Chennai earns NGT's ire over menace of multi-layered plastic
In a stern warning issued last week, a bench of Justice Pushpa Satyanarayana and expert member K Satyagopal said that if action taken reports are not submitted by the next hearing on August 14, each party would have to pay Rs 20,000 to file their reports.
'If the state has not moved an inch in complying with the order, heavy penalties will follow,' the tribunal said. The warning came in response to an execution application filed by environmental activist Antony Clement Rubin, seeking enforcement of the tribunal's August 2023 order.
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Hindustan Times
9 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Only 7 ELVs impounded on Day 2 of crackdown
Enforcement efforts in Delhi's crackdown on end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) faltered dramatically by Wednesday — the second day of the drive — with just seven vehicles impounded across the city, transport department data revealed. The drop in numbers comes after Tuesday's relentless showdown between authorities and rogue drivers at fuel stations in the Capital. As part of the drive to seize old vehicles at the Noida-Delhi border, the traffic police on Tuesday carried out an enforcement drive to check end-of-life vehicles (ELVs). (Sunil Ghosh / Hindustan Times) Officials said 78 ELVs were spotted on CCTV at petrol pumps on Wednesday, but only seven were seized — three each by the traffic police and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), and one by the transport department. As for the remaining 71, some drivers fled the fuel stations outright, while others produced valid no objection certificates (NOCs) to move their vehicles outside the National Capital Region (NCR). In a few instances, enforcement teams were not present at the fuel stations when the violations occurred. On Day One of the drive on Tuesday, enforcement teams had managed to impound 80 ELVs after identifying 98 ELVs. The campaign follows directives from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Supreme Court banning petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 years from operating in Delhi, citing their role in worsening air pollution. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), which is monitoring enforcement, has said Delhi has 6.2 million registered ELVs. However, a senior official aware of the data said the actual number of ELVs still plying on city roads is likely closer to 600,000 — about 10% of the total cited. According to the Delhi Statistical Handbook 2004, Delhi has 8.1 million active registered vehicles, excluding scrapped and deregistered units. Fuel stations across the city reported a noticeable dip in sales on Wednesday, with owners saying many vehicle users appeared to be avoiding refuelling altogether. 'We observed that people generally stayed away from petrol pumps. Most locations, especially near the borders with Gurugram and Noida, saw very muted footfall,' said Nishchal Singhania, president of the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association. 'It seems people were fearful of being penalised, possibly for other offences, even if they didn't own an ELV, and chose to avoid fuel stations altogether.' Transport minister Pankaj Kumar Singh and environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the Delhi government is compiling a report on the ongoing ELV enforcement, which will be submitted to CAQM shortly. 'Our government is in compliance with all court directions under which we are taking action against ELVs. We will be compiling a report of all the measures we are taking,' said Singh. Singh said the crackdown is being carried out in accordance with NGT and Supreme Court rulings, while Sirsa indicated that the government would ask CAQM to review the fuel ban mandate. 'Why should Delhi alone suffer because of the inaction of the previous government? These norms are not enforced anywhere else in the country. We are going to write to CAQM to review the decision,' Sirsa said, accusing the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of failing to keep ELVs off the roads. 'Unlike other metro cities such as Mumbai, Kolkata or Bengaluru, such restrictions became necessary only in Delhi because of their (AAP's) inaction. Courts kept telling them that their strategies — like odd-even — were ineffective, but they did not listen,' he said. Sirsa added that the government is currently undertaking a number of pollution control measures, including installing anti-smog guns on high-rises, repairing roads, enforcing dust-control norms at construction sites, and clearing the Capital's landfill sites by 2027. But the political blame game only intensified on Wednesday, with Leader of Opposition and AAP MLA Atishi calling the fuel ban a 'Tughlaqi' order, and accusing the BJP of colluding with automobile manufacturers. 'This action will force 62 lakh (6.2 million) people to buy new vehicles, and the profits will go straight to auto giants. BJP must reveal how much donation it has received from vehicle manufacturers,' Atishi said. HT had earlier reported that CAQM, citing VAHAN data, estimated that Delhi had 6.2 million ELVs — 4.1 million two-wheelers and 1.8 million four-wheelers. However, officials clarified that this figure includes de-registered vehicles, scrapped units, and those with NOCs allowing a year's grace to sell outside NCR.
Time of India
17 minutes ago
- Time of India
Fake helpline scam: Man loses Rs 14.9 lakh to cyber frauds
Ghaziabad: A 47-year-old man was cheated of Rs 14.9 lakh after he mistook a number given on Google search as the customer care helpline for streaming app Hotstar. Basuki Nath Singh, a resident of Sanjay Nagar in Sector 23, said in his complaint that he got notifications on June 24 and 25 that Rs 299 was automatically deducted from his Google Pay account to pay for his Hotstar subscription. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Singh, who works with a private firm, said he searched online for Hotstar's customer care because he believed two payments had been made for his monthly subscription to the streaming service. "I called the number and asked that my money should be returned. The person on the call told me that I would receive a link on my WhatsApp number. After clicking it, a total of Rs 14,78,900 was withdrawn from my account between June 27 and June 29," Singh said in his complaint. He said he didn't get any mobile or e-mail notification from the bank about these transactions. "On June 29, I discovered the fraud and found out that on the same day, the fraudster had deleted all data from my phone," he said. Cyber police station SHO Santosh Singh said an FIR was registered on Singh's complaint under Section 318(4) (cheating) of BNS and relevant provisions of the IT Act. "Investigation has begun. We have already contacted the bank for details of where the money was transferred," the SHO said.
Time of India
17 minutes ago
- Time of India
CBI arrests six, including three doctors in Chhattisgarh pvt med college bribery case
Raipur: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested six individuals, including three doctors, for allegedly accepting bribes to manipulate private medical college recognition reports in Chhattisgarh. On Wednesday, all accused were produced before the Special Court in Raipur. The CBI carried out searches at more than 40 locations across Karnataka, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Madhya Pradesh in connection with the case, a CBI spokesperson said on Tuesday. A case was registered against the office-bearers of Shri Rawatpura Sarkar Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Nava Raipur, Chhattisgarh, inspecting doctors, and other intermediaries for manipulating the statutory inspection process conducted for recognition of the medical college, in return for bribes, as quoted in a CBI statement. The CBI apprehended six individuals while they were transacting the bribe amount of Rs 55 lakh. As demanded by the inspecting doctors, the bribe amount was delivered in Bengaluru, the statement said. According to CBI sources, the institute's office bearers and intermediaries actively tried to influence the inspecting doctors appointed for the process. The CBI conducted a carefully planned sting operation after receiving credible information and caught all six accused red-handed during the bribe transaction. Preliminary investigations reveal that the accused used multiple strategies to unlawfully influence the inspection process to obtain favourable reports. The CBI may seek custody of the accused for further interrogation. The agency emphasised that this case is significant in rooting out corruption within the medical education system. The Rs 55 lakh bribe was reportedly paid in Bengaluru. The probe is ongoing, with further questioning and forensic examination of documents underway.
