GN

The application of one RTI applicant AM Attar seeking details of the agreement was rejected by the ministry on the grounds that its disclosure would affect the relations between the two nations and other Muslim countries.

"The earlier exemption sought under Section 8 (1)(a) of the RTI Act 2005 had already been dealt with on the previous occasion, hence the same need not be reiterated. However, the seeking of fresh grounds to justify non disclosure of information by the Respondent Public Authority does not provide additional merit to the case.

"However, interestingly no additional documents have been submitted by the respondent at this stage to substantiate
their contention or justifying the non furnishing of information despite clear directions of this Commission. The remaining information in the Bilateral Agreement does not pertain to any sensitive data, as agreed by the respondent (MEA) also and the same should accordingly be provided to the Appellant," information commissioner, Annapurna Dixit held.

She directed to remove clause two and four of the agreement. While clause two specifies the quota of the Indian Hajis, clause four mentions the figures (data) depicting the number of Hajis.

An official spokesman said here on Monday that the policy would apply to all municipal areas in the State and cover all land/properties belonging to all State Government departments, boards and corporations unless specifically exempted.

The policy has been prepared in accordance with guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court and the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Act for the National Capital Region.

The spokesman said the policy for outdoor advertising is driven not by revenue imperatives but by the towns' and cities' development imperatives. It would also be ensured that outdoor advertising is not hazardous to traffic. The advertisement rights shall be given for a period not exceeding three years.

However, hoardings/advertisements/banners for publicity of achievements, social welfare schemes/messages and various other development policies put up by government departments, boards and corporations would be excluded from the purview of the contract.

In an order that is sure to spark a debate, the court said poor background of the accused should along with old age and years spent behind bars while awaiting death sentence be considered as mitigating factors when courts ponder whether life sentence should be used in an otherwise fit case for death penalty.

The order was passed by a Bench comprising Justices P Sathasivam and H L Dattu while hearing an appeal against death penalty awarded by the trial court and subsequently upheld by the Allahabad high court to two members of a gang of bandits convicted for killing four people in December 1995.

The Bench noted that apart from being old, the convicts had been in custody since 1996 and death penalty had hung over their heads since 2005, when the trial court gave its verdict.

The Supreme Court on Monday considered poverty as a mitigating factor while handing out the verdict on two bandits awarded death penalty by lower courts. "The convicts (Mulla and Guddu) belong to an extremely poor background. One thing which is clear to us is that they have committed these crimes for want of money. Though we are shocked by their deeds, we find no reason why they cannot be reformed over a period of time," a Bench comprising Justices P Sathasivam and H L Dattu said.

Source: Times Of India By Dhananjay Mahapatra Poverty could mitigate crime, even murder: SC

The 45-km long line, from Jehangirpuri to Gurgaon, is expected to have a very high ridership.

As per the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the line, the opening of the new section will add around 3.4 lakh commuters to the Line 2 (Central Secretariat to Jehangirpuri) by the year 2011. Since the section is already crowded, DMRC has taken a decision to add about 60 more trains to the line when the Gurgaon stretch becomes operational.

``Once the Gurgaon corridor is opened for the public, it will form an approximately 45-km long Metro line connecting parts of north, south Delhi and Gurgaon. Journeying from the one end to the another will take just 90 minutes. DMRC is planning to run around 60 trains on this line with a frequency as high as 3 minutes, benefiting lakhs of passengers,'' said a DMRC spokesperson. Trains on the Noida section run at a frequency of 8-11 minutes during off-peak hours.

The Gurgaon line also has the sharpest broad gauge curve with a radius of 282.5 metres near IFFCO Chowk. The other curves on elevated Metro tracks have a radius of over 300 metres. The spokesperson added curves of less than 300 meters radius are considered sharp curves in urban rail construction. ``This had to be done near IFFCO Chowk to as the area is very congested and we wanted to retain the already existing buildings, commercial malls and residential complexes on either side of the Metro alignment along Mehrauli-Gurgaon (MG) road. The alignment was also planned along the median so that people benefit from it,'' the spokesperson said.

