by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate finance, Corporate Governance, Corporate Jobs, Employment, Government Jobs, News, Politics
Arvind Kejriwal
New Delhi : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said his government is ready to pay half the grants-in-aid for the next five years to DMRC to avoid a Metro fare hike if the central government is ready to pay the other half.
“As for as your suggestion regarding a grant to DMRC for meeting the gap in their operating finances, my government is willing to bear half the grant if only a matching grant is provided by the Central Government,” Kejriwal said in his letter to Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
Kejriwal’s letter, dated October 8, further said: “As you know, the central government and Delhi Government are 50-50 owners of DMRC and its equity etc. have been shared in this proportion all along. Let an assessment be made of the financial gap likely to be created on account of the postponement of the second fare hike and we will be able to bear half of it.
“Since the central government bears 100 per cent of loss for Kolkata Metro, I see no difficulty if it bears 50 per cent in case of Delhi. Thereafter, an FFC (Fare Fixation Committee) can be constituted, as suggested by you.”
Kejriwal, through his letter, also informed the central government to his government’s readiness to take over DMRC if it wants.
“If the central government agrees, Delhi government would be willing to take over DMRC. We are confident that we will be able to fund DMRC by improving the efficiency rather than effecting steep fare hikes and provide an affordable means of transport to the people of Delhi.
“However, till that happens, let the spirit of partnership prevail and I do hope that you will find a mutually acceptable solution to the present impasse relating to the second fare hike which we clearly regard as anti-people,” he wrote.
Kejriwal’s reaction came in response to Puri’s suggestion to him to give over Rs 3,000 crore annually to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) if he wants to hold the proposed Metro fare hike.
Puri had said to Kejriwal through his letter dated October 6 that the Metro Act did not allow the central government to put on hold the fare hike. He also noted that the alternative to fare hike was to provide DMRC yearly grants-in-aid for the next five years: Rs 3,040 crore, Rs 3,616 crore, Rs 3,318 crore, Rs 3,150 crore and Rs 2,980 crore respectively.
Puri was responding to a letter from Kejriwal on September 29 asking the central government to put the hike on hold.
The AAP government has opposed the fare hike proposed from October 10. It has locked horns with the Delhi Metro Rail Corp (DMRC) over the impending second hike this year, following the recommendation of the fourth FFC.
The DMRC defended its decision by saying its input costs had gone up over the years and the increase was at par with Metro rails in other cities.
The Delhi assembly will meet on Monday to discuss the proposed hike.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate Governance, News, Politics
New Delhi : As AAP leaders continued to oppose the proposed Metro fair hike, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday asked Delhi government representatives in the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Board to call for an emergency meeting over the matter.
The AAP government has locked horns with the DMRC over the hike proposed to be enforced from October 10, the second this year. The last hike was effected in May.
Kejriwal directed Delhi government representatives to give notice immediately for convening such a meeting, a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office said.
Earlier in the day, during a meeting attended by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot, Chief Secretary M.M. Kutty, and other government officials, Kejriwal directed Kutty to apprise the DMRC Board about the notice for the sought-for meeting.
“The Delhi government is of the clear view that Delhi Metro’s decision to further burden its commuters, already reeling under the adverse impact of steep fare hike in May, will only result in reduced ridership, forcing them to look for vehicular modes of transport,” the statement read.
In May, the minimum fare went up from Rs 8 to Rs 10 and the maximum from Rs 30 to Rs 50.
Last Thursday, Kejriwal asked Gahlot to find within a week a way to stop the “anti-people” fare hike.
Gahlot met DMRC Managing Director Mangu Singh and asked for putting on hold the proposed hike till the Delhi government completed an inquiry on the matter.
On Friday, the AAP warned of a protest campaign if the DMRC remained adamant on increasing the Metro fares.
The DMRC defended its decision on fare hike by saying that its input costs have gone up over the years, and the increase is at par with Metro rails in other cities.
