"We would soon start battery-operated rickshaws and would urge the Delhi high court to allow rickshaw pullers to use them in the old city. Currently, there are roads where rickshaws are not permitted entry because of the court's directions," said Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit.

"It was painful to see rickshaw pullers carry people, but these new rickshaws would help reduce such stress on them," added Dikshit.

While these rickshaws would charge a little more that the hand-pulled ones, authorities are willing go ahead with it  as it would help modernise Delhi, make it a green city and most importantly, reduce the burden of rickshaw pullers.

The battery-operated rickshaws, when charged, can traverse up to 70 km at a speed of 15 to 20 km per hour.  

A rickshaw battery would take around five hours to charge. "We would provide charging points above metro stations where autorickshaw pullers would easily be able to charge their rickshaw battery," said Dikshit. Solar panels would be set up above the stations to charge the rickshaws. "We have approached the metro authorities to allow us to use their space to set up the charging points," added Dikshit.

To save on time and be of constant service to rickshaw seekers, the batteries, which have run out of charge, would be replaced with a new one until their rickshaw's battery gets charged. However, "these rickshaws would have to ply within a radius of 3 km from the metro stations," informed Dikshit.  

• Solar rickshaws for Chandni Chowk
  
• Road project includes street lighting, attractive elevations
  
• To be executed within six months of approval

Speaking following a presentation made by the Union Ministry on the project, Ms Dikshit said the Delhi Government would reimburse the sum of Rs.15 crore once the amount is utilised by the MCD to execute the action plan for re-development of the road, which would be given an attractive and aesthetic look. The project includes provisions for modern street furniture, street lighting, modern signages, attractive elevations, convenient footpaths, benches and common cable system and would be executed within six months of approval.

Mr. Sibal urged the Chief Minister to also inaugurate solar powered rickshaws in Chandni Chowk on October 2. He said these rickshaws would weigh about 210 kg each and would be able to run at a speed of 15 to 20 km per hour. The solar rickshaws would run on solar battery that is expected to last for 70 km on a single charge. The battery would take five hours to be charged with the help of solar panels that would be connected to the charging unit to be made functional above Delhi Metro stations.

The Minister said the rickshaws would also have to go to the charging station for replacement of existing battery with the charged one. To be called "green rickshaws", these vehicles would ply within radius of three km from the Metro stations. The DMRC would be approached to make available their space above Metro stations to establish solar panels.

According to ministry officials, 12 consortiums of Indian construction firms with international collaborators including the Russian Railways (which looks after 85,000 km of rail tracks), the Rs 25 billion worth Deutsche Bahn AG (a German National Railway subsidiary), the state-owned China Railways 18 Bureau Group and the government controlled Grandi Stazioni SPA which runs 13 major railway stations in Italy are all in the fray for the lucrative Rs 6,000 crore New Delhi Station modernisation project.

Some of the Indian entities in the consortium include the GVK group, DS Constructions, DLF and MGF Land limited. Deutsche Bahn AG and Mumbai-based realtor DB Realty Private Limited has emerged with the highest score in technical qualification followed by the Grand Stazioni SPA-Trif Infrastructure consortium.

The stations -- at New Delhi Railway Station and Shivaji Stadium -- will each have a sprawling 7,000-sq-m area and be equipped with all facilities offered at airport terminals. So effectively, you can buy your air ticket, check-in your baggage, collect the boarding pass and even shop at CAT before you board a fast train to reach the actual airport terminal.

All you will need at the actual airport terminal is a final security check before you board the flight. Your baggage will automatically be delivered to you at the destination city.

The designs for the station terminals have been finalized, and will look different from all existing Metro stations. The idea, according to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), is to make the CATs feel just like the actual airport terminals.

The airport is soon coming to the heart of the city with two Metro stations on the Airport Express Line being developed as City Airport Terminals (CATs). Now, fliers will not have to wait to get to IGI for airline and baggage check-ins. The stations -- New Delhi Railway Station and Shivaji Stadium -- are both spread across sprawling 7,000 sq metre and will be equipped with all the facilities offered at airport terminals.

