News Analysis India

Tag: Delhi Government

  • Liquor shortage in Delhi likely from Monday

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Uncertainty prevailed over the availability of liquor in the national capital as the private liquor stores in Delhi were scheduled to shut shop from Monday after the expiry of their licences.

    Sources, however, claimed that Delhi government was likely to come out with a notification by late Sunday night, allowing liquor stores currently running in the city to remain open till August end.

    “This was needed as the government has decided to revert to old excise policy regime and run stores through its agencies, a process that could create shortage and chaos as the new shops will take days to open,” said a government source.

    The government on Saturday announced reverting back to the old excise regime and running stores for six months.

    Under the Excise Policy 2021-22, 468 retail liquor stores were running in the city whose licences will expire after July 31.

    Many liquor vends in the city, however, were closed after selling out stocks through rebates and special schemes like buy one get two free.

    “There is some more liquor and beer available and people are coming to get whatever they can. Those asking for specific brands have returned back empty-handed also,” said a liquor store manager in Laxmi Nagar.

    The rush was more on Saturday but with liquor stores running out of stock, customers have now started looking to neighbouring Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad for their quota, said a customer Vivek outside a closed liquor vend in Delhi’s Shekh Sarai.

    ALSO READ | BJP wants to create shortage of liquor to run illegal trade: Sisodia

    A banker from Mayur Vihar Extension said he used to get his favourite brands available locally but now the stocks were run out.

    “The shops in the nearby mall have run out of stock and left with almost nothing. Now, I will ask friends in Noida, and Gurgaon to keep me stocked up till shops here run normally again,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the Delhi government Corporations that were earlier in retail business of liquor before new Excise Policy 2021-22 was implemented in November 2021, have started activating their system to open liquor stores.

    The four corporations-DSIIDC, DTTDC, DCCWS and DSCSC- ran 475 liquor stores out of a total 864 in Delhi under the old excise policy regime. The private store licences held by individuals numbered 389.

    “A DSIIDC official informed that around 90 shops of liquor were run by the Corporation on rent. Several of those rented premises are still vacant where the liquor stores can be opened. But the whole process from getting requisite licences and placing the order for stocks will take 4-5 days,” he said.

    Another Corporation DTTDC has also contacted around 40 owners of private premises where it earlier operated liquor stores. Prior to the new excise policy 2021, DTTDC ran 122 shops liquor, officials said.

    The Excise Policy 2021-22 extended by the government till July 31 was withdrawn in the backdrop of a CBI probe recommended by the Lt Governor into alleged violation of rules and procedural lapses in its implementation.

    ALSO READ | Delhi government withdraws new excise policy; 468 private liquor shops to be shut from August 1

    The policy was extended twice since April this year, as the government was still working on a revised excise policy for 2022-23 for which necessary approvals were yet to be taken.

    Under the Excise Policy, the government had issued retail licences for 849 vends across the city divided into 32 zones. Currently, only 468 were running whose licences will expire on July 31 as the policy has been withdrawn by the government.

    With new policy gone, the excise licences issued to hotels, clubs and restaurants having bars, and wholesale operations will also become redundant apart from private run liquor stores in the city.

    It means, there will be virtually no liquor supply from the wholesalers to the entire hospitality sector and retail vends in the city after July 31, till some alternate arrangements are made by the government, liquor trade experts claimed.

    Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia who also holds Excise portfolio had said announcing withdrawal of Excise policy on Saturday that the Chief Secretary was directed to ensure that there was no “chaos” in the city during the transition period before opening of government liquor stores.

    The Chief Secretary was also asked for keeping a check on the sale of illegal alcohol in the city in the meantime, Sisodia had said.

    NEW DELHI: Uncertainty prevailed over the availability of liquor in the national capital as the private liquor stores in Delhi were scheduled to shut shop from Monday after the expiry of their licences.

    Sources, however, claimed that Delhi government was likely to come out with a notification by late Sunday night, allowing liquor stores currently running in the city to remain open till August end.

    “This was needed as the government has decided to revert to old excise policy regime and run stores through its agencies, a process that could create shortage and chaos as the new shops will take days to open,” said a government source.

    The government on Saturday announced reverting back to the old excise regime and running stores for six months.

    Under the Excise Policy 2021-22, 468 retail liquor stores were running in the city whose licences will expire after July 31.

    Many liquor vends in the city, however, were closed after selling out stocks through rebates and special schemes like buy one get two free.

    “There is some more liquor and beer available and people are coming to get whatever they can. Those asking for specific brands have returned back empty-handed also,” said a liquor store manager in Laxmi Nagar.

