The Delhi Jal Board on Friday framed regulations on metering and tariff to bring about transparency in its functioning and to minimise consumer grievances.

At a meeting of the Jal Board, chaired by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, it was decided to clarify the regulations for installation fee of meters, rent to be paid for use, maintenance and testing of meters and approval was granted to the Delhi Water and Sewer (Tariff and Metering) Regulations, 2012.

Setting the ball rolling for privatisation of water distribution system, the Delhi government on Friday approved a long-pending proposal to involve private entities in management, maintenance and supply of water in several areas of the city.

The private entities will be involved in command areas of Malviya Nagar, Vasant Vihar and Nangloi underground reservoirs and water treatment plants under PPP mode. The decision was taken at a board meeting of Delhi Jal Board presided over by chief minister Sheila Dikshit.

The prevalence of dengue is more in Delhi compared to any other part of the country.

With the city recording nine cases of dengue, over a hundred cases of malaria and several of cholera this season, the deficient rain seems to be offering no solace to the health department which is now gearing up to take the full onslaught of vector and water-borne diseases that plague Delhi during the season.

“The scanty rainfall that the city received coupled with the high humidity levels have resulted in hospitals getting a number of patients with high fever, infections, complications arising out of water contamination and respiratory diseases. Cases of malaria, cholera and gastroenteritis are on the rise, we have also started seeing cases of jaundice,” said Delhi Health Minister A. K. Walia.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Union Ministry for Health and Family Welfare and the Department of Telecommunication on a pubic interest litigation seeking a direction to remove mobile phone towers from residential premises and public places and ban their installation at these sites in future.

A Division Bench of the Court comprising Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw asked the Ministry and the Department to file replies to the petition by August 9, the next date of hearing.

Corporation asked to speed up the work within three months so that tenders could be invited

To ensure proper and speedy implementation of the Mono Rail project, the Delhi Government has decided to get the complete job of preparation of the Detailed Project Reports, floating of tenders, selection of contractors and construction done by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. The Delhi Government on Wednesday also announced that it was now contemplating extending this 11-km project across the Yamuna to Delhi University, Kashmere Gate and Chandni Chowk. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, which had earlier been asked to prepare the DPR, has now been told to speed up the work within three months so that tenders for the project could be invited.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Delhi Chief Secretary and the State Transport Commissioner on a contempt of court petition by a non-government organisation alleging that that they had violated the Court orders allowing plying of other vehicles in the BRT corridor till disposal of a petition for opening up the dedicated bus carriageway for three-wheeler and four-wheeler traffic as well.

The petitioner, non-government organisation Nyaya Bhoomi, submitted that despite the Court orders of May 30 and July 5 that the trial-run of vehicles other than buses would continue in the corridor till disposal of the petition, the Government had disallowed those vehicles from entering into it.

“By putting off a cost reflective tariff and extending subsidies, we may seem to help the consumer, but what we are actually doing is bleeding the State electricity boards and eventually burdening the consumer with surcharge after the losses become untenable,” said an official of the power department explaining why reforms in the power sector must begin with a realistic power tariff, curtailing losses and replacing short-term sops with long-term schemes.

Dissecting the causes for the grid collapse that left the city powerless on Monday and Tuesday, officials of the power distribution companies as well as the government’s power department were unanimous that the State electricity boards have been pushed to withdraw spending on system up-gradation because of their poor financial condition.

Power cuts triggered by the grid collapse on Monday and Tuesday have flagged the need for investing in the power systems. The Delhi Government on Tuesday decided to act on the warning that the grid collapse turned out to be and set up a committee to enforce system strengthening and maintenance.

The city had to face power cuts through the day on Tuesday, after the country’s three grids, the Northern, Easter and the North-Eastern grids collapsed. A prolonged meeting chaired by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit ended with the Principal Secretary Power being appointed chairperson of a committee that has been set up to ensure that all the State-owned generation units and the discoms spend money on improving the systems

A city court has ordered the Centre and the DMRC to raise by over `1.26 crore the compensation to a firm for acquiring its 541 square metre plot to build Barakhamba Road Metro Station.

Additional district judge Nivedita Anil Sharma asked the Union government to pay the compensation to Jetways Travels Pvt Ltd, at an enhanced rate of `81,429 per square metre, terming its earlier compensation at the rate of `57,960 as “inadequate” and “unreasonable”.