So, you can buy your air ticket, check in your baggage and collect the boarding pass and shop at the CAT before you board a fast train to reach the actual airport terminal. Since the final security checks will be carried out at the airport just before the commuter boards the flight, the Metro stations will only conduct frisking of passengers and handbaggage. The terminal will also be equipped with machines like specialised X-ray scanners to check baggage, which will be delivered at the destination city.

The idea, according to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), is to offer all the facilities available at the actual terminal -- comfortable waiting areas with plush seats, television screens and music playing in the background, space for retail activity on the lines of airport duty free shops, cafes and restaurants serving varied cuisines.

Both the terminal buildings will be equipped with over 50 check-in counters each, which will be used by different airlines on a rotation basis. The counters will have connectivity to the airport for details of seat allocation and will allow baggage check-in at the Metro station itself. The city terminals will have ticket counters where passengers who have not booked themselves onto a flight, can buy tickets and head straight for the checkin. Flight information boards on the lines of what we see at the airport will be put up at the Metro station, as well as inside all trains, to inform passengers about the status of their flights. Any delays or cancellations will also be reflected all over the network.

These squads would also be connected to the control rooms at the headquarter and the zones

After spending over Rs.200 crore on road repair and ordering a vigilance enquiry to probe incidents of potholes on its roads, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has now decided to depute mobile squads to repair potholes and monitor the work in progress across all its 12 zones.

The decision was announced by Standing Committee chairman Vijender Gupta here on Monday while outlining the civic body's short-term and long-term strategy on road improvement.

Mr. Gupta said these mobile squads would be headed by an executive engineer and be equipped with cement bags, emulsion and all required materials to fill up potholes. In addition, the squad would be equipped with a digital camera to monitor the work undertaken by the squad and take photographs before and after filling up the potholes.

Delhi Urban Development Minister Rajkumar Chauhan has stated that regularisation of unauthorised colonies would benefit nearly 40 lakh people living in 1,639 colonies where various developmental activities are already progressing fast.

Pointing out that regularisation of these colonies is now being taken up after 30 years, Mr. Chauhan said the Delhi Jal Board, Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation, Flood and Irrigation Department, Municipal Corporation Delhi and power distribution companies have been told to complete the developmental works in these colonies within the stipulated timeframe.

The Minister said a sum of Rs.660 crore had been released during the year 2007-08 for building roads, laying sewer system and pipeline for drinking water, cleanliness, electric supply and drainage system in these colonies.

And then, he said, the Government had in the Budget 2008-09 sanctioned Rs. 943 crore for providing other civic amenities in these colonies.

Mr. Chauhan said already Rs.138 crore have been released to DSIIDC for building roads, Rs.100 crore to the Flood and Irrigation Department for drainage system, and Rs.51 crores to Municipal Corporation of Delhi - of which Rs.26 crore is for cleanliness and Rs. 25 crore for laying the roads -- in unauthorised colonies.

Drinking water

Similarly an amount of Rs.50 crore has been released to the Delhi Jal Board for laying pipelines of drinking water and Rs.100 crore for laying the sewage system.

They can avail up to FAR of 4 if they go in for redevelopment of markets like Sarojini Nagar and Karol Bagh, an official in urban development ministry said.

The government would also allow the developers 20% of FAR for individual use. The redevelopment schemes for Delhi have been incorporated in Master Plan 2021.

"The Master Plan would allow redevelopment provided the builders secure approvals for their building plans. Higher FAR will, however, not be permissible in redevelopment of Lutyens Bungalow Zone, Civil Lines Bungalows Area and monument regulated zone," a senior urban development ministry official said.

Apart from redevelopment of Karol Bagh and Sarojini Nagar, many other shopping arcades and centres would be remodelled on similar lines. This includes Nehru Place, Rajendra Place, Bhikaji Cama Place, Janakpuri, Laxmi Nagar, Shivaji Place (Raja Garden), Jhandewalan, Netaji Subhash Place (Wazirpur), Saket and Manglam Place (Rohini).

