Latest news with #Delhiites'
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Hariyali Teej 2025: Sawan swings, smiles galore at Teej Mela in Dilli Haat
Delhiites' love for Teej is on point when it comes to #FestiveGoals. On Hariyali Teej, today, here's a glimpse of the masti, music, and monsoon vibes at the three-day Teej Mahotsav 2025, organised by Delhi Tourism. Delhi's Chief Minister Rekha Gupta cheers on as singer Jasbir Jassi enthrals the crowd on day one of Teej Mahotsav 2025; (Right) Performing artistes welcome visitors at the mela. (Photo: PTI) Among the many who turned up on day one was Loveleen Bala, who shared, 'Teej festival is very close to my heart as I'm a Rajasthani. So me and my sister-in-laws visited this mela and enjoyed a lot… The highlight was to see our CM Rekha ji present as Punjabi singer, Jassi sang beautifully.' Teej is all about celebrating the colours, culture and tradition. That brought me to this mela. Shivani Singh, Lifestyle influencer Among many who were spotted enjoying at the mela was Ananya, a standard XII student, who said, 'My family celebrates Teej big time. This year when my mum said she wants to visit the mela, I brought along my childhood friend, Vanya. Must say, it turned out to be quite fun!' I'm visiting from Sydney (Australia), and feel happy to see that in the modern times the Teej traditions are still intact! It's our culture that keeps us all going. Swati Gupta, Food entrepreneur Swati Gupta (extreme left) splurged on shopping handmade artefacts, with her sister, at the mela. (Photo: Shantanu Bhattacharya/HT) Catch It Live What: Teej Mahotsav 2025 Where: Dilli Haat, Pitampura When: July 25 to 27 Timing: 11am to 9pm Nearest Metro Station: Netaji Subash Place (Red & Pink Lines) Story by Rena Blessy Bolimera For more, follow HT City Delhi Junction
The Hindu
04-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Delhi government says it won't scrap old vehicles; cites public backlash, systemic challenges
The Delhi government will clean the city's air but will not allow impounding of 'end of life' vehicles (ELVs), Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said on Thursday (July 3, 2025), citing public backlash and systemic challenges in implementing the anti-pollution measure. The Minister said he had written to the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM), requesting a hold on its directive, which had mandated fuel stations to deny petrol or diesel to ELVs starting July 1 and authorised their impounding based on automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera identification. 'We will clean Delhi's environment, but will not allow Delhiites' vehicles to be impounded. This is the resolution of our Chief Minister Rekha Guptaji – her promise to the people,' Mr. Sirsa said at a press conference. Ms. Gupta said her government will make 'all efforts' for the resolution of the problems related to the ban on ELVs, defined as petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 years. 'The pain of Delhi people is understandable... We will raise the voice of people wherever necessary,' she said at an event, adding that some people are emotionally attached to vehicles gifted by a close person, and such less-driven cars are keepsakes. 'Public outcry' An official in Mr. Sirsa's office said that the ANPR-based enforcement at fuel stations would not be implemented from Friday. However, there was no formal confirmation from the Delhi government. In his letter to CAQM, the Minister wrote, 'Due to the technological integration challenges of this extremely complex system and lack of coordination with neighbouring States, there is public discontent and outcry. Under these circumstances, it is not feasibleto implement the denial of fuel to ELVs using ANPR at petrol pumps.' He said the government was considering a solution based not on banning all overage vehicles, but on actual pollution emitted by vehicles. The CAQM, in its April 23 directive, had ordered that from July 1, ELVs detected via ANPR cameras at Delhi's fuel stations be denied fuel. The same rule was to be enforced in five NCR districts – Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, and Sonipat – starting November 1, and across the rest of NCR from April 1, 2026. The Delhi government supported the directive. From July 1, Delhi's Transport Department and traffic police had begun impounding ELVs seen at fuel stations. According to CAQM data, Delhi has nearly 62 lakh ELVs, and the rest of NCR has about 44 lakh. The National Green Tribunal had banned ELVs across NCR in 2015. Political blame game The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has criticised the move, said the public had forced the government to reverse its move. 'The BJP government was simply hiding behind a court order. But when the people united and raised their voice, it had to withdraw. In a democracy, the people are supreme,' said AAP's Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj. A similar measure was announced by then Environment Minister Gopal Rai in 2022 but never notified. Mr. Sirsa alleged that the previous AAP government took money from new car dealers and decided to install ANPR cameras to impound older vehicles.
