NEW DELHI: Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora on Sunday urged Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Minister of State for Urban Development Ajay Maken to help in allotment of land for setting up of 50 more CNG filling stations in the Capital and support the expansion programme of Indraprastha Gas Limited.

The Delhi High Court today reserved its order on the ongoing construction of the Commonwealth Games Village that has been challenged on the grounds that it could harm the ecological system of the Yamuna riverbed. A division bench headed by Justices A.K. Sikri and Rekha Sharma reserved the order after hearing the arguments from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and environmentalists. "We are giving one week's time to all parties in the case to file their affidavits if they want to say anything else in the case,' said the bench.

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday reserved judgment on a bunch of public interest litigation petitions challenging the construction of concrete structures, including the Commonwealth Games Village, on the Yamuna riverbed here. A Division Bench of the Court comprising Justice A. K. Sikri and Justice Rekha Sharma reserved the judgment at the conclusion of arguments by counsel for the Delhi Development Authority, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and the petitioners.

Gram panchayat members of 19 villages have demanded that the compensation for land acquisition be increased from Rs.75 lakh per acre to Rs.2 crore. At a meeting organised by senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijay Goel at Alipur here, it was pointed out that the Delhi Government had increased the compensation from Rs.25 lakh per acre to only Rs.75 lakh per acre in the last ten years, "even though the market price in these areas had gone up to Rs.3 crore per acre'.

The Delhi Government has taken possession of land given by the DDA for construction of a gas-based power plant at Bamnauli. The 50 acres that will be owned by the Delhi Government and leased to the Power Department has fetched the DDA Rs.109 crore. The land will be used for setting up a 750 MW gas-based power plant. Power Department officials said the environment impact assessment would now be carried out by NTPC and the plant would be completed by 2010. A MoU has already been signed with Petronet for supply and purchase of gas.