No More a Free Ride: Those using the Greater-Noida-Expressway daily will have to pay toll once the Yamuna Expressway starts.

If you use the Greater Noida- Noida Expressway, be prepared to shell out almost Rs 37 daily.

Sources in the Noida Authority said that vehicles using the 23- km long stretch will have to pay toll tax once the Yamuna Expressway connecting Greater Noida to Agra is operational.

The Noida- Greater Noida Expressway, built in 2000, had been available free to use for commuters for the last 10 years. It was built jointly -- while the Noida Authority paid for the 20 km stretch, the Greater Noida Authority paid for the rest. It was reportedly built at a cost of Rs 400 crore.

The authority said the decision to charge toll was taken by the Uttar Pradesh administration in Lucknow recently. The management of the stretch has been handed over to Jaypee Infratech, the firm building the 165- km stretch of Yamuna Expressway. The group is expected to pay the cost of its construction to the Noida Authority, according to the terms of the agreement.

" The toll will be charged by Jaypee Infratech as part of an agreement made between the state and concessionaire in 2003," Y. K. Behl, additional chief executive officer of the Yamuna Expressway Authority, said. Under the agreement, the firm will collect toll tax for the next 36 years.

" The Noida- Greater Noida Expressway is just an extension of the Taj Expressway till Noida.

Source: Mail Today By Kumar Vikram Greater Noida- Noida Expressway In Toll Mode

A DTC employee in the kiosk will not only provide informa- tion on the route number of buses plying between destina- tions, it will also give informa- tion on fare structure, fre- quency of buses and expected time of arrival of buses.

Delhi transport minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said, "These kiosks will help us make our bus service more reliable.
We have planned to set up 60 kiosks initially at locations like ITO, ISBTs, AIIMS, Dhaula Kuan, Raja Garden etc. These kiosks will be put up near CWG venues to facilitate both local and foreign visitors taking public transport."

The air around Connaught Place will soon be "cleaner" thanks to an air puri- fier system that has been ins- talled by the New Delhi Muni- cipal Council (NDMC).

The filtering system not only purifies the air but also reduces the bad odour in the area. The station has been installed out- side the Palika Bazaar and would be operational for a period of three weeks.

"Polluted air and dust parti- cles in the air not only cause respiratory problems but also lead to a number of bacterial and fungal infections. The fil- tering system will trap all the obnoxious gases and pollutants through a five-stage filtering process and will release clean air in the atmosphere by work- ing as a deodoriser," said P.K.
Sharma, Medical Officer of Health, NDMC.

A private company called System Life has installed and will maintain the filtering station.
"The company has installed the system free of cost and if it is suc- cessful, we will install them at various places in the NDMC area," added Sharma. The filtering system report- edly cleans 10,000 cubic meter of air per hour.

Source: Hindustan Times By Neelam Pandey Machine clears air outside Palika

When you're no longer there, the state will look after your child using the insurance money.

The scheme, called Asmita, to be launched by the National Trust ­ the autonomous branch of the ministry that focuses on these four particular disabili- ties ­ will provide life and acci- dent insurance cover to the par- ent or legal guardian of any child who falls in these categories.
Once you're gone, the money will be used by the National Trust to take lifelong care of your child.

Insurance companies have been asked to submit their bids by March 15. "We'll be working through the district collectors and var- ious NGOs working in this field, whom we are already in regu- lar touch with," said Atul Prasad, chief executive officer, National Trust. "We expect to launch in the next two months.
We hope to enroll around 10,000 parents in the first year."

"The premium will depend on the age of the parent. The older he/she is, the higher it will be," he added.

"Since this is a group insur- ance policy, the premium will be much lower than if a person insures himself individually," said Sanjay Pande, Managing Director, Amicus Advisory.

There are an estimated 22 lakh people suffering from these four forms of disability, accord- ing to National Trust statistics.

This clause is generally carried in fine print and can easily be missed by the consumers.

