Saturday, April 23, 2011

Drive Drunk and Land in Jail in Delhi

Thursday, April 21, 2011




In a drive to control the menace of drunk driving, the Delhi Police has swung into action and started enforcing the relatively new law which is  prevalent in a majority of other civilised nations and has jailed over a thousand people for drunk driving and suspended licenses of over 800 during the current year, sending out a clear warning to DUI drivers to mend their ways or else..  

 'With most of the drunk driving cases resulting in imprisonment besides license suspension and payment of fine, better sense is expected from the people of Delhi,' Joint Commissioner of Delhi Traffic Police Satyendra Garg told reporters on Saturday after  over 300 people were arrested in three hours. 'Continuing our efforts to rein in drunk driving, we had simultaneous checking at 50 locations and got 307 prosecutions in three hours,' Garg told reporters. Out of these, 195 were arrested for drunk driving.

Drunken driving is a non-compoundable offence with those caught sent directly to the court which determines the punishment. According to police, the vehicle is impounded when there is nobody else other than the drunk driver to drive it safely to its location. Driving license is required for handing over the vehicle and the person must not have consumed liquor. The violator is not allowed to drive a vehicle once he is detected to have consumed liquor beyond permissible limits.

Delhi Police is actively campaigning against drunk driving on various forums, including social websites like Facebook. A message posted by Garg on Delhi Traffic Police's Facebook page Friday read: 'The other day a friend of mine surprised me with the revelation that I owed him Rs.10,000. Totally clueless, I asked him to elaborate and he said the other day he had a few drinks in a 5-star hotel and then realised he risked being caught with possibility of DL and jail term. He decided to hire a room and spend a sum which he thought we cost him.'

Over 5,000 people have been challaned  (ticketed)in Delhi this year on charges of drunk driving with 831 landing in jail. According to Delhi police stats, there has been a 250% rise in prosecution in the first three months this year compared to the same period last year-5,017 prosecutions compared to 1,927 till March end in 2010.

"There are a large number of cases of drunk drivers ramming their vehicles into the central verge, poles or trees and killing themselves. There have been cases of the combination of speed and drunk driving."

The law was made strict in September last year as it recognized that driving under the influence of alcohol poses a serious danger to others on the road as well as to co-passengers and the driver. The maximum punishment now is a 6-month jail term plus a fine of Rs 2,000 for the first offence; second offence lands you in jail for up to  two-years with a fine of Rs 3,000 ($70).

The police hope that imprisonment for drunker driving will be a big deterrent. ``We are not taking it casually and we hope people won't take it casually either,`` says Garg. ``Many of the fatal accidents are a result of drunken driving but intensive checking this year has reduced these accidents by 51%,`` according to a news headline report by the national daily, TOI yesterday.

An alcohol level in the blood of more than 0.03 gms of alcohol constitutes drunken driving in most countries, though the earlier liberal standard of 0.08 gms is still prevalent in some countries. Usually, imprisonment can be awarded to anyone found with more than 0.03gm of alcohol but is usually awarded to those registering over 0.1gms.'It`s the court's assessment but most given jail terms of 10 days or more had consumed more than 0.15 gms,' according to a traffic officer who added that people often don't realize that they are driving after drinking too much. 'Many people we have caught have claimed that they were returning from an office party or family celebration and didn't realize that one drink can land them in such trouble,' he added.

DelWine and Indian Wine Academy are avid supporters of the law. DUI (Driving Under Influence) is considered a major offence elsewhere and it is time the drunk drivers get their due punishment. Strict enforcement of the law will act as a deterrent and will keep the drunk drivers under check. Cities like Mumbai apparently already enforce the law which is a state subject. One hopes other states will follow suit. Delhi Police deserves kudos and the gratitude of citizens of Delhi and one hopes it is not a mere drive but becomes a permanent practice.

It is our understanding that up to 2 glasses of wine consumed slowly with food, keeps you under the legal limits and perfectly safe and alert for driving. If you drink more, please choose a Designated Driver, hire a cab or a driver for the evening out


Posted by Rajeev Lochan Sharma at 1:57 PM 0 comments

HC slams police panel over contract for hydraulic cranes

Thursday, April 21, 2011




The Delhi High Court flayed the Delhi Police (Traffic) Purchase Committee on Wednesday, describing it as a "committee full of blind people". It made the observation while deciding on a tender for 30 hydraulic cranes, meant for towing luxury cars and SUVs. Besides pulling up the members of the panel, which comprised senior police officers from the Traffic department, it also said the task of floating tenders should be given to people with the required expertise. "This is why technical experts should be there in a committee, and police officers should concentrate on the task of maintaining law and order in the city instead. The outcome is there for anybody to see what happens when policemen go into purchases that involve technical acumen. It certainly has something to do with different minds," a Bench of Justices S K Kaul and Rajiv Shakdher said.

