The Delhi Cabinet has approved establishment of a Delhi Parks and Gardens Society to give a new thrust to greening activities in the Capital. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit explained that the Society would act as a unified agency for ensuring planned and proper greening activities in Delhi. She said it would also promote greening of local parks and gardens.

When the Delhi Government announced a three-fold increase in its land acquisition rates earlier this year, from nearly Rs.25 lakh per acre to Rs.75.26 lakh per acre, a huge wave of cheer swept landowners in Delhi's villages. However, as the details of the much trumpeted scheme became known, the happiness turned to despondency in six villages where almost 1,200 acres of land has been acquired but whose owners would still not be able to get the enhanced compensation.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Jagdish Mukhi, on Tuesday charged that the Sheila Dikshit Government had not kept its promise of providing 25 kg of wheat and 10 kg of rice per month to ration card holders and only managed to supply them 13 to 14 kg of wheat and 5 to 6 kg of rice. Terming this a ''failure' of the Delhi Government, the BJP leader said the inability of the administration to provide sufficient rations to the poor and the downtrodden had had an adverse impact on their financial health in these times of high inflation and soaring prices.

The newly introduced bus rapid transit (BRT) system on a single 11-km stretch in Delhi has had a baptism by fire and just about survived. Although five corridors are planned as a first step, it is quite uncertain if the idea will eventually live and grow in practice. So those who feel that a key route to better cities is to have dedicated bus lanes to make bus travel more attractive and popular, see a long hard struggle ahead of themselves.

Quick-fix solutions and then U-turns. That's what the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) corridor story is turning out to be. And if you can't get your act together, despite some fancy PR work, shoot the messenger. Officials have been coming up with a wide range of solutions to the BRT mess

Even as the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor continues to test the patience of commuters, the blame game between agencies in charge of the project continues, this time over traffic signals at intersections. While DIMTS has reportedly lodged a complaint with the CM's office over the lack of cooperation from the Delhi Traffic Police, after the fiasco during Saturday's power cut, the traffic police has cleared its stand as far as signals on the corridor are concerned.

Even as the Delhi government is trying to make its beleaguered dream project bus rapid transit (BRT) project to work without causing chaos, Dinesh Mohan, professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and the brain behind the project has suggested to the Planning Commission to stall the expansion of the Delhi Metro Rail Project and replace it with BRT.

Rites

The cabinet has approved setting up of a Delhi Parks and Gardens Society (DPGS) to give a thrust to the greening activities in the Capital. It has also given its nod for creation of six additional courts of special judges under Prevention of Corruption Act and implementation of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993. Talking to media after the cabinet meeting, Sheila Dikshit stressed the need of a unified agency to give a thrust to greening activities in Delhi.

The controversy over the BRT corridor has also generated a lot of curiosity about the system. With the issue failing to die down, several government officials dealing with the project claim they have been receiving calls inquiring about the system. Some of the questions flying their way are: "How does the system work? What are its benefits?