Global railway companies have emerged the top contenders on technical parameters for the country's first railway station modernisation and operation project in New Delhi, the first of private-public partnership (PPP) schemes.

The railway companies on the eligible list include state-owned Russian Railways, which operates 85,000 km of railways in that country, the ¤25-billion Deutsche Bahn AG, a subsidiary of the German National Railways, state-owned China Railways 18 Bureau Group, and government-controlled Grandi Stazioni SPA, which runs 13 major railway stations in Italy.

Traffic is expected to grow 4 per cent annually. The plan also includes real estate development on about 86 hectares of land comprising the railway station, offices, parking, public spaces and commercial blocks.

According to the Delhi Urban Development Minister Rajkumar Chauhan, the Rural Development Board of the Delhi government has designed 197 schemes for the upliftment of rural areas. As a move to win over voters in the rural belt, these schemes include better irrigation facilities and reviving water bodies for better storage of water.

Chauhan added, "This year, we have approved of nearly 1,027 schemes as the aim is to provide most villages in Delhi sound infrastructure by the 2010 Games."

The board has sanctioned Rs 8 lakh for concretising five minor canals for irrigation facilities in villages of the Kanjhawala block. The board has also sanctioned over Rs 4 crore for basic electricity and water facilities in the rural belt. The board has set a deadline of April 2009 to revive water bodies in 192 villages.

Reason: The Centre is yet to allocate enough funds for the schemes that include roads, flyovers, underpasses and the Yamuna interceptors.

The projects were announced amid fanfare two years back but the government has only received a small part of the amount promised for the development projects, prompting Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to take up the matter with the Union Urban Development Ministry In a meeting held to review urban renewal mission projects, Dikshit told officials that she would write to the Urban Development Minister if funds were not released.

Delhi Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta confirmed this. "We are yet to receive funds for a number of projects. The Chief Minister said she would take up the matter with Union Urban Devel- opment Minister But this has not prevented us from going ahead with the work," said Mehta. Officials say so far, the Delhi government has received money - about Rs 300 crore - only for the low-cost housing projects for the poor.

With the nearing of the deadline for the Commonwealth Games government agencies too have started changing gears to get the required infrastructure in place. On one hand the emphasis is being laid on the upgrading and creating sports arenas in place, while on the other a lot of efforts are being made to ensure that the travel time to these places is reduced and the city remain congestion free. The developmental agencies have been initiating several projects that are aimed towards easing traffic congestions.

Recently, Public Works Department (PWD) too has initiated several projects. Delhi government's expenditure finance committee recently cleared projects with an estimated cost of Rs 347 crore. Out of the total 347 crore the projects with estimated cost of over Rs 205 crore have alone been cleared for North Delhi.

For Dilshad Garden, it is learnt that the PWD would be constructing an FOB there along with an under-pass and a flyover. Samit Verma of R block of Dilshad Garden was happy to hear about the construction of the FOB at Jhilmil. He says: "It will benefit a lot of users of the Metro residing in R block and Old AB block of Dilshad Garden. Now they will be able to cross the busy GT Road without risking life and limb."

The project would be completed in two phases in a time bound manner. The first phase of the five- kilometre long project would cost Rs 499 crore while the second phase would cost Rs 200 crore. The project would be completed before the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Sources said PWD, which is an executing agency, has been advised to use double manpower and machinery to complete the construction on time.

This road will also serve as an alternate route to provide a shortest and direct link between Games village and JLN Stadium where the opening and closing ceremonies would be held. An alternate route is an essential requirement for the unhindered movement of about 10,000 sportspersons and officials between the Games Village and the JLN stadium. The elevated road would also help ease the traffic movement on Ring Road, Mathura Road and Bhairon Marg.

Earlier, the Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Union Human Resources Development Minister Arjun Singh had given green signal to the elevated project replacing the controversial tunnel road project. The DUAC and environmentalists had opposed the project.

The park would be fully developed over a period of 3-4 years, the policy could allow flexibility in terms of focus on other upcoming areas of research like nanotechnology. The total estimated cost of the project is Rs 450 crore which exclude the cost of land.