Having "lost confidence" in the committee, the Bench asked the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to appoint an independent auditor to look into the matter. It also directed Commissioner of Police B K Gupta to probe and ensure that "no other petitioner is faced with such a Purchase Committee".

The matter concerned a tender floated by the Delhi Police Purchase Committee in August 2010 for hiring 56 small towing cranes and 40 big hydraulic towing cranes for lifting luxury cars and SUVs. A person called Rajesh Saini was found qualified, and the price bids were opened for hiring 30 cranes. The prices were also negotiated by the committee and it was brought down to Rs 4,750 per day per crane in November 2010. Though unsuccessful bidders filed a writ in the court against Saini, they were dismissed in December 2010, settling all controversies relating to the tender.

However, the committee did not issue the appointment letter for the tender to Saini and, in February, informed him that they wanted to give the contract a second thought — apparently because the cranes offered by Saini were too small.

Saini then filed a writ through advocate P S Bindra, terming the police officers' decision as arbitrary.

Taking it up for the first time on March 18, the Bench summoned the committee's head, Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Ajay Chaddha, and asked him for an explanation.

Though the counsel for the committee tried to convince the court that Saini's rates were inflated and required re-consideration, the Bench stated that the committee had "displayed gross incompetence". It was "horrendous" that they sent the matter for technical review only after negotiating and re-negotiating the prices, it added.

The Bench said though the exercise of floating tenders was to ensure transparency, the present instance had hardly served its purpose. "It was complete non-application of mind as the technical aspects should have been taken into account at the initial stage. One gets the impression that the committee did not know what it was doing," it observed.

The Bench then asked the Police Commissioner to probe the matter, and submit an action-taken report by the next date of hearing in May.


Posted by Rajeev Lochan Sharma at 1:56 PM 0 comments

The way ahead: Computerisation

Wednesday, April 20, 2011




To keep a tab on the parking mafia which has been fleecing people, the civic authorities are mulling issuing computerised receipts through the handheld machines and putting up paying meters. The Delhi government has already started work in Lajpat Nagar market where paying meters will be set up to eliminate the need of parking attendants. Use of parking meters will also help in doing away with basic problems such as overcharging and parking more vehicles than the authorised limit.

MCD officials say if the experiment is successful they will implement it in their 293-odd parking lots.

"The maximum complaints that we get from motorists is related to overcharging and to address this problem we do want to start using the handheld machines so that parking attendants are not able to charge money at their own will. The Delhi government is working on such a project and after reviewing it we might also implement it depending on its feasibility," said a senior MCD official.

Tampering with the parking receipt is another major problem through which parking contractors overcharge people. To ensure this does not take place, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) is in the process of starting a new system under which smart cards on the lines of Metro Smart cards will be issued to motorists to park their vehicles in Palika Parking. These smart cards can be recharged according to the requirements from single time parking to a monthly pass basis.


Posted by Rajeev Lochan Sharma at 1:55 PM 0 comments

The way ahead: Computerisation

Tuesday, April 19, 2011




The MCD has decided to hand over the parking sites over Khushak and Sunheri canal, built by it before the Commonwealth Games, to the Delhi government for a total annual revenue of Rs 16.8 crore.

The sites, constructed after covering the two nallahs, will be given to the Transport Department, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi said in a press statement.

The total annual revenue payable by the Transport Department to MCD for Kushak Nallah site (on southern side of Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium) and Sunheri Nallah site (from CGO culvert to Lala Lajpat Rai Marg) will Rs 16.82 crore.

"The annual revenue payable in respect of parking site at Kushak Nallah covering an area of 57000 sq m is Rs 9.58 crore.

The revenue payable in respect of Sunhari Nallah covering an area of 43000 sq m is Rs 7.24 crore," it said.

The term of allotment shall be nine years subject to renewal on year to year basis, with an enhancement in the fee, depending in the whole-sale price index. The annual revenue shall be payable by the Transport Department in advance for each year of lease. Initially, the Transport Department will pay to the MCD an annual revenue for the parking sites at the rate of Rs 140.04 per square feet per month.

"The land of the parking sites will remain the property of the MCD and the Transport Department will not claim any right, title, or interest," the civic body said.

