals all are supporting the campaign at their own level to protect the trees of South Delhi.”

At Sarojini Nagar, the protest is being carried out by various social organisations and resident bodies. Hundreds of people from all age groups are staging protests in their own way to highlight the importance of trees.

In response to the public outpour, Delhi High Court has given a stay order on the cutting of trees, while the NGT hearing is scheduled for July 3.

Commenting on the decision, Sood said, “The order has come as a shot in the arm, and strengthened our faith in the judiciary — that’s our lone hope. The way the bureaucracy and the ministries are functioning, it feels like the common man is nowhere there on their agenda.”

Lashing out, he added, “They all are self-centered individuals and least bothered about environment. They don’t know the basic difference between green cover and tree cover. While green cover implies greenery that can be brought out through shrubs or any other species, tree cover is way more fundamental — it’s a complete ecosystem.”  

International flight gets delayed due to high temperature during daytime

An international flight was delayed by nearly three hours because of abnormally hot conditions on Monday. The temperature had reached 44.9°C during daytime which forced the airport to delay the take-off of San Francisco bound Air India flight.

Delhi News

A total of 161 passengers were scheduled to fly to San Francisco at 2 pm but the flight could only take off after 5 pm.

“IGI airport experienced a heatwave-like condition as the temperature nearly touched 45 degrees. The maximum temperature recorded on Friday was six degrees above normal. The condition persisted for nearly three hours — from 2.30 pm to 5 pm. One flight was delayed,” RK Jenamani, who heads the IMD’s office at IGI airport, said.

The Delhi-NCR witnessed severe hot and humid conditions. There is no respite in sight until the pre-monsoon showers hit the city. As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), pre-monsoon showers will hit the Delhi-NCR by the middle of next week.

Harish Kapoor, a resident of DLF Phase 5, said, “The heat, coupled with the high level of humidity, caused us a lot of discomforts. I avoid going out in peak summer afternoon. Hopefully, we'll get some rain soon.” gurgaon news

This was not the first occasion when a flight got delayed because of hot conditions. Many flights have got delayed in the past when the temperature crossed 44°C.

“The higher the temperature, the thinner is the air and it becomes more challenging for the plane to take off or land. There is less air beneath the wings for lifting the aircraft and less air to flow through the jet engines,” Jenamani said.

“We are expecting a partly cloudy sky over the next two days. There is a possibility of rain and thunderstorm or a dust storm on June 26, which might bring the maximum temperature down to 39°C,” a spokesperson for the IMD said.

“We are expecting pre-monsoon showers to hit Delhi and other northwestern states on June 27 or June 28. Even though we are not declaring any date for the arrival of the monsoon, it won’t be delayed,” M Mohapatra, who heads the forecasting services at the IMD, said.

Kherki-Daula toll plaza standoff: IDFC-led consortium offers financial proposal

The Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation (IDFC)-led consortium of bankers came up with a financial proposal to take care of the standoff over shifting or buying out of Kherki-Daula toll plaza in a meeting with a Haryana government committee on Monday.

The committee was constituted to find a solution to the standoff over shifting or buying out of Kherki-Daula toll plaza. gurgaon news

The committee heard about the proposal from the consortium. They decided to study the matter in detail before making the final decision.

An official informed that there will be another meeting next month. The recommendations to take action will be offered to the government afterwards.

“Right now, the situation is fluid. The proposal was discussed thoroughly. Primarily, the government wants to buy out the concessionaire but the decision has major financial implications. The basis and amount of share for the stakeholders has to be decided,” said the official on condition of anonymity.

However, NHAI officials were disappointed about not being called by Haryana government in the meeting.

A senior official said that it is highly unreasonable if the government expects NHAI to pay Rs 600 crore to the concessionaire. He added that the concessionaire has already been issued termination notice over non-performance.