So, in such cases can the consumers file their complaints under the Consumer Protection Act and avail of the inexpensive and speedy remedy or would they be bound by the terms of the agreement and have no alternative but to resort to arbitration? The above issue became all the more controversial for the reason that Section 3 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 lays down that the provisions of the said Act " shall be in addition to and not in derogation of the provisions of any other law for the time being in force". Are the provisions therein in derogation of the Indian Arbitration Act? These questions have often been raised in consumer disputes and are still being raised.

The above issue came up for an authoritative ruling before the Supreme Court in the case of Fair Air Engineers Pvt Ltd, which had entered into a contract with K. K. Modi to carry out the installation of a central air- conditioning unit at his residence in New Delhi. Since it committed a breach of contract Modi filed a case before the Delhi State Consumer Commission claiming a compensation of Rs 3.75 lakh for alleged deficiency in service.

The author is an advocate and editor of Consumer Protection and Trade Practices Journal ( CTJ).

rosykumar2000@ yahoo. com

Source: Mail Today By Rosy Kumar Consumer fora can handle arbitrations

India's existing laws equip the police to arrest only those touts who operate in select places such as at railways stations or bus stands.

The proposed law, called The Delhi Prevention of Malpractices and Touting Bill, 2009, has been sent to the home ministry for approval, a senior state government official said.

" It could be tabled in the ongoing budget session of Parliament for it to become an Act," said a state home official.

The proposed law makes touting a non- bailable offence and a first time offender, including anyone who abets touting, can be jailed for up to one year or slapped a fine of up to Rs 2,000 or both.

A repeat offender can be jailed for up to two years and slapped a fine of up to Rs 5,000 for every subsequent offence. Even an attempt to tout is a violation of the proposed law and offenders can be jailed for up to six months or fined up to Rs 2,000 or both.

The law also empowers the police commissioner to banish a repeat offender from Delhi for up to a year, said a home ministry official.

Convicting touts will also become easier as under the proposed law written complaint will be considered evidence and a judge can deliver judgment even if the complainant doesn't turn up in court.

"Requests for de-notification by the developers have been received from 13 SEZs located in the states/Union territories of Delhi, Orissa, Gujarat etc, of which 12 have been approved by the Board of Approval," Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiraditya Scindia said in a written reply.

Board of Approval (BoA), a 19-member inter-ministerial group headed by Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar, approves the SEZ projects.

Scindia said that the final de-notification is allowed only on refund of duties or benefits, "if any, availed by the developer."

The SEZs, which have been denotified by the BoA includes four IT-ITeS zones of realty major DLF in Haryana, Gujarat, and Orissa.

On the de-notification of three SEZs in Goa, the minister said that the state government "may have compensate the developers". However, he said that the developers have approached the judiciary and the matter is sub-judice.

"The Goa government had recommended 15 proposals for setting up of SEZs. Out of these, 7 proposals were accorded formal approval by the BoA and notifications were issued in respect of three cases," he said.

For a nine-tonne payload between Delhi-Mumbai-Delhi, rentals rose to INR 46,000 per trip as on March 3 from INR 42700 per trip as on February 4 a rise of 7.73%for Delhi-Nagpur-Delhi INR 43,400 from INR 40,200, a rise of 7.96% for Delhi to Kolkata to Delhi INR 44,800 from INR 41,500, a rise of 7.95%, Delhi to Guwahati-Delhi INR 82,000 from INR 77,200 a rise of 6.22%.

According to a compilation made by the Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training, a non government organization associated with the transport sector, the rise of 6% to 8% in truck rentals is at a higher side compared with the weighted impact of the diesel hike of 3.5% to 4.5%.

Mr SP Singh senior fellow and coordination of the foundation, said that "This disproportionate and concerted hike across the country has come against the backdrop of the booming transport freight market, as manufacturing and import-export trade is growing at double digits and it has improved the cargo offering by 10% to 12% in last four to five months."