    The rush was more on Saturday but with liquor stores running out of stock, customers have now started looking to neighbouring Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad for their quota, said a customer Vivek outside a closed liquor vend in Delhi’s Shekh Sarai.

    ALSO READ | BJP wants to create shortage of liquor to run illegal trade: Sisodia

    A banker from Mayur Vihar Extension said he used to get his favourite brands available locally but now the stocks were run out.

    “The shops in the nearby mall have run out of stock and left with almost nothing. Now, I will ask friends in Noida, and Gurgaon to keep me stocked up till shops here run normally again,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the Delhi government Corporations that were earlier in retail business of liquor before new Excise Policy 2021-22 was implemented in November 2021, have started activating their system to open liquor stores.

    The four corporations-DSIIDC, DTTDC, DCCWS and DSCSC- ran 475 liquor stores out of a total 864 in Delhi under the old excise policy regime. The private store licences held by individuals numbered 389.

    “A DSIIDC official informed that around 90 shops of liquor were run by the Corporation on rent. Several of those rented premises are still vacant where the liquor stores can be opened. But the whole process from getting requisite licences and placing the order for stocks will take 4-5 days,” he said.

    Another Corporation DTTDC has also contacted around 40 owners of private premises where it earlier operated liquor stores. Prior to the new excise policy 2021, DTTDC ran 122 shops liquor, officials said.

    The Excise Policy 2021-22 extended by the government till July 31 was withdrawn in the backdrop of a CBI probe recommended by the Lt Governor into alleged violation of rules and procedural lapses in its implementation.

    ALSO READ | Delhi government withdraws new excise policy; 468 private liquor shops to be shut from August 1

    The policy was extended twice since April this year, as the government was still working on a revised excise policy for 2022-23 for which necessary approvals were yet to be taken.

    Under the Excise Policy, the government had issued retail licences for 849 vends across the city divided into 32 zones. Currently, only 468 were running whose licences will expire on July 31 as the policy has been withdrawn by the government.

    With new policy gone, the excise licences issued to hotels, clubs and restaurants having bars, and wholesale operations will also become redundant apart from private run liquor stores in the city.

    It means, there will be virtually no liquor supply from the wholesalers to the entire hospitality sector and retail vends in the city after July 31, till some alternate arrangements are made by the government, liquor trade experts claimed.

    Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia who also holds Excise portfolio had said announcing withdrawal of Excise policy on Saturday that the Chief Secretary was directed to ensure that there was no “chaos” in the city during the transition period before opening of government liquor stores.

    The Chief Secretary was also asked for keeping a check on the sale of illegal alcohol in the city in the meantime, Sisodia had said.

  • Delhi to replace ‘Harijan’ with ‘Dr Ambedkar’ in names of colonies, streets: Rajendra Pal Gautam

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Delhi will soon issue a notification to replace the word ‘Harijan’ with ‘Dr Ambedkar’ in the names of streets and colonies in the national capital, Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam said on Thursday.

    Delhi will be one of the first states in the country to curb the use of the word which many people claim is “offensive and derogatory”, Gautam told PTI.

    He said a parliamentary committee had recommended that the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment issue fresh guidelines to all departments and the state governments, asking them to not use the term.

    In April 2018, the ministry wrote to all states and Union territories to avoid using the words ‘Dalit’ and ‘Harijan’ when referring to people belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC) communities.

    It asked them to use ‘Scheduled Caste’ and its translation in other languages for official communication.

    “We have been working in this direction since 2019.

    The Delhi SC/ST/OBC Welfare Department wrote to the Urban Development Department, emphasising that it is a derogatory word and people belonging to Scheduled Castes do not like it,” Gautam said.

    “We proposed that the word ‘Harjian’ be replaced with ‘Dr Ambedkar’ in the names of colonies and streets in the national capital.

    However, the process got delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

    The minister said he has instructed officials of the law department to complete the process within 10 days after which a notification will be issued.

    There are several ‘Harijan Bastis’, including in Vikaspuri, Palam and Kondili.

    Harijan Colony is a street in south Delhi’s Kalkaji locality.

  • Delhi govt to come out with film policy to provide boost to entertainment industry: CM Kejriwal

    The policy is in advanced stages and it will get the cabinet clearance very soon, the chief minister told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

  • Top court seeks Centre and Delhi’s reply on beggar vaccination  

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  Taking grim view of the situation of beggars, the Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notices to the Centre and Delhi government on a petition seeking vaccination and rehabilitation and said it will not take an elitist view to ban begging in the wake of the pandemic. 

    Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah said beggars cannot be wished away from public places and traffic junctions. “No one would like to beg if not for poverty,” the bench said, while turning down a petition to restrain begging at traffic lights, markets and public places in light of the pandemic.

    The court observed that people are generally compelled to beg to eke out some elementary livelihood due to the absence of education and employment. “This is a socio-economic problem. We cannot say that they will not be allowed to beg,” the bench remarked while issuing notices to the Centre and the Delhi government, seeking their response within two weeks on the prayer made in the petition for rehabilitation of beggars and vagabonds, their vaccination and providing them with shelter and food amid the pandemic.

  • SC refuses to entertain Delhi govt’s plea seeking closure of power plants in Punjab, Haryana, UP

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea filed by the Delhi government against the Centre seeking closure of 10 power plants in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, contributing to air pollution of the national capital.

    A Bench Justices Navin Sinha and RS Reddy refused to entertain the public interest litigation (PIL) of the Delhi government and asked its counsel to withdraw the plea. The plea was then withdrawn by the Delhi government.

    The PIL filed by the Delhi government sought a direction to Centre to install Fuel Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) device in 10 thermal power plants in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh as in absence of the device, the power plants contribute majorly to pollute the air in the national capital.

    The plea also sought quashing of an order passed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to these thermal power plants, extending the deadline for installation of FGD.

    Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves appearing for the Delhi government told the Bench that power plants contribute 80 per cent of sulphates, etc and control of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide has to be there. “These are the killer gases,” he added.

    Gonsalves stated that according to the IIT Kanpur report, Delhi’s pollution levels are high. He further said that it was stated by the CPCB in its report that the FGD be installed by 2019.

    To this, Justice Navin Sinha replied that now the deadline is the year 2022.

    Gonsalves contended that pollution is becoming worse and the deadline should be closer.

    “We understood your case. The state has come under a PIL against the Government of India,” the Bench observed.

    Gonsalves replied that the State government has approached the top court because it is affected by the power plants.

    The Bench told Gonsalves that the Delhi government’s case is that the Centre made a statement before the court and now they are deviating. It said the Delhi government can intervene in the same case where the Centre reportedly gave an undertaking that it will install FGDs.

    Thereafter, Gonsalves appearing for the Delhi government withdrew the PIL from the court. 

  • Union and Delhi government seem to have adopted ‘my way or high way’ approach: Supreme Court

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: “Long and repeated battles” between the Union and the Delhi government came under scanner of the Supreme Court which on Thursday said both of them seemed to have adopted “my way or the high way” approach making governance and needing collaboration difficult.

    The observations on the continuing face off between the two governments came in a judgement by which the top court held that the Delhi Legislative Assembly and its committee have the power to compel attendance of members and outsiders.

    It also dismissed the plea of Facebook India Vice President and MD Ajit Mohan and others challenging the summons issued by the house for failing to appear before it as witness in connection with the north-east Delhi riots last year.

    “No governance model requiring such collaboration can work if either of the two sides take a ‘my way or the high way’ approach –- which both seem to have adopted,” said a bench comprising justices S K Kaul, Dinesh Maheshwari and Hrishikesh Roy.

    The power tussle between Centre and the Delhi government has been going on since 2014 and a five-judge Constitution bench headed by the then CJI Dipak Misra in July 2018 had ruled that the Lieutenant Governor has no independent power to take decisions and is bound by the elected government’s advice.

    In today’s judgement, the top court advised the Centre and the Delhi government on collaborative governance and asked the AAP government to recognize the constitutional scheme of division of powers.

    Simultaneously, it said that the Centre is required to work in tandem with a different political dispensation.

    “The political dispensation which is in power in the State has to recognize the constitutional scheme of division of powers in Delhi which circumscribes their ability to work only within those powers. When they got elected, they knew what they were getting elected for – not what they thought should be the division of powers.

    “On the other hand, the Central Government is required to work in tandem, albeit with a different political dispensation. Maturity is required from both sides and we have to reluctantly note the absence of such maturity in this important inter- relationship,” it said.

    To work well, the Central Government and the State Government have to walk “hand in hand or at least walk side by side for better governance,” it said.

    “The failure to do so is really a breach of their respective electoral mandate, the seven Lok Sabha seats are all held by the powers that be in the Central Government but a very different result came in the Assembly Elections. This has seen a repeat,” it said.

    It is a reflection of the maturity of the electorate which has chosen to put one dispensation in power in the Centre while seeking to choose another in the State as the roles are divergent, it said.