After meteoric rise in cleanliness survey, Gzb to become free of garbage houses

The officials are ecstatic over Ghaziabad’s meteoric rise in the rankings of cleanliness survey. Now, they have started works to make the city free of garbage houses just like it happened in Indore. Instead, garbage transfer centers will be made in the city. In the first phase, ten garbage transfer centers will be made at the cost of Rs 12 crore.

Ghaziabad was at 351 position in cleanliness survey last year. However, it climbed many places to reach 36 position this year.

CP Singh, Municipal Commissioner, said, “Ghaziabad generates more than 1,000 metric tonnes of garbage every day. After the door to door collection, they are kept at the garbage houses. Then, the garbage is taken to dumping grounds in vehicles. Now, this process will soon become a thing of past.”

ghaziabad news

“To make the city free of garbage houses in a year, the Municipal Corporation has started work through modern mechanism. There are five zones in the area. Two garbage transfer centers will be made in each of the zones. In the Vasundhara zone, the construction of first garbage transfer center has already been started. Soon, it will become ready to use,” said Singh.

Singh said, “After door to door collection, the vehicles will take the garbage directly to garbage transfer centers. Then, the garbage will be kept in the containers where it will be compressed by application of pressure. Later, big vehicles will take compressed garbage to waste to energy plant.”

With the elimination of garbage houses, the city will become free of foul smells. In the first phase, ten garbage transfer centers will be made. Later, the number of garbage transfer centers will be increased. All the 1,223 garbage houses in the city will be destroyed.

With such kinds of initiatives, the city of Ghaziabad will certainly witness big progress in “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.” The city will further make progress in the rankings of cleanliness survey.

Greater Noida: People’s long wait for Ganga water may end soon

People’s long wait for Ganga water is going to end soon in Greater Noida. They will start getting Ganga water by the end of this year. A 210 MLD capacity water plant is almost ready and it will start supplying Ganga water in next 4 months.

greater noida news

The residents were not getting good quality drinking water for a long time. To ensure supply of good quality drinking water, the Greater Noida Authority had started Ganga water project. The project is now on the verge of its completion.

The officials said that Ganga water project is almost 75 per cent complete. Work is going on at the primary refinement plant in Gangnahar which is almost 75 per cent complete. The remaining work is expected to be completed soon.

For the supply of Ganga water project, overhead tanks and water pump houses have already been made. Ganga water will be supplied according to priorities at the residential and commercial areas. A total of 25 underground reservoirs (UGRs) have been made under the project.

The irrigation department’s work on pipeline from Ganga canal is under progress at the moment. The water will be directly transported from the treatment plant to reservoirs. Then, the water will be supplied to different areas in the city.

At present, the water is being supplied through tube wells. 40 tube wells and 11 overhead tankers are currently in use.

The General Manager, Rajiv Tyagi, who has been looking after the Ganga water project, said, “I am looking forward to complete the work as early as possible. I hope that the work will get complete by October. The supply of water will start afterwards.”

Dwarka: Voice against proposed cutting of 16k trees gets stronger day by day

The campaign to save trees is gaining momentum as many activists, NGOs and RWAs have thrown their weights behind it in Dwarka. They voluntarily came out to support the campaign as there were reports of plans about cutting of 16,000 full-grown trees to develop housing for government officials.

This campaign was started by the NGO Chetna which filed a petition in National Green Tribunal to save the trees from getting cut.  Many people have also taken to many social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to voice their opinions against the plans to cut trees.

Also, many NGOs have decided to go for joint petition to support NGO Chetna which pioneered the campaign to save trees. dwarka news

President of Green Circle, an NGO working on environment in Dwarka, V Selvarajan said to City Spidey, “We wonder how the tree felling norms have been deviated. Green Circle is planning to join the petition filed by Chetna in NGT.”

Selvarajan said that the compensatory plantation of 1,35,000 tree saplings would not be as effective as the present trees as they are in full-grown state.