Mr Singh further added that truck rentals had already gone up cumulatively by 14% to 16% during October 2009-January 2010 even without the rise in diesel price. He added that "This hike was a cushion to absorb the diesel price rise of INR 2.58 per liter ex Delhi and INR 3 per liter ex Mumbai and Chennai. However, the market forces are in favour of the truck transport industry due to oversupply of cargo and the manufacturing sector willing to pay higher freight due to increased prices of their products."

"The base rate will be the new reference rate for determining lending rates for banks. This would bring in more transparency to loan pricing for customers," RBI Executive Director Deepak Mohanty told reporters on the sidelines of a function here today.

"This will also make the system more flexible. Today a common person doesn't know how the loan pricing is happening. As per the new system, the banks have to display the rates in the public domain," he said.

After the implementation of the new lending system, existing borrowers will continue to pay at the existing rate but they also will have the choice to switch over to new system on renewal, while the base rate will apply to new customers from the start.

The RBI had last week deferred the implementation of the base rate system by three months to July 1. The apex bank in early February had issued draft guidelines to banks to switch to benchmark lending rate, which will be applicable to all customers. The RBI took this step following banks refusal to extend the low interest regime to existing customers.

Under the base rate system, which will replace the current benchmark prime lending rate, banks would not be allowed to give loans below the base rate to anyone. The PLR has been much abused as banks provide loans to high rated corporates below this rate, reflecting lack of transparency in the lending rates and the lending process.

To prevent a huge shortfall in supply, Haryana will release more water from Wednesday, said Delhi Jal Board officials.

Officials were, however, quick to point out that the water supply in the city is still "normal" despite the dip in the Wazirabad pond level.

"There has been a dip in the supply of raw water from Haryana. The State's water needs have gone up because of the agricultural needs at this time of the year, but Delhi has notified them (Haryana) about the dip in the pond level and they have agreed to do the needful," said an official.

Because of the dip in pond level, the production of water at the Wazirabad water treatment plant has come down from 120 MGD to 93 MGD. Water production at the 90-MGD Chandrawal water treatment plant too has decreased by about 10 MGD.

"We are hopeful that Haryana will release the required quantity of water and the production will be back to normal," the official said.

If Haryana releases the water on Wednesday, it will reach Delhi in the next 48 hours.

A Northern Railway official said: "One of the biggest challenges for the New Delhi railway station upgrade is the huge inflow of passengers for which efforts are being made to decongest the station. Work is in progress for extension of a new foot over-bridge to Paharganj side and its connection with the existing foot over-bridge. This foot over-bridge is six metre wide and will go a long way in decongesting the station. Also, we are planning to move the existing inward parcel office at Platform No.1 on Paharganj side to parcel area at Ajmeri Gate side and utilise the space so released for passengers waiting at platforms and concourse hall."

"The circulating area at Paharganj and Ajmeri Gate side will also be remodelled to make the station entry and exit hassle-free for passengers. These circulating area plans have been developed in consultation with the Delhi Traffic Police. The railway station building will also be given a facelift by providing aluminium composite panels, stainless steel cladding, granite murals and texture paints. The entry to the railway station would be made prominent and the entrance and exits would be made more efficient by creation of proper lanes," he added.

In addition, the platforms at the station would be repaired to make them smooth and provided with elegant looking stainless steel benches, stainless steel water booths, modular stalls and aesthetically improved railings. The cover sheds on platforms would also be extended to increase the waiting area and provide shelter against inclement weather.

"The pathways would be made wider and smoother so that elderly and disabled passengers can be moved from one platform to another by battery- operated passenger cars," the official added.

The draft regulation proposes to hike the penalties that can be levied on power discoms for deficiency in service apart from streamlining other service issues. "We received the feedback from consumers at the public hearing that was conducted on Wednesday and after sifting through the suggestions and incorporating what is relevant, we will notify the implementation of the regulations," said a senior DERC official on Wednesday.