MCD has asked the Transport Department to deposit the advance annual revenue of Rs 16.82 crore within 10 days from today to enable it to proceed further for formal allotment of parking sites.


Posted by Rajeev Lochan Sharma at 1:00 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

MCD too broke to fix roads, monsoon will be jam season

Monday, April 18, 2011




Sunday's short spell of rain gave Delhiites a good reason to cheer but the coming monsoon won't be that cheerful — especially for commuters. If last year's monsoon was a bad experience for commuters, it's going to be worse this time. The Delhi Traffic Police have identified 339 roads in the city, which if not fixed before the monsoon, can create havoc for motorists and those who use two-wheelers and auto-rikshaws. Of the 339 roads identified as bad, 164 are under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi's (MCD's) jurisdiction, 103 are managed by the Public Works Department (PWD) and 48 are in the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) area.

The roads marked as bad include Janpath, Ring Road, Savitri Flyover, East of Kailash, Adchini to Malviya Nagar, Hauz Khas Market, Minto Bridge, Kali Bari Marg, RK Ashram Marg and Daryanganj Road. Although most of the roads are in the MCD zone, the civic body may not be able to fix them soon because of a severe cash crunch.

The MCD is yet to pay Rs 250 crore to contractors who handled road projects in the past. The civic body was forced to dump several projects after contractors abandoned work in January.

"We have got a copy of the list (from the traffic police) and will try to finish the work before monsoons. Some stretches need construction of drains. We have asked the Delhi government for funds. We are trying to increase our revenue through property tax payment," said Yogender Chandolia, chairman, MCD's standing committee.

"We have prepared a list of roads where waterlogging can happen because of bad road condition and poor drainage. The civic agencies and departments have been asked to fix the problem," said Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of police (traffic). The MCD had last September identified 450 points that needed repair before the monsoon but work on many of these stretches is still on.


Posted by Rajeev Lochan Sharma at 12:52 PM 0 comments

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Licence scam in DTC: Vigilance probe ordered

Wednesday, April 13, 2011




After criticism from the traffic police for the increasing number of accidents by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses, the corporation is facing heat from within its ranks. Instances of licences that didn't sustain verification have now prompted the DTC to set up an internal vigilance inquiry into licences submitted by over 2,000 drivers. While the inquiry report is still awaited, sources said that initial findings have shown that some of the licences submitted were fakes.

Top sources in the transport department said that the matter came to light some months ago during a routine verification. The official said, "The details submitted (by one of the drivers) showed that the licence had been issued from the state licensing authority in Manipur. But the man had no knowledge of the state. So the issuing authority was contacted for verification, and it was found that no such licence had been issued to the driver." After this incident, several other "suspicious" licences were sent for verification. Sources in the DTC confirmed that one such licence issued from Bulandshahr has already been found to be false. The official added, "The licences which are being verified were issued not only from Manipur and Nagaland but also from the neighbouring states of Haryana, UP and Rajasthan."

Interestingly, a large number of the cases that have come under cloud are of drivers who were recruited through the Delhi State Subordinate Services Board (DSSSB). The recruitment exam for the DSSSB had taken place in 2009 but results were only announced late last year. DTC officials claimed, however, that only a part of the licences being verified were of drivers recruited through the DSSSB. A government official added, "The board doesn't verify the licences from the issuing authority but only tests the skills of the applicant." Sources, however, say that this is the first time that such a large-scale verification of licences has been carried out, especially of those coming in through the board. "It's a serious matter, and we are hoping to weed out the culprits soon," added the official.

Not surprisingly, officially, the department says the verification is a "routine" drive. The official said, "Licences of almost 2,000 drivers are being verified on a routine basis." Sources though claim that the internal vigilance report will be coming in shortly, and that action was expected to be taken as soon as the findings were made available. Meanwhile, the inquiry has put a hiatus on current recruitment in the DTC, admitted officials.


Posted by Rajeev Lochan Sharma at 2:47 PM 0 comments

Metro feeder bus owners cry foul over Gramin Sewa autos

Wednesday, April 13, 2011




After the nine-seater Gramin Seva autos faced flak for plying without driving licenses, overcrowding and dangerous driving, the new complaint against them is plying on routes not assigned to them. The transport department had chalked out 66 routes on which the 5,060 permitted autos can ply. However, complaints poured in from West Enclave in Rani Bagh where these autos were seen plying between Rani Bagh and Britannia Chowk even though no Gramin Sewa Autos have been assigned this route.

