Discoms say running into losses, demand 'cost reflective tariff'

New Delhi, May 6 (UNI) The discoms today denied reports of their earning profit in the year 2009-10 and demanded from the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) to provide them 'cost reflective tariff' so that their losses can be minimised.

A day after the reports of discoms (private power distributioncompanies) earning 'healthy surplus' emerged in the media, NorthDelhi Power Limited, BSES Yamuna Power Limited and BSES RajdhaniPower Limited today called upon a press meet to clarify how it wasbeing misinterpreted as the truth was that they were actuallyrunning into losses.

NDPL CEO Sunil Wadhwa explained, ''The figures were based on the accrued accounting system which included the yet to be recoveredrevenue through future tariffs to be fixed by DERC.''

The Rs 716 crore profit by NDPL during '09-10 included Rs 671 crore which were yet to be recovered. Thus, only Rs 45 crore is available with us to meet other expenses including employee costs and arrears paid for sixth pay commission, repair and maintenance expenses incurred, repayment of loans, interests and income tax, Mr Wadhwa said.

Replying to a question that what they want to communicate to the government, Mr Wadhwa stated, ''It is my duty to tell people that these could be the consequences and I would be grateful if you could tell me how to run this company at current tariff.''

Saying that due to non-completion of power projects on time, BYPL CEO Ramesh Narayanan said, ''We are buying expensive power from other distributors so that we can provide 24 hour power supply to our consumers.'' ''And we had a clear-cut instructions from DERC to buy power at higher rate,'' he added.

''The cost of purchasing of power for us was Rs 3.19 per unit but the tarrif given to us by the DERC was Rs 2.45 per unit. Based on Rs 2.45 per unit they are saying we have earned profit but we have actually spent Rs 3.19 per unit,'' Mr Narayanan said.

Demanding that the tariff should be cost reflective, he said ''if the government pay us on the basis of cost incurred by us then there would be no problem.''

''We have no money. We have it only on papers and the generator of power would not supply power on the basis of papers,'' the BYPL CEO stated.

Saying that it is difficult to run companies on present tariff, he asserted optimism that the government would definitely hear their plea and something would certainly be done in this regard.

Prithvi Raj Sawhney new Mayor; CWG, clean & green Delhi priority

New Delhi, Apr 30 (UNI) BJP councillor from Janak Puri (South) ward Prithvi Raj Sawhney today became Mayor of Delhi after defeating Congress' Tulsi Ram Sablania by a huge margin of 90 votes in a one sided contest.

Mr Sawhney secured 178 votes out of 275 total votes polled in the election while his nearest rival Mr Sablania managed only 88 votes. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Hari Chand Kardamwithdrew his nomination just before the commencement of the election procedure.

Mr Sawhney will replace his party colleague, the incumbent Mayor Kanwar Sain at the coveted post.

Mr Sawhney, a former teacher, has been holding the post of Chairman of Education Committee of Municipal Corporation of Delhi since his re-election in 2007.

He also remained Member of the MCD from 1997-2002 and heldvarious important posts including that of Chairman, Standing Committee,Conservancy, Sanitation and Engineering and Health Committee.

Before entering into politics, he had taught in Jammu College and in different schools of Directorate of Education for 30 years.

Addressing mediapersons, Delhi's first citizen MrSawhney said, ''I have been elected in a very important year not only for Delhi but also for the whole nation as Commonwealth Games will be organised in the Capital.''

Saying that the successful organisation of CWG is a question of prestige for the country, he urged the Delhi government to be more supportive.

''If needed, we will meet Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and LtGovernor Tajendra Khanna for their support to make the Gamessuccessful. Seventy per cent of the workin Delhi is to be done by the Corporation for which we expectsupport from the Chief Minister,'' he stated.

The Mayor also kept clean and green Delhi on top of his priority list as he asserted that it was the responsibility of the civic body and ''we will fulfill our responsibility.''