In the proposed draft, the Commission wants power discoms that fail to meet the laid down performance rules for various services to pay suo motu a prescribed compensation for each deficiency.

The regulations aim at empowering consumer against unfair practices and tardy services by the distribution companies.

"The masseurs from Kerala and West Bengal will form part of the team that will work closely with visitors and ensure that proper treatment is provided to them. Hosting the Commonwealth Games is a great honour and we have to ensure that the visitors are well taken care of,'' said Delhi Health Minister Kiran Walia.

"Though these masseurs are well trained, we will involve them in another re-orientation programme to ensure that they are able to keep up with the demands of the job during the Games. The training will also allow them to understand sport injuries and the kind of treatment that is prevalent outside India. The training programme will help them to be also prepared to take on the workload that will come in during the Games,'' said the Minister.

Focus

Stating that the department is also training doctors, nurses and other medical staff for the Games, she said: "We have studied the experiences of other countries while hosting the Games. The focus is also to offer fast and effective service during the Games and be prepared for any kind of untoward incident.''

CONVENTION CENTRE HERE? Thyagaraj Stadium, a netball venue, has been built at a cost of Rs 300 crore

Rupees two thousand crore and counting. That's the cost of one of the biggest sporting extravaganzas in the country, the Commonwealth Games, set to be held in October. From renovating and even building new stadia to changing the face of the city, the Games have been touted as the fillip that Delhi needed to become a world class destination. So what if the legacy of the Games ends up being world class convention centres.

Take for instance, the Thyagaraj stadium. Built at a cost of Rs 300 crore, the stadium, expected to be ready by March-end, is the only green stadium in the country and comes equipped with its own power generating unit and energy-conservation system in place. A competition venue for Netball, the Thyagaraj stadium is being groomed for use as a convention centre for socio-cultural and recreational events after the Games. Said a senior government official, ``While no concrete plans have been made yet, it is expected that the stadium will house the department of education after the Commonwealth Games, and will also be rented out as a convention centre for multi-purpose events.'' Long corridors, large rooms and a fully airconditioned environ coupled with parking facilities have ensured that the venue comes high on the list of becoming a glorified banquet hall once the Games are over.

It's no different for the other venues. The NDMC claims it is planning to use the Talkatora stadium for socio-cultural and official purposes after the Games as well. Said NDMC spokesperson, Anand Tiwari: ``Talkatora stadium will be open for use for cultural events and conferences etc. The stadium was used for cultural purposes earlier also. We are yet to decide on what to do with the facility blocks at both Shivaji and Talkatora however.'' According to officials, the facility blocks at both the stadiums might be leased out as office spaces but nothing concrete has been planned yet.

Source: Times Of India By Rumu Banerjee & Ruhi Bhasin CWG stadia may not be reserved for sports

The extension of 7.05 kmlong Delhi-Gurgaon Metro link to the Industrial Model Township (IMT) Manesar, linking Mundka (an area in outer Delhi) with Bahadurgarh, the last township of Haryana bordering Delhi and extension of Delhi Metro to Faridabad are some of the projects the government has taken up this year, the minister said.

``The JV would be set up to monitor and expedite such projects which would not only benefits lakhs of people in Faridabad, Gurgaon and Bahadurgarh but also improve the infrastructure," Ajay Singh said.

Besides, the Haryana budget has a special allocation for augmenting drinking water supply in Gurgaon, Manesar, Bahadurgarh, Sampla and Badli townships. For creating investment opportunities in the state, the budget has also allocated funds for the extension of the IMT, Manesar, allotment of land to SEZ for the IT industry in Gurgaon and development of Roz Ka Meo, an area falling under Mewat district. The government has proposed to earmark rupees 1,200 for the completion of these projects. Gurgaon is one of the cities selected for development under JNNURM and for developing city bus services, the finance minister said.

Creation of Haryana infrastructure development board (HIDB) headed by CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda has also been planned to give a boost to infrastructure development.