“The value of a 50 years old tree can't be compared to even 1,000 new tree saplings planted in terms of the comparable benefits. Being an NGO, we have seen a sapling takes at least 7 to 10 years to grow,” said Selvarajan.

Social activists and environment lovers have been discussing the subject on Whatsapp groups. RWAs have also decided to support the cause to save trees.

Anurag Bahal, a social worker from Sector-7, has started social media campaign to add more people to the campaign. He said, “In reference to the planned cutting of thousands of trees in South Delhi by NBCC, all like-minded individuals including RWAs, NGOs and environmentalists must come together and extend their support. I just have started spreading this on social media so that people could be sensitised to feel the crisis.”

An eminent environmentalist Vijay Dhasmana, said, “I think it is a very stupid idea to cut trees. Delhi is seeing unprecedented air pollution. The dust and pollution suddenly disappears when you go beyond Dharuhera. Large number of trees reduces pollution and maintains the air moisture. It also helps in keeping the temperature down.”

“Chopping the trees will have very adverse effect on the air quality and temperature in the area. Also, if you increase population density of the area by building more houses then you are encouraging more usage of resources which finally results in more pollution,” said Dhasmana.

President of NGO Chetna, Anil Sood, who filed a petition in NGT to save the trees from cutting informed City Spidey that a movement needs to be built to save those trees. He shared that events and activities like “Chipko Movement” would be organised to make the campaign more effective.

“We are going to organise a movement just like the “Chipko Movement” which was started by HN Bahuguna. Hundreds of people would participate in that event on Sunday to make the voice against cutting of trees stronger,” said Sood.

Stuck in Traffic Jam? GPS-enabled police vehicles and Google Maps to the rescue!

Newly appointed police commissioner, KK Rao, takes the lead in putting city’s traffic scourge to a rest via innovative means.

The police are in the process of developing a software that shall monitor the traffic on Google Maps and send automatic alerts regarding jams to police personnel manning GPS-installed motorcycles, jeeps and police control room (PCR) vans gurgaon news

According to KK Rao, the recently appointed city police commissioner, the software shall simultaneously monitor the traffics jams and locations of police vehicles on a single map and a message shall be automatically sent to the nearest police vehicle in the event of a jam.

The police is presently in talks with a company dealing in GPS installation in vehicles to develop the software. It is being hoped that the introduction of this new system shall largely resolve the problems related to traffic jams.

Rao said, “In the beginning we plan to run pilots mainly during peak commuting hours - from 8.30am to 10.30 am and from 4.30 pm to 7.30 pm.”

The commissioner had issued directions regarding this on Friday and a meeting between him and the three assistant commissioners of police of the traffic department to discuss the project is slated for Saturday.

Earlier this week after being appointed as the commissioner, Rao had stated that his focus is on checking crime in the city and improving the traffic situation.

Going further, the Delhi police is also planning deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) to manage a third of the city traffic. In order to this Delhi police shall be installing depth sensors to regulate traffic signals. It is hoped that the AI would result in remarkable decrease in the number of traffic personnel that need to be deployed.

Kherki Daula toll: Will the goverment buyout the toll plaza?

A meeting between bankers who had funded the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway and senior officials of Haryana government will be held in Chandigarh on Friday in order to end the Kherki Daula toll plaza standoff. According to the officials, the possibility of shifting the Kherki Daula toll plaza to Pachgaon near Kundli-Palwal expressway will be discussed. Additionally, possible acquisition of the toll by the state government could also be discussed.

gurgaon news

An estimated one lakh vehicles commute via Kherki Daula toll plaza on a daily basis and the average toll collection is between Rs 40 to 45 lakhs per day.

The Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) led consortium of representatives of the consortium of banks will be meeting a committee of Haryana government officials chaired by Alok Nigam, additional chief secretary, PWD (Building & Roads). Representatives from IDFC, Oriental Bank of Commerce, State Bank of India, Bank of India and Punjab National Bank and will be attending the meeting.