Congress-led UPA more interested in IPL than BPL: BJP

New Delhi, Apr 21 (UNI) Continuing its tirade against the murky IPL dealings, the BJP today criticised the Congress-led UPA government for ''being more interested in Cricket than the problems of commons''.

''The Congress-led UPA is more worried about IPL than BPL (Below Poverty Line). Their ministers are more interested in looking after Cricket than working for the uplift of poor in the country,'' Former BJP president Rajnath Singh said while addressing a huge gathering of people at Ramlila Ground here.

The government has become ''Incompetent Political League'', he added. Former Union Human Resource Minister Murli Manohar Joshi also took the government to task on the issue of involvement of itsleaders in the IPL.

''The leaders of the UPA government are busy in the game instead of necessary things which have direct relation with the lives of people,'' Mr Joshi said.

UPA's wrong policies, bad governance led to price rise: BJP

New Delhi, Apr 21 (UNI) Calling the UPA a synonym of ''high inflation rate'', the BJP today held the wrong economic policies and bad governance of the Congress-led UPA Government the main
reasons for spiralling prices.

The party organised a massive opposition rally at the huge Ramlila Ground here in which more than two lakh people from across the country participated and registered their anguish towards rising prices of essential commodities.

Claimed by the BJP to be the biggest rally organised by any party in the country, the protest saw presence of people from all walks of life, including farmers, workers, labourers andex-servicemen, raising slogans and placards of ''Mehangayi rok do ya gaddi chod do'' (Stop inflation or quit).

The rally resulted in huge traffic jams in many parts of the city. Thousands of policemen were deployed to ensure it passes off smoothly.

Various senior leaders of the party including Nitin Gadkari, Lal Krishna Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh, Murli Manohar Joshi, Venkaiah Naidu, Anant Kumar, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, addressed the rally.

Party Chief Gadkari said the country's political history proves that whenever there had been Congress-led government, people have suffered the problems of price rise and high inflation rate.

''Although the Congress' slogan claims ''Garibi Hatao'' (remove poverty) the latest data by Planning Commission proves that the number of BPL people has risen to 41 crore. In addition, 75 per cent of this number includes the people from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes about whose welfare the government has given many assurances,'' he said.

He stated that the data obtained from nations all over the world showed that in other countries the inflation has increased by less than two per cent while in India it has crossed 11 per cent. ''It is the wrong economic policies and bad governance of the Congress-led UPA Government at Centre which are responsible for the woes of the common man,'' he said.

Chidambaram inaugurates tallest building of Delhi

New Delhi, Apr 22 (UNI) Union Home Minister P Chidambaram today inaugurated the new headquarters of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the tallest building in the capital.

The Rs 650-crore building, situated at the Minto Road-Jawaharlal Nehru Marg intersection, boasts of a completely moderninfrastructure, including two helipads, a 1000-seater auditorium, art gallery and restaurant.

Praising the newly-constructed Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Civic Centre for its world class standard, Mr Chidambaram said, ''This civic centre has been long overdue and we are truly proud of this magnificent building that will be a landmark for many years to come.''

The work of the civic centre does not stop with the inauguration and every road, school, hospital, electricity connection, parks in Delhi should be touched by quality, he added.

''Residents of a country take pride in world class things so there should be no compromise in quality,'' Mr Chidambaram opined.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani was the chiefguest on the occasion, while Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Delhi UrbanDevelopment and Finance Minister A K Walia and Leader of Oppostion in Assembly V K Malhotra graced the dias.

Mr Advani expressed happiness that the Civic Centre had beennamed after an able leader and patriot Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. The new 28-storey building will bring all the policy makers and offices of the corporation under one roof. The civic body looks after around 1400 sq km (96 per cent) of the Capital's area.

Many leaders in MCD hoped it would bring a change in the work culture of the corporation.

Sawhney emerges as a strong BJP candidate for mayor post

New Delhi, Apr 26 (UNI) Banking on the BJPs majority in the house, Pritivi Raj Sawhney who filed his nomination today, has emerged as a strong party candidate for the mayor post.