Environment Minister Ajay Singh Yadav said here today that the board was contemplating offices at all district headquarters.

It would also set up four new laboratories at Panipat, Yamunanagar, Sonepat and Bahadurgarh. It had also been decided to strengthen and upgrade the existing laboratories.

Yadav said if the online process for "NOC" turned out to be a success, other services , like consent to operate, grant of authorisation and cess collection, would also be included in the ambit of online services in due course of time.

He said efforts were being made to motivate farmers against the harmful effects of burning of paddy straw and wheat stubble.

He said since plastic bags posed a major threat to ecology, the state government had issued a revised notification , increasing the thickness from 30 microns to 40 microns.

The provision for a fine had also been made by giving power to officers of other departments to take cognisance of plastic carry bags.

Minister of State for Tourism Kumari Selja made the announcement at an International Buddhist Heritage Conference in Nalanda in Bihar.

According to a tourism ministry official, any tourist, domestic or international, can call the helpline for information about a place he or she intends to visit.

"They can also call the number when in distress or in an emergency," she said.

Selja added: "In December 2009, the foreign tourist arrivals in India saw a 21 percent increase over the same period in 2008. The future looks bright. We expect buoyancy to return to the sector soon."

A good proportion of H1-B visa holders -- about 50,000 -- had their visas issued in 2002 and 2003. Come 2009, most of these visas (which are work permits issued for a fixed period), with a validity of six years, expired. The number of H1-B visa holders who have applied for jobs in India is now said to be between 15,000 and 20,000.

"A good number of those who went to the US after 1999-2000 have started returning. US President Barack Obama's posture has probably been one of the triggers. The reluctance to renew H1-B visas has also led to people deciding to return," said Kris Laxmikant, CEO and chairman of recruitment agency Headhunters India.

Many of the returnees have been sticking around for up to three months, vainly trying to secure a job, in a bid to extend their US stay long enough. But, in an insipid job market, a good number failed to find jobs and were forced to return, HR executives said.

Source: Business-standard NRI Resumes Pile Up At Indian Human Resources (HR) Firms

With e-courts, the entire volume of files in the fast-track courts will be digitised. A touchscreen will be installed on the dais of the presiding judge. LCD screens will be installed in the e-court, on which any document can be viewed with the help of a document visualiser.Just like searching the Net, a document can be hunted down by choosing to look up any case by date, name or section.

Legal experts expect e-courts to revolutionise the recording of evidence, as it will not be necessary for witnesses to be physically present to testify. "It will enable the e-court to record evidence of the witnesses who are incapable of being present in the court due to health reasons, old age or being out of country," an official in Karkardooma court said.

The district e-court is already connected to all of the city's jails and courts. Officials said efforts are underway to link e-courts with the forensic lab in Rohini, government hospitals in the districts under the jurisdiction of the Karkardooma court and all police stations in the city through video-conferencing.

Considerable time will thus be saved, as forensic lab officials, police officials and government doctors can testify through video-conferencing studios from their respective workplaces.

Source: The Indian Express By Vaibhav Vats Country's first district e-court to be launched at Karkardooma

सोमवार को निगमायुक्त आरके खुल्लर व चीफ इंजीनियर वीके गुप्ता ने मंत्रणा कर इस समस्या के समाधान के लिए रास्ता खोजने की मशक्कत की। कंपनी कमान सराय में प्रस्तावित मल्टीलेवल पार्किंग के लिए नए सिरे से सर्वे करेगी और अपनी रिपोर्ट व एस्टीमेट की रिपोर्ट निगमायुक्त को सौंपेगी।