    The two governments “unfortunately do not seek to recognize this aspect,” it said, adding that it is the bane of this structure requiring collaboration and concurrence and unfortunately, it has become an endeavour to score points over the other.

    Writing the 188-page verdict, Justice Kaul said an unfortunate violent incident had erupted and “the need to go into this incident both from a legal and social perspective cannot be belittled.”

    It is in this background that the Assembly sought to constitute a peace and harmony committee , the verdict said.

    “However, we may note that the long and repeated battles between the State and the Centre appear to have cast a shadow even over the well-meaning intent of the Committee to assess peace and harmony as reflected in the Terms of Reference,” it said while holding that the Delhi assembly and its panels have the right to summon a member and others to come and depose.

    The top court referred to the unique history related to collaborative administration of the national capital and said the “my way or the high way” approach, seemingly adopted by both the governments, have made the governance difficult.

    “We may record that the Central Government and the State Government have been unable to see eye to eye on governance issues in Delhi. This has been responsible for a spate of litigation and despite repeated judicial counsel to work in tandem, this endeavour has not been successful,” it said.

    “There is little doubt that the constitution of the governance model in Delhi is somewhat unique” it said adding that “this itself flows from Delhi being the capital of the country and it has had a history of having an assembly replaced by a model of Union Territory governance through executive councillors”.

    “There were long years of tussle to have a Legislative Assembly with commonality of objectives across the primary political space, but whoever was in governance found it difficult to let go,” it said.

    The model that came into being had somewhat of a hybrid character, giving an expanded role to the Central Government, it said.

    “The arrangement worked well for many years even with different political dispensations in power in the Centre and the State. But the last few years have seen an unfortunate tussle on every aspect with the State Government seeking to exercise powers as any other Assembly and the Central Government unwilling to let them do so,” it said.

  • Delhi govt ‘looted’ oxygen tanker going from Panipat to Faridabad, alleges Haryana minister Anil Vij

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Haryana minister Anil Vij on Wednesday alleged that a tanker carrying medical oxygen for COVID patients in hospitals, which was going from Panipat to Faridabad, was ”looted” by the Delhi government and said all oxygen tankers will now move with a police escort.

    Vij also said given the increased demand for oxygen due to a surge in coronavirus cases, Haryana can spare the supply for others only after the state meets its own demand.

    Interacting with reporters, the health and home minister, while referring to the tanker, said, ”Yesterday, one of our oxygen tankers was going from Panipat to supply to hospitals in Faridabad. When it was passing through Delhi, the tanker was looted by the Delhi government which is very wrong.”

    ”’If governments indulge in such things, then it will result in chaos,” he said.

    Vij said that he has now ordered that all oxygen tankers will move with a police escort so that such incidents do not happen in the future.

    ”But to take out gas from a tanker in this manner is highly condemnable,” he said.

    ”We will write to Delhi government officials about this incident,” he said.

    ALSO WATCH:

    He further claimed that pressure was being put on the state to give medical oxygen to Delhi.

    Faridabad in Haryana lies adjoining the national capital.

    The minister said the two neighbouring states from which Haryana earlier used to get the supply for oxygen have currently stopped it to meet their own demand.

    ”We also used to get supply the from Baddi in Himachal Pradesh and Bhiwadi in Rajasthan but the governments there have stopped the supply now” he said.

    ”In our plants in Haryana, I have deployed officials and police because we want to first meet our requirements. Pressure is being put on us that we should supply to Delhi. We have no problem in doing so if we have spare supply, but our first priority is Haryana,” Vij said.

    Vij said that given the pandemic is global everyone needs to join hands to fight it, but the state has to first meet its own needs.

    Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had on Tuesday urged the Centre “with folded hands” to provide medical oxygen to Delhi and his deputy Manish Sisodia said there will be chaos in the city if the stocks are not replenished by Wednesday morning.

    Meanwhile, on remdesivir, Vij said there are two depots selling the antiviral drug and a strict vigil is being kept so that no one indulges in its black marketing given the surge in demand.

    ”We have deployed drug department officials there and the movement of every vial is being recorded. All chemists have been asked to keep a record of remdesivir being sold to anyone by noting their Aadhaar card number,” he said.

    During the past three weeks, Haryana registered a sharp increase in coronavirus cases.

    On Tuesday the state recorded 7,811 new cases of COVID-19, its biggest single-day spike so far, while 35 more people succumbed to the viral disease.

  • Delhi HC extends former Haryana CM OP Chautala’s parole till May 17

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday extended parole of former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala till May 17.

    The High Court has also directed the state government to bring the original file of former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala’s premature release considered by the Delhi Government.

