In a pre-monsoon survey done by the Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority (MHADA), the number of old and dilapidated buildings in the city for the current year is 78. Addressing the press, Chairman of MHADA Sachin Ahir announced the number of dilapidated buildings in the city.

The transport department is planning to create a third lane in the second stretch of the first BRT corridor from Moolchand to Delhi Gate without cutting trees. Also, the IIT-Delhi has been assigned the job to develop the design. This was discussed in a meeting held among all the stakeholders of the BRT, including RITES and Delhi integrated multi-modal transport system. "We have given clear instructions as to develop the stretch in such a way that an extra lane for the cars is provided wherever possible without harming the trees," transport commissioner, R.K. Verma said.

It's official now. By deciding to provide more space to cars and doing away with medians in the BRT stretch beyond Moolchand, the government has virtually admitted that the apprehensions expressed by TOI since 2006 about the project were well-informed and valid. We had our ear to the ground with inputs from experts and our readers.

The BRT project never ceases to surprise. Now there are two pilots. The original one between Ambedkar Nagar and Moochand has been designated as Pilot A and the stretch beyond as Pilot B. IIT and RITES, who are executing the project, have been given 10 days to prepare the new design and work out the modalities for the rest of the stretch. The decision was taken at the meeting on Tuesday which was chaired by Mehta and attended by senior officials from various departments involved in the project.

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.

Though the memories of the annual techno-management festival of IIT-G

No Conflict Of Interest, Insist Experts As questions are being raised vigorously by citizens' groups, traffic experts and MPs across party lines over the controversial BRT corridor, what seems to have slipped notice is that the patrons of the IIT-Delhi department behind the concept include bus manufacturing majors Volvo and Tatas.

23 IIT-Delhi has, for the first time, bagged projects for research and consultancy services to the tune of Rs 85 crore, 50 per cent higher than last year. The primary reason for this increase is the huge inflow of investments from foreign companies, said professor Suneet Tuli, Dean of Industrial Research and Development (IRD). The faculty has undertaken 26 research projects and consultancy services from international agencies this year, Tuli said.

Students of Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, have designed a brand new rehabilitation shelter that can be constructed quickly in the event of an earthquake or any such disaster. Five third-year students of the Mechanical Engineering and Civil Engineering Departments have built the structure primarily for earthquake-hit people. It can withstand wind, seismic and thermal blows for over four weeks. The shelter was one of the many innovative projects that were on display at IIT Delhi's annual Open House on Saturday.

India is perhaps one of the few countries in the world that still has the model of centralised universities which design the syllabus, conduct exams and give degrees while the teaching is done in affiliated colleges that have no control on academic content or evaluation. Though there are many things that are wrong with our higher education set-up, removing this totally anachronistic model should be at the top of the agenda.