मालूम हो कमान सराय में मल्टीलेवल पार्किंग की योजना सालों से बन रही है लेकिन उसे अमलीजामा अभी तक नहीं पहनाया जा सका है। आयुक्त आरके खुल्लर का कहना है मल्टीलेवल पार्किंग की योजना को अब नई एनर्जी के साथ पूरी की जाएगी। सर्वे के लिए कंपनी को कह दिया गया है और वह जल्द ही अपना काम भी शुरू कर देगी। यह चार मंजिला पार्किग कंप्यूटराइज होगी। पार्किंग को टेंडर पर देने की प्रक्रिया एक-दो दिन में शुरू हो जाएगी। इससे भी जाम की समस्या से कुछ हद तक निजात मिलेगी। निगम के चीफ इंजीनियर वीके गुप्ता का कहना है कि कंपनी की सर्वे रिपोर्ट आते ही वह उसे सरकार को भेजेंगे। वहां से हरी झंडी मिलते ही इस पर काम शुरू कर दिया जाएगा। इस योजना की फाइल पहले ही चंडीगढ़ भेजी जा चुकी है।

-निशुल्क पार्किंग की सुविधा भी
निगम आयुक्त व चीफ इंजीनियर का कहना है कि ओल्ड डीएलएफ में वहीं के लोग पार्किंग व्यवस्था का संचालन कर रहे हैं। इसके लिए निगम उन्हें कुछ धन मुहैया करा रहा है और लोग भी इस निशुल्क जगह वाहन पार्क करने में परहेज नहीं कर रहे हैं। उनका कहना है कि यदि दूसरी जगह भी लोग खुद ही पार्किंग की व्यवस्था को संभालने को तैयार हैं, तो निगम उन्हें भी यह जवाब दे सकता है। इससे जहां जाम की समस्या से निजात मिलेगी, वहीं वाहन पार्क करने वालों की जेब भी हल्की नहीं होगी।

He disclosed that earlier the thickness and size of banned plastic bags was less than 30 microns and 8 x 12 inches respectively.

He said use of all types of plastic articles such as carry bags (irrespective of thickness and size), plates, cups, tumblers, spoons, forks and straw had been banned within the municipal limits of Thanesar/Kurukshetra and Pehowa towns, precincts of Mansa Devi Temple, Panchkula and Sheetla Mata Temple, Gurgaon. The ban is also applicable to public parks, wildlife sanctuaries, national parks of Haryana and Morni as these have "special historical, religious and ecological significance".

Be prepared to pay more for your auto fuel and cooking gas, though the exact amount may depend on political decisions amid inflationary pressures.

A Prime Minister-appointed expert group headed by economist Kirit Parikh suggested in its report released on Wednesday that petrol and diesel prices must be freed from government control, cooking gas must cost Rs 100 more per cylinder and kerosene Rs 6 more per litre.

At current global crude prices of $73 per barrel, free-market auto fuel pricing will mean an increase of Rs 4.72 per litre for petrol and Rs 2.33 for diesel.

The government has been cushioning retail prices of fuel with its subsidies, or by forcing state-controlled oil companies to sell at low prices in exchange for bonds that only add to its debt burden. Now short of cash, the government is groping for a way out.

"Dr Manmohan Singh is very serious on fuel pricing reforms," Petroleum Minister Murli Deora told a news conference.

"We (Congress) are a huge party and there will be opposition from some party members.
But tough decisions will have to be taken," Deora said.

His ministry will forward its own views on the report to the cabinet within a week.

"Current petroleum product pricing policy of the government is not sustainable," Parikh told reporters.

Source: Hindustan Times Your car and kitchen fuel could get costlier

After missing at least three internal deadlines, the Passport Seva Project, which aims to issue passports in three days compared with the current 45, is finally expected to be launched in "a week or two", said a senior official at the ministry of external affairs.

"The infrastructure is in place, the software glitches have been fixed, security issues have been addressed," the official, who did not want to be identified, said. "Everything has been fully tested. We are just giving final touches and hope to make an announcement (launch) in a week or two at the most."

The ministry had hired the nation's largest software exporter, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) in October 2008 to implement the Rs1,000 crore project, India's largest e-governance programme on a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

A TCS spokesperson said in an email that the company, as a policy, didn't comment on individual clients.