Delhi Traffic Police received a complaint from drivers of DMRC feeder buses in the area on Monday evening that several of these Gramin Sewa Autos were plying unchecked in the area, thus taking away commuters the feeder buses cater to. "We deployed traffic personnel to check these claims and found eight such Gramin Sewa Autos plying in the area which have been booked for RC and permit violation and dangerous driving. Four more such autos were impounded on Tuesday morning, but it appears that word had spread following the prosecutions as no more such autos were seen in the area afterwards. If we receive similar complaints from other areas we will certainly take action immediately," said joint commissioner of police (traffic) Satyendra Garg.

Bijan Mukherjee, one of the complainants to the DTP in this regard, said, "We noted the number plates of 44 such autos that were plying on this route and presented them to the traffic cops. We had earlier approached senior traffic cops of our area who had claimed that these Gramin Sewa autos had applied for plying in this route to the transport department and the court, so they were not sure whether to prosecute them. We then decided to approach other senior officers. We will protest at Rohini court on Wednesday, when the auto drivers are supposed to appear in front of the court, as this route is strictly assigned to metro feeder buses. Last month, 70 such Gramin Sewa autos were made to leave the route between Shadipur and Inderpuri by traffic cops. Similar action should have been taken in our area but was not done."

The Sewa was aimed to cater to rural areas where the reach of DTC buses is limited. Accordingly, 66 such routes were chalked out by the transport department in the first week of March and each auto allotted a route. However, with the route assigned to the auto not displayed in the vehicle, it becomes difficult to check for route violations. "A system needs to be in place like the Blueline buses where the route assigned to the auto is displayed prominently. The transport department has uploaded the route numbers assigned to autos, but it is difficult to check route violations in this manner. We were not consulted regarding assigning of routes and the criterion for it," explained a senior traffic police officer.


Posted by Rajeev Lochan Sharma at 2:47 PM 0 comments

Survey to rationalize bus routes

Tuesday, April 12, 2011




If you've been complaining about buses not being available on your route, get online. The Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) is conducting a survey on rationalization of the existing bus routes. The survey, which started on Monday, asks for public opinion on where buses should go, and will try to quantify the frequency of traffic on current routes while identifying new ones.

The survey, for which the transport department of the Delhi government had given the go-ahead some months ago, can be filled not only on the transport department website but also on the DIMTS website (www.dimts.in). The form is a simple questionnaire and asks for modes of travel used by people on the bus routes, including walk trips, as well as the cost of the travel. It also asks for suggestions for improvement along with the frequency of change of buses to reach a destination.

Officials in the transport department admitted that the survey comes after several complaints about a lack of balance in bus routes in the current schedule. According to officials, once the survey has been completed, the findings will be compiled and used to rationalize the existing routes. The rationalization will also focus on the recent alternative modes of transport that have become available, and will do away with the archaic routes. "For instance, routes with Metro corridors will have fewer buses running on them," said the official. At present, the routes are based on manual estimation of bus ridership. However, with an operations control and a data centre coming up soon, all records will be automated and estimates made afresh.

Added a transport official, "The DMRC has also written to the state government to rationalize bus routes where the Metro has its network. We are working on it, and may limit the number of buses in certain routes where the Metro runs," he added. Also in the plans to revamp the transport system is a common ticketing system for Metro and DTC bus services. However, this is expected to take some time.

The survey, which will identify bus travel patterns and revamp the public transport system, will aim to minimize travel time for commuters, make travel seamless with easier changeovers of buses and properly timed frequency of buses. The survey format will register preferred travel patterns as well as the convenience of operators, so that rationalization of the routes can be effected. Once the study is completed, experts will look at the available number of DTC buses under the new cluster scheme and place them accordingly. Officials said currently, there are 650 bus routes, of which, only around 300 are operational. The rest were suspended as they were not feasible.


Posted by Rajeev Lochan Sharma at 2:46 PM 0 comments

Friday, April 15, 2011

DTC buses turning into new 'killers'

Sunday, April 10, 2011




The Delhi-government run buses appear to be turning the 'killer Blueline' way registering almost double the number of fatal accidents in the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year.

According to Delhi Police statistics, 21 fatal accidents were reported by Delhi Transport Corporation buses this year till March 31 as against 11 during the corresponding period last year.

"This makes a sharp increase in fatal accidents by DTC buses. People have been raising serious concerns about how dangerously the DTC buses ply on the road and the same is reflected in fatalities caused by these vehicles," Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of police (Traffic), said.

