Delhi government vs bureaucrats again over cancellation of over 2.9 lakh ration cards

Agencies
August 21, 2018

New Delhi, Aug 21: The Delhi government on Monday alleged that Food Commissioner Mohanjeet Singh has decided to cancel more than 2.9 lakh ration cards without proper inspection, setting the stage for another round of tussle between the AAP dispensation and the bureaucracy.

Rejecting the government's allegation, Singh said 2.48 lakh "ineligible" ration card holders have been deleted after following "due process of law".

The cancellation of ration cards has remained a thorny issue between the political leadership and the bureaucracy for some time.

In April, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Imran Hussain alleged Singh was "bent on" cancelling three lakh ration cards without proper verification.

In May, Hussain wrote to Singh, directing him to restore supply of ration to those who have not received it from January to March. The department had stopped distribution of ration to people who had not gotten themselves verified by food and supplies officers by then.

Today, Singh said the exercise undertaken by his department "must be one of its kind" and the Public Distribution System has been "cleansed and sanitised". He said ration "worth crores were saved from pilferage".

Singh also said he has recommended to the government for restoration of the E-POS (electronic point of sale) system, which the government had put on hold.

The government said Singh took the decision despite "strong objection" from Hussain.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took strong exception to the food commissioner's decision, and his government has warned disciplinary action would be taken against the officers concerned.

In a statement the government said, "Since these officers do not report to the elected government, therefore they are working against the interests of the people of Delhi, which is a very serious matter."

It stated that the department's officers have "failed" to appreciate the adverse social impact of cancellation of 2.93 lakh ration cards covering more than 10 lakh beneficiaries. "All such families and members in one go would be rendered hungry because of the insensitive, apathetic, hostile, inhuman attitude of the officers," it stated.

It has been been informed that the cancellation process has been undertaken without door-to-door survey of households, the government said. "The cancellation is being done by officers sitting in their offices without any field inspection and without following due process of law. Such acts of commission or omission make the acts of public servants suspicious. Their conduct may invite disciplinary action against the concerned officers," it added.

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News Network
March 13,2020

Bhopal, Mar 13: The Madhya Pradesh Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Thursday decided to verify facts afresh in a complaint against former Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and his family, in which they are accused of falsifying a property document while selling land.

The development came after Mr Scindia quit the Congress and joined the BJP on Wednesday. 22 MLAs who belong to his camp also resigned, threatening the survival of the Kamal Nath government in the state.

"Yes, an order has been given for re-verification of facts in the complaint filed by Surendra Shrivastava," an Economic Offences Wing official told PTI.

An EOW release said Mr Shrivastava on Thursday filed a new complaint against Mr Scindia and his family, alleging that by falsifying a registry document, they sold him a piece of land at Mahalgaon which was smaller by 6,000 sq feet than the original agreement in 2009.

He had lodged the complaint first on March 26, 2014. But it was investigated and closed in 2018, the EOW official said. "As he again petitioned us today, we will re-verify the facts," the officer said.

Jyotiraditya Scindia's close aide Pankaj Chaturvedi alleged that it was political vendetta.

"The case had been closed for want of evidence. Now for vengeance, it is being reopened. We have full faith in the Constitution and law. We will get justice and Kamal Nath government a befitting reply," Mr Chaturvedi said.

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Agencies
July 29,2020

New Delhi, Jul 29: Coronavirus infections in India continue to mount as the country's total case tally crossed the 15-lakh mark.

India added 48,513 fresh cases in 24 hours, taking the total tally to over 15.3 lakh, according to the Health Ministry’s 8 a.m. update on July 29.

Key Figures

Total number of confirmed coronavirus cases: 15,31,669
Active cases: 5,09,447
Cured/discharged/migrated: 9,88,029
Deaths: 34,193
Number of fresh cases in 24 hours: 48,513
One-day recoveries: 35,175
One-day deaths: 768
India’s coronavirus epidemic is growing at the fastest pace in the world, increasing 20% over the last week, according to Bloomberg’s Coronavirus Tracker. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are among the states where the maximum number of daily cares are being reported.

Fresh cases continued to come in at a heightened pace, hovering just below 50,000 for the last six days.

Moderna Inc.’s vaccine candidate against Covid-19 protected against the virus in a trial that inoculated 16 monkeys, an encouraging step on the path to a defense for humans against the pandemic. Pfizer Inc., however, is preparing for the novel coronavirus to endure, leading to long-term demand for a seasonal shot to protect against Covid-19.

“There is a likely scenario that either the vaccine’s immunity will not be lasting forever,” said Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla in an interview Tuesday, “or that the virus will mutate, or that the virus will find ways to come back again and again.”

Even as the transmission rate of Covid-19 remains high in India, the pace of recovery has risen too. On Wednesday, India reported its third day of over 35,000 recoveries.

Global Update

Flare-ups in virus cases from Hong Kong to Europe are proving difficult for policy makers to wrangle. The U.S. neared 150,000 deaths from Covid-19, even as daily infections slowed in some hard-hit states. China reported 101 new cases, up from 68 a day earlier, with 98 of the total from local infections, mostly in Xinjiang.

Philippine health authorities warned that hospitals and infirmaries risk getting overwhelmed.

Globally, confirmed Covid-19 cases have topped 16.6 million with over 658,000 dead.

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News Network
June 20,2020

New Delhi, Jun 20: The government-imposed upper and lower limits on airfares may be extended beyond August 24 depending upon how the situation turns out, Aviation Secretary P S Kharola said on Saturday.

The government resumed domestic passenger flights from May 25 after nearly two months of suspension to combat the coronavirus outbreak, but placed lower and upper limits on airfares depending upon the flight duration.

It had said on May 21 that these limits would be in place for a period of three months.

"Depending on how the situation turns out, the fare band may have to adjusted beyond that (August 24) also. But right now, it is only for three months," Kharola said at a press conference here.

International passenger flights continue to remain suspended in the country.

However, the government started Vande Bharat Mission on May 6 to help stranded people reach their destinations through special flights.

Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said at the conference that during phase 3 and phase 4 of the mission, private domestic airlines have been approved to operate 750 international flights to repatriate people stranded amid the coronavirus pandemic.

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