Apart from reducing the time needed for issuing new passports to three days from up to 45 days now, after police verification, the project has a fast-track component for issuing passports on the same day an application is submitted, a process that now takes up to 14 days.

The new model will also allow people to submit their passport applications online and maintain a central database that can be accessed by both the police and passport officials, speeding up the police verification process, a bottleneck in the current process.

Source: Live Mint By Lison Joseph Three-day passport project in a week or two

Therefore, officers should regularly monitor the progress of the works initiated as per the announcements.

He said this while reviewing the progress of developmental works during his visit to Jhajjar yesterday.

He also visited Badhsa village in the district, the site where construction works on AIIMS -II is underway. He was apprised about the construction of the same and also about the site plan of the new bus stand in Jhajjar.

Doon directed the officers concerned to timely complete the developmental works being carried out in the district. He also took a report on the construction works on thermal power plant in Jhadli and Khanpur Khurd from the officers concerned.

Source: The Tribune All CM's decisions available online

The police told me to buy another phone and forget about the one I had lost. MANEET SINGH BAKSHI, Rohini trader

Maneet Singh Bakshi lost his Motorola L-9 to a pickpocket at a roadside eatery in Rohini, west Delhi.
He went to the local police to get a first information report (FIR) registered but was laughed at. "The officers told me to buy another phone and forget about the one I had lost," the trader said.

Not willing to give up, he drafted an RTI application with his IMEI (a number unique to each cellphone and encrypted on it) and SIM details and submitted it to the office of the commissioner of police, Delhi. "I registered a complaint. It is a simple task to track down a phone with the IMEI, but the police officials refused to do it," Bakshi said.

Within 30 days, the police responded: "An FIR has been registered in Rohini police station. The IMEI number has been put on surveillance." Within a week of that, the police called with news that the phone had been recovered.

Bakshi got back his phone 45 days after he had lost it.

Consider India. Foreign buyers are pushing stock prices toward all-time highs, drawing a new wave of Indian companies to the public markets. Some 50 applications for new listings on India's stock markets worth about $6.3 billion are pending, says Firstcall India Equity Advisors.

Flash back a year and markets were reeling from a massive fraud at Satyam Computer Services as investors reevaluated India on the basis of governance risk. Does the market's return mean India has its governance problems sorted out? Hardly.

A year after the Satyam scandal erupted, investor protections remain weak, a recent study by the Asian Corporate Governance Association, or ACGA, concluded. In particular this creates problems for minority investors in the family-owned businesses that are so common in India.

For example, controlling shareholders can strike deals even when conflicts of interest are readily apparent. By comparison, in Hong Kong and Singapore, companies making sizable deals of this nature need the approval of independent investors.

Another complaint? The practice of allowing the controlling family to buy stock at below-market prices through the use of preferential warrants. Ostensibly to raise funds, the move nevertheless erodes minority ownership.

Write to  Harsh Joshi at harsh.joshi@dowjones.com  

Source: The Wall Street Journal By Harsh Joshi India's Shaky Governance

"We are going to request the government to grant us permission to carry out sub division of plots," said Ram Kishan Singhal, chairman of the standing committee of the MCD.

The civic agency claims if permission is granted, it will be able to earn Rs. 500 crore per year. "It will help create one lakh rooms in the city," said Deep Mathur, director press and information, MCD.

The civic body is contemplating the step to put a stop to the mafia running illegal parking lots, reportedly in nexus with traffic policemen and the civic body staff.

The civic agency said so many unauthorised parking sites were running in the city because there was a need for it.

It will approach the police commissioner of Delhi to regularise some of these sites.

"There are 200 authorised parking sites in our area and I am sure there are 400 illegal parking sites that are being run by the mafia," said Ram Kishan Singhal, chairman of the MCD's standing committee of the MCD.

"The public is also being charged and we are losing out on revenue."

Source: Hindustan Times Parking Lots To Be Legalised, MCD Move To check Unauthorised Sites