He pointed out that the strength of DTC buses has gone up but did not feel that it would alone account for the sharp increase in accidents. "Surely the way the DTC buses are being driven leaves much to be desired," he said.

To check the menace, he said, traffic police have prosecuted these vehicles whenever grave violations "come to our notice".

"As against 454 prosecutions in first three month last year, there has been a quantum jump of prosecutions this year to touch 1,799, which is nearly four times than last year," he said.

Police have also impounded 234 DTC buses when violations were serious. Last year, the number of buses impounded were 39 in the same period.

"All these measures and sensitizeing senior officers of DTC about the ground situation, it is hoped, will lead to better situation during the rest of the year. People rightly expect government-owned DTC buses to be model for public transport," he said.

He also pointed out that another menace on the road was the Gramin Sewa autos meant to cater to rural areas.

"These vehicles are flouting all rules of road discipline and beside extreme overcrowding these are menace to safety and traffic flow as well. We are prosecuting them vigorously despite people sometime accusing traffic police of patronising these vehicles.

"I am not denying corrupt traffic police personnel maybe taking money from them but let me mention the prosecutions in last month or so have been 2,961 including 296 cases of impounding," Garg said.

Garg said that when he interacted with presiding magistrates of traffic courts they told him that despite overloading by the Gramin Sewa autos, the officials do not charge them with permit violation.


Posted by Rajeev Lochan Sharma at 2:23 PM 0 comments

HC stays Khan Market parking fee plan

Saturday, April 09, 2011




The Delhi high court on Friday granted a stay on the New Delhi Municipal Council's (NDMC) decision to levy a vehicle parking fee in Khan Market.

Justice S Muralidhar suspended the council's decision, which was to be implemented from next week, on a plea by Khan Market traders.

During the hearing on the traders' plea, the court was surprised to be informed that NDMC has decided to charge for parking on the basis of an instruction from Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA). The EPCA had advised that this will reduce pollution, according to NDMC. The traders wondered what the co-relation between parking fee and pollution was and assailed the decision on this ground, saying the market had till now been held as an example to be followed as far as free parking was concerned.

Arguing for the traders, counsel Sanjiv Sachdeva alleged that "the NDMC's decision is discriminatory as there are various areas in the NDMC zones where free parking is still permitted".

"The market complex is visited by high-profile clientele comprising diplomats, politicians, judges, high government officials and, as a result, the market is under constant scrutiny with regard to the facility and amenities available," the traders added, protesting against the parking fee move.

HC's attention was also drawn to the fact that till now there is no parking mafia in the upscale market but NDMC's attempt to charge for parking might lead to a mafia mushrooming in the area.

Parking at the market has been free for the past 60 years. The tender for the paid parking has been awarded to a private company. In the petition, the traders also sought an order to quash the civic agency's step awarding the tender to a private company to run the paid parking system.


Posted by Rajeev Lochan Sharma at 7:01 AM 0 comments

Friday, April 8, 2011

Driving decorum: Saif to educate motorists

Friday, April 08, 2011




If you want to win some words of praise by none other than Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan, this is just the right time. All that you need to do is follow traffic rules while driving on city roads. On Monday, Saif will educate people about dos and don'ts on the road at Central Delhi. All those who follow traffic norms will receive a card of appreciation from the star himself and may also get a chance to get his/her photograph clicked with the star. The violators, however, would get a lesson from him on importance of following road rules. Saif will be accompanied by a group of traffic police officials on Monday.

"The card will be autographed by Saif Ali Khan himself," said Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of police (traffic).

According to officials, the star, who has been shooting in Delhi for his forthcoming film Agent Vinod, appreciated the efforts of Delhi Traffic Police to improve traffic management. "He has accepted our proposal to educate motorists," said a senior officer of the traffic department.

Involvement of celebrities in the mission helps a lot. "People, especially the youngsters, tend to make celebrities their role models. It has a huge impact on the youngsters who often violate traffic norms," said Garg.

Recently, when the cricket World Cup fever had gripped the city, traffic department brought legendary players of yesteryears like Kapil Dev, Bishen Singh Bedi, Kirti Azad to educate the people.

However, Saif will be there in Central Delhi on Monday sometime during noon. Traffic police, however, would decide the locations on Monday itself after observing traffic situation.


Posted by Rajeev Lochan Sharma at 3:17 AM 0 comments

Delhi may soon levy congestion fee on vehicles

Friday, April 08, 2011




Delhi may soon become the first city in the country to levy congestion charges on vehicles following the recommendation of a special team constituted by the Delhi High Court to address the capital's growing traffic woes. Delhi has almost 70 lakh vehicles, which is more than what the other three metros together have. 