On Saturday, Kejriwal urged Union Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Puri to direct the DMRC to withhold the fair hike and on Sunday called for an independent audit of DMRC’s accounts.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate Buzz
Arvind Kejriwal (File Photo)
New Delhi: (IANS) The Central government has returned to the Delhi government 14 bills passed by the Delhi assembly, triggering a fresh row between the BJP-led NDA and the AAP regime in the national capital.
Centre rejects 14 bills passed by Delhi Assembly. Shouldn’t Delhi Assembly have the power to make its own laws, the Aam Aadmi Party said on its twitter handle as news about the Central government decision went viral on social networking and television channels.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal lost no time in attacking the Central government and also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Modi’s slogan — Na kaam karoonga, na karne doonga (Neither will I work, nor will I let others work),” Kejriwal tweeted.
He also said the central government had no intention of clearing the bills. “They are interfering in everything.”
“Should the central government have the right to block every work done by the Delhi government? Is the Centre the headmaster of the Delhi government,” he asked.
Confirming that some draft legislations passed by the Delhi Assembly have been sent back, a source in the Union Home Ministry said: The Delhi government has been asked to clarify on certain issues in the bills.”
The returned bills reportedly include the Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill 2015 which the AAP had described as the “strongest anti-corruption legislation in the country.
Supporting the Central government decision, the leader of the opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the bills passed by Delhi Assembly had legal loopholes and alleged that the Kejriwal government has not been following the established procedures in the matters.
AAP spokesperson Sanjay Singh alleged that among the bills sent back by the Centre include matters related to running of private schools in Delhi, minimum wages, citizen charter bill, and the Majithia Wage Board report bill for journalists.
The Modi government has stopped three bills related to check the loot by the private schools, Singh said in a series of tweets.
The return of the bills comes close on the heels of President Pranab Mukherjee declining to give his assent to a bill to exclude the post of Parliamentary Secretaries from the “Office of Profit”.
AAP legislator Somnath Bharti lashed out at the Central government saying it is not allowing the Delhi government to work in the interests of people of Delhi”.
In the past also the central government has been interfering in every aspect of the governance in the city, Bharti said.
BJP leader R.P. Singh alleged that the Delhi government does not follow the rule of law.
Delhi is a Central-administered state which means everything has to pass through the Lt. Governor, and then only can it go to the Centre; but they (Delhi government) says they don’t believe in the law and the system, Singh said.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi, (IANS) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government for overexpenditure on advertisements marking the completion of the central government’s two year in office.
“Modi government spend on ads for just one event 2 year bash? Sources- more than Rs.1,000 crore,” Kejriwal tweeted.
“All Delhi government departments total spend less than Rs.150 crore for full year,” he said in another tweet.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief has been on the loggerheads with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the issue of overexpenditure on the advertisements.
The AAP government had also faced flak from the opposition parties over printing advertisements during the second phase of the Delhi government’s odd-even scheme in the national capital between April 15 to 30
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Economy, News
New Delhi, (IANS) Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday flagged off the trial run of a driverless Metro train here.
The trial run started at the Mukundpur depot of Delhi Metro and ended at Majalis Park station on the Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar corridor of phase 3.
The new train will undergo rigorous trials to ensure these are ready for smooth operations after the commissioning of the new corridors.
“Initially, train operators will run them for around a year before completely switching to unmanned train operations,” a statement from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation said.
Later, Naidu and Kejriwal stressed the need to improve public transport system to reduce air pollution in Delhi.
“Air pollution cannot be reduced till the time people switch to public transport and that will happen only when we have an efficient system in place,” Kejriwal said.
Naidu said the Delhi government’s odd-even traffic scheme was a temporary measure to reduce air pollution.
“We need a strong and vibrant public transport system to make people leave their cars. The Delhi Metro has helped a great deal in this direction and the upcoming phase will see more people opting for Metro for commuting,” the union minister said.
The driverless train is manufactured at Changwon in South Korea. It arrived in India at the Mundra port in Gujarat and was brought by road to Delhi on specially-made trailers.