    A Division Bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Anup Jairam Bhambhani directed State Government to bring the original file of Chautala’s premature release considered by the Delhi Government.

    Advocate Amit Sahni appearing for Chautlala submitted that copy of the affidavit to be filed in terms of the last order dated March 8 2021 not supplied to petitioner.

    The court listed the matter on May 17 2021 and in the meanwhile the emergency parole of OP Chautala was extended by the Court.

    Chautala has sought directions to the respondent/ State to release him by granting special remission in view of related notification of 2020.

    86-year-old former CM filed the Petition before Delhi High Court through his Counsel Amit Sahni submitting that he has almost undergone the entire incarceration and as such in view of the earlier order passed in December 2019 by Division Bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Sangita Dhinga Sehgal, Delhi Government has not granted special remission to the Convict/Petitioner.

    OP Chautala and others were convicted and sentenced in the case of illegal recruitment of 3,206 junior basic teachers (JBT) in 2000. 

  • Ashok Gehlot calls GNCTD Bill ‘murder of democracy’, move to target AAP govt in Delhi

    By PTI
    JAIPUR: Hitting out at the Centre, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday said the bill giving primacy to Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor over the elected government, was passed by the parliament to curtail the rights of the AAP-led dispensation.

    Terming the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 as ‘murder of democracy’, he said abolishing the powers of an elected government is against the spirit of democracy.

    ‘Earlier the SC had clearly ruled that the elected government is the real head of Delhi. Modi govt wants to run the country in a fascist manner. Electoral malpractices, horse trading of elected MLAs, and when failing in both, it resorts to passing such a dictatorial bill on the strength of its majority in Parliament. This is how the Modi govt rules,’ Gehlot said in a series of tweets.

    He said the BJP could abolish the powers of any government by bringing such laws if it loses elections in a state.

    ‘This dictatorial decision of the Modi govt should be opposed at the national level by rising above the party line,’ he said.

    Accusing the BJP of doing a volte-face, the chief minister said the party had earlier advocated full statehood status to Delhi.

    ‘But now they have brought such law. Prime Minister advocates cooperative federalism but in reality, NDA govt is imposing decisions on state governments by enacting such laws,’ he added.

    Speaking at a virtual programme of the state medical education department at his residence, Gehlot said those criticising the government are often branded as ‘anti-nationals’.

    ‘It is a matter of grave concern for us. Look at the chief election commission, income tax department, ED or the CBI. The agencies are being misused. The country has a challenge and we will have to make people understand,’ he said.

  • No compulsory institutional quarantine for UK returnees who test COVID negative: Delhi government

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has terminated the provision of one-week mandatory institutional quarantine for UK returnees who test negative for COVID-19, an official order has said.

    The decision was taken by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) after it reviewed the situation.

    During the review, low COVID-19 positivity among UK returnees was pointed out.

    In an earlier order this month, the DDMA had directed for mandatory seven days institutional quarantine followed by week-long home isolation even for those passengers from UK who tested negative for COVID-19.

    ​ALSO READ | TN govt mulls giving COVID-19 vaccine to elderly people in second phase, seeks Centre’s advice

    The decision was taken in view of resumption of limited flights to India from UK where a mutant of coronavirus with increased transmissibility was detected.

    An order issued on Friday by Vijay Dev, chief secretary and chairperson of DDMA’s executive committee, said, “The situation has now been reviewed and considering low positivity rate of UK returnees, it has been decided that the measure of compulsory institutional quarantine of travellers tested negative many not be required furthermore…” Delhi government may align with Centre’s SOP in this regard, stated the order.

    The passengers returning from UK and found negative for COVID-19 will require to be in 14 days of home isolation as per the Central government SOP.

    ​ALSO READ | US COVID-19 cases surpass 25 million-mark

    Several passengers returning from UK tested positive in RTPCR tests conducted at IGI airport here and were admitted to special isolation facility at LNJP hospital.

    The DDMA has ordered strict surveillance on people who test negative at the airport and are then in home quarantine.

    It has asked district authorities carry out COVID-19 tests on people who develop coronavirus-like symptoms during the home isolation.

    ALSO WATCH:

    In case a person tests positive, an extensive contact tracing also follows, it said.

    Many passengers who returned from the UK between November 25 to December 22, when the government banned the flights to the country, were found positive during door to door testing undertaken by district surveillance teams in Delhi.

    All the UK returnees who tested positive for COVID-19 were put through genome sequencing to  determine if they were infected with the UK variant of the virus.

    The order further instructed the concerned authorities to ensure strict surveillance of UK returnees who tested negative for the virus and were undergoing home isolation.