Amid air of discontent in the party, Mr Sawhney and Mr Rajesh Gehlot today filed nomination for the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively as thenomination process came to an end this evening.

From the Congress, Tulsi Ram Sablania, councilor from Karol Bagh, and Saranjit Sharma, from Pandav Nagar, filed their nomination for Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has made the contest triangular by fielding its candidates. Hari Chand Kardam and Sanjay Gupta presented their papers for the two posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively from the party.

Though it seems to be a one sided contest with the BJP occupying 172 out of the 272 seats in the House, the Congress is hoping against hope and calculating its chances on the reported discontent in the BJP.

''We are in continuous contact with several BJP councilors who are not happy with the decision of theirleadership. There will surely be cross voting during election. If our calculations go right, Mr Sablania will be the new Mayor,'' Leader of Oppostion in the MCD Jai Kishan Sharma said.

Three candidates also filed nomination for the posts of member of standing committee, lying vacant. Mr YogendraChandolia and Ms Sarita Choudhary of the BJP and Mr Jai Kishan Sharma of the Congress filed their papers.

These candidates have virtually won the contest as there are only three nominations for the three posts. Though two of its councilors are not eligible for voting, the BJP controls 175 votes including five MLAs in the MCD house. The Congress has 73 councilors plus eight MLAs and MPs each in the House while BSP has only 16 votes.

Yoga imparted to youngsters in J&K

New Delhi, Apr 11 (UNI) Yogic principles are being imparted to youngsters in trouble-torn Jammu and Kashmir.

Besides yoga's proven mental and health benefits, the Chairman of Criminologists Society of Jammu and Kashmir (CSJK) Rameshwar Singh Jamwal is a firm believer in its powers to

prevent crime by altering the thought process of people.

The organisation is working on the project 'Safe J&K, Safe India' which aims "to create a force of millions of youngsters who believe in the rule of law and are ready to work to bring about change in the current scenario of J&K."

At present, the CSJK is working in the main Jammu city and its periphery in collaboration with the J&K Police. The CSJK is also educating school children in around 20 schools in Jammu city and its periphery.

"We teach them about the legal implications of their wrong doing as well as the moral aspect of their actions," Mr Jamwal said.

The group consisting of 22 people, mostly advocates, has taught around 500 teachers about Yogic Crime Theory (YCT).

"During my research I realised that most people get involved in criminal activities because they do not know about the legal implications. The fear of legal action against them works as a

deterrent with common people," he added.

He also claims that it can be effective in tackling the Naxal menace severely affecting the country. "Basically it works as a counter theory. For instance, the Naxal leaders also use

some kind of theory to influence these innocent tribals and manipulate their thinking process.

Similarly, the YCT manipulates the thinking process of these people for the betterment of

the society," Mr Jamwal explained.

Mr Jamwal is also Deputy Advocate General of J&K and has been working on curing the criminal behaviour of the people who have been involved in some kind of unlawful activity at some point in the past. He termed it as Yogic Crime Theory (YCT) and claimed to have cured 93 per cent of the people he had used the theory on.

He holds an invitation from United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for its 12th Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice to be held in Salvador, Brazil from

April 12 to 19. However, he regretted his inability to attend the Congress, being held after a gap of five years, due to visa related problems.

"I have not received my visa yet. It is supposed to reach me by Monday (April 12) only, which will increase the cost of the return ticket to Brazil by two times."

"I cannot afford such high expense. If I had got my visa by today I could have managed but I have not got it," he added.

Mr Jamwal said earlier attended the 11th Congress in April 2005 held in Bangkok, Thailand.

As he was participating in the UNODC Congress as an individual expert, he had to bear the expenses. A total of 88 top criminologists was expected to attend the Congress and

Mr Jamwal was the sole Indian representative to be invited.

Now, as his visit is ruled out, he has requested UNODC to accept his reasearch papers for publiction in its journal which happily for him UNODC has agreed to do.