Plus, there are 11 lakh vehicles entering the capital everyday from adjoining towns, slowing average speed on its roads to a crawling 12 kmph. The best way to deal with it is to slap a traffic congestion fee on vehicles that will encourage people to use public transport, feels the high-power special task force, constituted by the high court to minimise congestion, reduce pollution and ensure equitable access to all classes of vehicles. 

"There is congestion and we are looking at various things to reduce it," Delhi's Principal Secretary and Transport Commissioner RK Verma told ET. "We are studying in detail the plans for congestion charges which are at a conceptual stage," he added. Government officials said that the special team has proposed different options to introduce the congestion charges in the city based on the principle of "those who congest must pay". 

Among the options being looked at include targeting the large number of outstation vehicles entering the city with entry charges and levying entry fees and increasing parking charges at central business districts such as Connaught Place, Lajpat Nagar and Karol Bagh. The congestion charge will minimise use of personal transport in favour of public transport systems like metro, buses, rail and BRT which despite rapid expansions in the recent past has failed to curb growth of private cars, which consume one-tenth of Delhi's space for parking. 

By imposing congestion charges, Delhi will join the league of modern cities like London, Beijing and Singapore that have imposed heavy congestion charges during peak hours, high road tax and restricting registration of new vehicles to discourage private vehicles. In London, motorists pay £10 daily to travels to central city between 7am and 6 pm. Cities such as Pune, Mumbai and Bangalore too are expected to impose congestion charges on vehicles soon. The Delhi government has already implemented a multipronged strategy to deal with traffic blues including developing public transport systems such as metro rail and modern bus transport system and increasing registration and taxation of personal vehicles significantly last year. 

Experts, however, believe that the implementation of the congestion charge will be hampered by lack of technical expertise like a comprehensive electronic data of all vehicle and computerised levy collections. "We lack the technical means to collect fee and other charges from personal motorised transport," said Madhu Kiswar of Manushi Sangathan, a Delhi-based NGO working in mobility. "The growing numbers of private vehicle are difficult to manage and adding to it massive government-owned vehicle in the Capital will further burden any such system." 

Traffic Rules 

Congestion charge will minimise use of personal transport in favour of public transport systems like Metro , buses, rail and BRT . 

A special team has proposed different options to introduce the congestion charges in the city based on the principle of "those who congest must pay" . 

By imposing congestion charges, Delhi will join the league of modern cities such as London, Beijing and Singapore.


Posted by Rajeev Lochan Sharma at 3:16 AM 0 comments

Parking: Khan Market traders move HC

Friday, April 08, 2011




Traders from Khan Market in the capital have approached the Delhi High Court challenging the New Delhi Municipal Council's decision to charge money for parking vehicles at the market from next week. 

Justice S Muralidhar, before whom the petition came up for hearing on Thursday, posted the matter for Friday while directing the counsel for NDMC to seek instructions from the department on the issue. 

Filing a petition through counsel Sanjiv Sachdeva, the Khan Market traders' association has questioned the logic behind NDMC's move, arguing that "the NDMC's decision is discriminatory as there are various areas in the NDMC zones where free parking is still permitted." 

"The market complex is visited by high-profile clients including diplomats, politicians, judges, high government officials, and because of this the market is under constant scrutiny with regard to facilities and amenities available with the market," the traders said, protesting the move to introduce parking fee. 


Posted by Rajeev Lochan Sharma at 3:16 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Taking picture of vehicle must before towing

Thursday, April 07, 2011




After getting many complaints against cops demanding bribes with threats of towing away vehicles , Delhi Traffic Police have asked all contractors who provide cranes to the department to come equipped with a digital camera. 

"Starting Friday, it will become mandatory for traffic personnel to take a picture of the vehicle errantly parked before attempting to tow it away. Towing a vehicle without taking a picture will be illegal. This will not just ensure that no bribes are taken by the traffic cops, but also help in keeping proof of the errant vehicle, if required," explained joint commissioner of police (traffic) Satyendra Garg. 

In a new order issued to the dozen-odd private contractors who supply the 58 cranes to Delhi Traffic Police, both the contractor as well as the traffic personnel will become liable if they attempt to tow a vehicle without taking a picture of the vehicle first. Each of the contractors signed the new contract on Monday. 