“We are going to meet the government representatives to discuss various options for Kherki Daula toll plaza in Chandigarh. The project has been financed by consortium of banks and they have raised a demand of Rs 1081 crores as pending loan amount”, said S Raguraman, CEO, MCEPL, a company set up by bankers to manage the concession on the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway.

According to officials privy to the proceedings, the government is strongly considering shifting the toll to Pachgaon near the KMP expressway. NHAI has also shown keen interest in the shifting proposal. “The bankers also seem to be willing to compromise and NHAI could buy them out in collaboration with Haryana government if reasonable terms are offered,” said the officials.

As the amount demanded by the bankers is considerably large, the possibility of acquisition of the toll plaza depends on the response of other stakeholders in the Kherki Daula eco-system.

Meanwhile, speaking on the subject, Gurugram MP, Rao Inderjit Singh said that the toll must be removed and the amount of toll collected till date needs to be factored into the calculations of recovery. “This toll needs be removed as it has become a major bottleneck for the development of Gurugram. Over the years, the vehicles paying toll have multiplied and the collections have increased”, he added.

RESIDENT SPEAK: SDMC fails to manage dhalao at Sector-5 in Dwarka

The highly unmanaged dhalao at Sector-5 is clearly exhibiting the failure of South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC). The dhalao is full of garbage which has and SDMC has been a complete failure in managing this.

Dwarka News

This situation is so bad that even the path to the dhalao has garbage scattered on it. Because of it, garbage is being dumped outside the dhalao making the area full of filth.

The stretch from the connecting point at Road Number-202 towards dhalao can be seen completely covered with the garbage dumped by the SDMC employees.

While going towards Sector-6, I saw pathetic condition of the dhalao and decided to write about it to bring the lackadaisical approach of SDMC in light.

On one hand, the cleanliness survey is conducted and shown on paper and in media, but on the other hand, such type of basic things are missing and leading the whole sanitary system to a nuisance for the people. delhi latest news

This is surprising that despite the claims by the public representatives to improve sanitation, they are just away from the ground reality. This is really a serious issue to look upon.

Dwarka: Environment lovers throw weight behind campaign to save 16k trees

The environment lovers in Dwarka have come forward in support of save trees campaign in South Delhi. They have joined the “Chipko Movement of Delhi” to stop the chopping of more than 16,000 trees in the national capital.

Dwarka News

Volunteers of Green Circle NGO and other environment enthusiasts started the campaign at Sector-6 DDA Park on Sunday.

People, wearing green T-shirts and taking placards in their hands, raised slogans against the proposed cutting of the tree. City Spidey interacted with the people who were on their way to protest at Sarojini Nagar.

President of Green Circle and a resident of Diamond Square Apartments in Sector-6, V Selvarajan said, “We will be carrying this campaign in Dwarka to support the campaign to save the 16,000 trees. On weekend, we will carry out “hug the tree and save” campaign to show how important they are.”

A senior citizen from Harsukh Apartments in Sector-7, Ravi Jaitely said, “We will make all possible efforts to save the trees. We don’t want chopping of 16,000 trees in a polluted city such as Delhi.”

CM orders Noida Authority to shift landfill from Sector 123, finally!

Against the backdrop on non-stop protests against the landfill site in Sector 123, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed Noida Authorityhttps://www.cityspidey.com/news/6413/cm-orders-noida-authority-to-shift-landfill-from-sector-123-finally!/ to change the site of the waste-to-energy plant and also stop dumping waste there.

This directive was given out during a meeting held yesterday evening with Alok Tandon, chairman and CEO of Noida Authority, in Lucknow.

According to an official of Noida Authority, the CM is unhappy with the authority because it has been disregarding public wishes, and is going ahead with something that is clearly in defiance of wider public interests.  noida news

Applauding the decision, Abhay Pandey, a resident of Sector 121, told City Spidey, “The CM took a good decision and we welcome the move. But we are yet to receive a written order from the authority.”