Hindustan Times
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Delhi: A bump-free road to good governance
Delhi has always been the beating heart of India. A political Capital as well as a cultural hotspot, Delhi is not merely a city but a vibrant mini-India with people and traditions from all parts of the country thriving together. From monuments to food and temples to architecture, Delhi carries energy, growth and culture at every juncture. No matter the rainfall, the Capital city shall remain functional, vibrant and energetic in a true Delhi style. (Arvind Yadav/ Hindustan Times) However, it was our misfortune that in the last 10 years, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had disconnected our beloved city from the national growth mainstream. A city that was traditionally known for setting national benchmarks on infrastructure, transportation and civic amenities, among other fields, was in the news for stalled projects, governance failures and a constant blame-game. The entire city's governance had become a massive pothole of conflict, confusion and collision. A city meant to symbolise the fast-growing new India of the 21st century was left decades behind. But the spirit of Delhi prevailed in the end and our city chose Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s double-engine government to end the Capital's woes. With a promise to reciprocate the Delhiites' trust with Delhi's all-round development, PM Modi guaranteed that he will 'short-circuit' the governance of 'shortcuts' and restore smart and comprehensive governance in the Capital. As a duty-bound karyakarta of PM Modi and the BJP, I am delighted to announce that Delhi's PWD ministry, this Tuesday, fulfilled a crucial 'Modi ki Guarantee' before the onset of monsoons in Delhi. As part of improving our city's road infrastructure to make it world-class in next five years, the PWD ministry has created a record of repairing the most potholes in a single day. This is both a moment to cherish and introspect for all of us, including my beloved Delhiites. While it is to our double-engine government's credit that such an exercise was executed, it is also a grim reminder of how under AAP's decade-long rule, thousands of potholes were allowed to exist in the first place. Thus, this PWD record is both a pat on the double engine government's back as well as a slap in AAP-da's face. On one hand, while the AAP government had used the same PWD ministry to build a 'sheesh mahal' for Arvind Kejriwal, our double-engine government utilised the PWD for solving Delhiites' fundamental grievances. With over 200 maintenance vans, equipped with the latest technology and over 1,000 engineers and labourers on the ground, the ministry was in the news for the right reasons. The timing of this exercise right before the monsoons holds immense significance. The rainy season tests our infrastructure and puts it under severe stress by aggravating existing challenges. As both a way to minimise such problems as well as showcase our abilities of problem-solving, it's an announcement of PWD's changed mindset, intent and ability. This achievement also poses a significant question in front of the people in the Capital and rest of the country. Why did our Capital's government machinery remain dysfunctional under the previous government while beginning to deliver under ours? The answer is: the BJP is a party with a difference. Our party's mantra of nation first, party second and self third is a guiding principle of all our governments, with Delhi being the latest example. Thus, 2025 is for Delhi what 2014 was for the entire country: a shifting of gears in governance with the same vehicle. I shall also mention that this achievement, among others in the making, is just a trailer of our work, as we prepare for all our Delhiites, a bump-free road to good governance. From world-class infrastructure to a clean River Yamuna, from providing healthcare under Ayushman Bharat to monthly assistance to Delhi's women, Delhi's BJP government is working relentlessly to fulfil PM Modi's guarantees to all Delhiites. In the immediate short term, Delhi shall witness mission monsoon in action with significantly reduced water-logging, well-functioning road infrastructure and desilted drains. No matter the rainfall, our city shall remain functional, vibrant and energetic in a true Delhi style. In the coming months, our people shall witness the initial results of our work on Yamuna cleaning and its riverfront development on a war footing. The previous government had pushed back our city by decades. Our government shall prepare the city for the decades to come. ----------------- (Parvesh Verma is Cabinet minister in Delhi government. The views expressed are personal.)
Indian Express
06-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Soon, a unified data hub will weed out those ineligible for Delhi's welfare schemes. Here's how
The Delhi government is planning to create a first-of-its-kind 'Unified Data Hub (UDH)', which will consolidate data from various departments, to ensure only eligible people avail of the benefits of its welfare schemes. Sources said these records could be used while rolling out the Mahila Samriddhi Yojana, which promises Rs 2,500 to eligible women beneficiaries. The scheme is yet to be launched, and the eligibility criteria is being decided. Besides this, the government has already started the verification process of ration cards and of other welfare schemes like pension for widows. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, in her maiden Budget speech, had said the BJP government will launch a 'verification campaign' so that benefits of welfare measures only reach 'genuine Delhiites' and non-residents — especially Rohingya and Bangladeshis — will not be able to avail of it. How will it work? The core objective of UDH is to create 'golden records' of beneficiaries — single, verified, and unified data profiles of citizens — by resolving data duplication and inconsistencies across existing departmental systems, said officials. 'This 'golden record' will track attributes like profession and services availed, and support social registries for outreach, registration, and eligibility determination for social programmes,' added the official. Explaining how the hub will function, officials said it will integrate all data. 'It will be a centralised data repository where data from all departments will be stored, collaborated, and updated in real time by a permissioned entity… It will generate a unique, accurate and de-duplicated record for every beneficiary using smart matching algorithms; enable precise identification of beneficiaries; and reduce instances of multiple claims and benefit leakage.' According to officials, this data hub is being developed by the Information Technology department, which aims to build an integrated digital infrastructure to enhance citizen-centric governance. The government will soon float a tender to develop the ' Delhi Unified Citizen Data Platform'. What are its features? Officials said it will provide a dashboard and reports for evidence-based policy formulation. It will ensure compliance with applicable data protection regulations, maintaining high standards of data security and confidentiality, added officials. A unique identification number will be created for each citizen, officials said, to maintain the master record and manage changes to citizen data received from departmental databases. This unique identification number will be available to all departmental databases. It will also be augmented with a household identification number — a unique record of all households, with contributing citizen records of the household. Officials said if a person's Aadhaar is linked to a ration card, that ration card number will be used as the family ID for everyone linked to it. If the Aadhaar isn't linked to any ration card, the person will be able to create a family ID by entering Aadhaar details manually. As part of the initiative, the government sought data from all departments, which will be verified and integrated into this hub. Depts submit data Officials said several departments, such as Food and Supplies (F&P), Principal Accounts Office, and Revenue Department, have shared their records with the IT Department. On a preliminary analysis of these records, an official said, 5,621 government employees with ration-card numbers were found — they are ineligible to avail this benefit. Around 395 of these beneficiaries were listed as the head of family in ration card records. Officials also said another 3,072 ration-card beneficiaries obtained income certificates (for income less than 1 lakh) from the Revenue department despite not being eligible. Recently, the Women and Child Development Department identified about 25,000 ineligible women receiving financial assistance under the Delhi Pension Scheme for Women in Distress, said officials. The government has shared the list of government employees with ration cards with the F&S department and officials concerned to initiate suitable action against them, including recovery of benefits taken, in coordination with the Department of Food Supplies and Consumer Affairs.