"It has been found that traffic constables demand bribe in exchange of not towing away an errantly parked vehicle or threaten to tow away a vehicle if not given a bribe even if the vehicle is not flouting any norms. The new order should be able to curb the problem," explained a senior traffic police officer. 

The move comes after a traffic constable Sukhram, posted in East of Kailash area, was caught red-handed taking a bribe after a Facebook user tipped off senior traffic officials of the incident. 

The traffic cop was spotted taking a bribe from a building contractor to stop the towing of a cement mixer in East of Kailash by a citizen who posted the same on the Delhi Traffic Police Facebook page. The corrupt cop was caught red-handed with the bribe of Rs 1000. Cops said the bribe had been recovered and departmental action has been initiated against the corrupt cop and two of his superiors. "While Sukhram was placed under suspension, action was initiated action against the ZO and TI for allowing cement mixers to be there during no-entry timings and not ensuring that cranes work for the right purpose ," explained JCP Garg.


Posted by Rajeev Lochan Sharma at 10:13 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Rlys seek MCD help to decongest station

Wednesday, April 06, 2011




To Decongest the Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station, the Railways have been trying to come up with a new entry point at the Sarai Kale Khan end. However, a parking lot run by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi is standing in the way.

In order to put its plan into action, the Railways have proposed that the MCD shift its parking lot to a nearby area, which is currently lying unutilised.

The entry from the ISBT side caters to approximately 50 per cent of the passengers coming to the station. To facilitate easy movement, the Railways are planning an additional platform, which will directly lead into the station premises.

Following an inspection of the Sarai Kale Khan entry of the Nizamuddin Railway Station along with MCD

Commissioner K S Mehra, Engineer-in-Chief Ravi Dass and Transport department Additional Commissioner J S Sandhu in February, Divisional Railway Manager Ashwani Lohani wrote to then Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta. "The entry area is a mess, and needs to be improved for the convenience of the travelling public. At present, there is a scooter parking area that is operated by the MCD on land belonging to the Transport department, adjoining the foot-overbridge landing. The Railways might want this piece of land to develop a proper entry gate, booking windows and passenger holding area for the convenience of the public. The existing parking can then be conveniently shifted to the adjoining vacant plot of land," Lohani wrote to Mehta on February 14.

A reminder on the issue was sent to the Chief Secretary on March 18, requesting that a meeting be called for resolving the issue. However, officials said there is no response yet, and with a new Chief Secretary stepping in, the matter is likely to see more delay.

Officials said the Transport department has informed the Railways that the proposal to redevelop the Sarai Kale Khan ISBT has been approved by the UTTIPEC, and tenders have also been floated.

"Since that project will take at least 24 months for completion, if the land at the existing parking is transferred by MCD to the Railways, we can develop this area for an entry to the Nizamuddin Railway station. The plan is to create a hub in this area connecting the railway station to the ISBT through a skywalk and walkator," said a senior Railways official.

A plot of 5,000 sq m has been identified near the transport authority office for relocating the parking lot.

"The approximate distance of this plot from the station is 150m, which can be linked through the means of a skywalk. Essential services such as washrooms, queuing area with additional booking and PRS counters and bigger waiting halls have been proposed under this skywalk," a senior official said.


Posted by Rajeev Lochan Sharma at 10:29 PM 0 comments

Illegal parking drive paying off for MCD

Wednesday, April 06, 2011




MCD's move to crack down on illegal parking seems to have paid off. The civic agency's revenue from parking has doubled in the past year. Though MCD has regularized 75 illegal parking sites in the past few months, MCD officials say that strict implementation of parking rules is the main reason for the increase in revenue. 

During 2009-10, MCD collected Rs 61.13 crore from parking sites, whose number doubled last year. Following that, MCD has collected Rs 122.08 crore from parking. "We have taken several measures to bring down the number of illegal parkings in the city. Last year, we had floated tenders for 225 parking sites, which were operating illegally. Of these, nearly 75 parking lots were regularized," said asenior MCD official. 

Another possible reason for the sharp increase in revenue from parking is strict enforcement of rules. To check parking of the vehicles beyond the permitted area by the parking contractors, the civic agency imposed the system of paying damage charges. "Contractors are supposed to pay 10 times the parking charges for extra vehicles in an authorized parking lot," said an MCD official.


Posted by Rajeev Lochan Sharma at 10:29 PM 0 comments

Head constables can't stop, fine commercial vehicles: New order

Tuesday, April 05, 2011




After enforcing road discipline among Delhiites, Delhi traffic police is now focusing on cleaning up its own department. To start with, traffic police have taken away the power from head constables to stop any commercial vehicle even if it violates traffic norms. This decision was taken after sev 

Several complaints of bribes being taken by head constables from commercial vehicles were received.Many of these complaints were also lodged on the social networking site Facebook.