On May 29, the NGT had ordered to stop dumping of waste at Sector 54 after hearing a petition filed by RWAs of Sectors 22, 23, 53, 55 and 56. The order also stated that the waste should from then on be dumped at the Sector 123 site.

RK Mishra, additional CEO (ACEO), said, “Noida Authority is an exploring alternate site for temporary storage and management of solid waste.”

According to sources, Noida Authority is now considering Astoli village in Greater Noida for dumping waste.

The landfill site in Sector 123 is not more than 175 m from the Homes 121, a residential society in Sector 121. According to the solid waste management rules, 2016, a landfill site should be situated at a distance of 100 m from a riverbed, and 200 m from water bodies, highways, habitations, public parks and water wells.

BSES extends AC replacement scheme to consumers of East, North Delhi as well

The BSES’ Air Condition (AC) replacement scheme, which was launched for consumers in West and Central Delhi last month, has now been offered to consumers in East and North Delhi as well.

As per the scheme, consumers can exchange their old AC with a new one at a discount of up to 47 per cent on its market price. City Spidey had reported this news on May 22 when the first phase of the scheme was announced. Delhi News

A senior official in BSES office told City Spidey told that the scheme is now available for consumers of both BSES Rajdhani and BSES Yamuna in East Delhi also. Earlier, this offer was limited for consumers registered under BSES Rajdhani only.

“BSES Rajdhani had offered 10,000 ACs for exchange and now the same number of ACs will also be exchanged by BSES Yamuna,” said a BSES official.

When asked about how many ACs were replaced in last one month, the official said, “We have got a good response from the consumers. In last one month, nearly 5,000 consumers have applied for the replacement scheme and 3,500 ACs have already been replaced in West and Central Delhi. We are expecting the same response from East Delhi also.”

The power distribution company, which aims to reduce power consumption and energy bills, has partnered with manufacturers like Voltas, Hitachi, Godrej and LG under the scheme.

Consumers, who have an AC up to 3 stars which are in working condition, are eligible to go for the scheme. The scheme will available till May 30, 2019.

Consumers who wish to avail the offer can contact the BYPL helpline (011-30079300) or visit the division office. Alternatively, they can also send an e-mail to the company at BYPL.DSM@relienceada.com.

After the application for the scheme, a representative will visit on the given address and inspect the old AC. After which, the installation of the new one would be done free of cost. The official also made clear that additional requirements including extra copper pipe, electrical cable and drain pipe would be charged.

The consumers are required to be eligible for the scheme- proof of address, proof of identity, NOC (in case of a tenant) and a copy of latest BYPL bill with no dues certificate.

Consumers will also have to fill four forms which are also available here- http://www.bsesdelhi.com/HTML/BYPL_AC_Scheme.html).

There are multiple payment options, including cash, credit/debit card, online or through EMI.

Fraud tour operator to be produced in court today

Senior Citizen Association (SCA) of Dwarka, duped by Mumbai-based tour operator, has reason to cheer. Dwarka police had recently arrested Nrupathy Shivajirao Manay of Globivo World Tours from Kalyan. He was kept in judicial custody and will be produced before Dwarka court today.  

Sixty-four senior citizens had paid around Rs 18 lakh for a group trip to Dubai. They had opted for this operator because he was comparatively cheaper and was charging Rs 37,800 per person for a five-night, six-day trip.  The group was to depart on March 8, but just the day before, the tour was cancelled because, in the words of the operator, the amount paid was not sufficient for the trip.  

Dwarka News

Frustrated and helpless, the members followed up the matter with the operator through emails and phone, but nothing helped. Finally, they lodged an FIR against the operator at Dwarka South Police Station.  

President of the association, Balbir Singh Yadav, couldn’t be happier. Speaking to City Spidey, he said, “We will continue our fight — I am sure he has duped many others like us. Today, we’ll be present at the court.”