Policemen accepting bribe from a commercial vehicle is a common sight at several intersections in the city including Punjabi Bagh circle, Azadpur Mandi and Badarpur border among other locations.

"There have been instances where traffic head constables stopped commercial vehicles for traffic violations and took bribe from them to let them off," said a senior traffic police officer.

Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of police (traffic) on Tuesday issued the order in this respect.

He said: "No head constable or a constable, whether on motorcycle or at traffic intersections will stop any commercial vehicle for traffic violations. If they notice any violation, they can fill up the violation slip for the violation by the vehicle. Any violation of the order would invite serious disciplinary action," Garg said.

He clarified that only a zonal officer of the sub-inspector or inspector rank or an officer of the department can stop and prosecute a commercial vehicle.

A head constable can fine anybody for a violation that does not have a penalty of more than R100.

"Our motto is not depriving a head constable from policing rights but from getting bribe," he added.

Traffic department has a total of 1,338 head constables of who 600 are deployed in the chase-and-challan wing.

With this new order in force, traffic police has seized the right of head constables to even chase commercial vehicles and fine them.

Now the head constables' role will be restricted to penalising people for violations of stop line, red-light jumping, triple riding on two wheelers, driving two wheelers without helmets, improper parking and defective number plates of non-commercial vehicles among others.


Posted by Rajeev Lochan Sharma at 10:28 PM 0 comments

Driving sans licence can land you behind bars

Tuesday, April 05, 2011




In a bid to bring down road accidents, the Delhi Traffic Police have decided to put motorists caught without a valid licence behind bars. What's more, the police will move court to award jail custody to motorists, including parents of minors, who drive on city roads without valid papers. A 

 
round 100 people are caught driving without valid licence on the city roads every day, sources said.
"They contribute to road accidents to a large extent," said a senior officer of traffic police.

On Saturday, traffic police issued challans to 83 people for driving without licence.

Failing to cope with the problem of accidents by just slapping a fine of Rs500, the traffic police have decided to send them to jail.

According to Section 181 of Motor Vehicles Act, whoever drives without valid licence shall get imprisonment for up to three months or R500 or both.

This year till March 15, more than 5,500 people have been challaned for driving without licence. "We are approaching court to send drivers without licence to jail at least for a day to start with," said Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of police (traffic).


Posted by Rajeev Lochan Sharma at 12:48 PM 0 comments

NHAI asks Delhi govt to take over RTR-DK stretch

Monday, April 04, 2011




The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has requested the Delhi government to take over the stretch between RTR Crossing and Dhaula Kuan. For the past four years, the NHAI had been looking at various options, including building flyovers, to bypass the three traffic signals over the stretch. However, it has now abandoned the endeavour.

This means that commuters using this stretch will have to live with the daily snarls for some more years. A senior NHAI official said that they had written to the Delhi chief secretary a fortnight ago about the handover of the road. He added that the NHAI had appointed a consultant and was planning to clear the mess since the traffic jam was spilling over to the main expressway during peak hours.

Because of the poor distribution and disbursement of traffic at all the three intersections between RTR flyover and Dhaula Kuan, the vehicles pile up back on to the main flyover. During evening peak hours, crossing this small stretch takes at least 20 minutes. "The comfort of using the expressway ends as soon as you get off the main highway," said Bhawani Tripathi, a daily commuter.

NHAI officials said considering this ordeal of commuters they had engaged the consultant. "However, the unified body set up for approving all road and transport projects in Delhi, UTTIPEC, did not clear the plan. So, we carried out beautification on this stretch before the Commonwealth Games," one of them said.

He added that since the study report is with the NHAI, they would pass it on to Delhi government for reference or use. PWD, which will now take over the stretch, will hire RITES to carry out a feasibility study of the entire area that will include Dhaula Kuan, RTR and a part of Aurobindo Marg joining Outer Ring Road to manage the traffic mess.

"This is being done to find a comprehensive solution. The traffic flow on stretch has serious implications on the other points. The holistic study will help us for long-term plans," said PWD engineer-in-chief Rakesh Mishra.

For the past four years, NHAI had been looking at various options, including building flyovers, to bypass the three traffic signals over the stretch. It has now abandoned the endeavour.


Posted by Rajeev Lochan Sharma at 12:47 PM 0 comments
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