SC clears decks for Badarpur Faridabad metro line

indlawnews

The Supreme Court gave the green signal for completion of carriage way and overhead metro line which will connect Badarpur border of Delhi to Faridabad in Haryana.

• CM pressed for Metro-line (Badarpur-YMCA Metro) in Faridabad

A special bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, Justices Arijit Pasayat and S H Kapadia dismissed a petition seeking directions not to allow carriage way and overhead metro line alleging that Rajiv Gandhi Sports Complex will have to be demolished and large number of trees will be felled causing huge damage to the environment in the area.

The overhead metro line will touch the Natonal Highway-2.

The Metro will interconnect NCR region with Delhi. The line from ITO to Noida is already nearing completion and another line from ITO to Anand Vihar interstate bus terminus in East Delhi is also underway.

• Metro’s Badarpur line cleared of roadblocks

Badarpur corridor meets police roadblock

Sobhana K, The Indian Express

Feb 19, 2009

With less than two years left for holding the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the Badarpur-Faridabad corridor, which was meant to provide a faster link for visitors to reach Agra, is now stuck in limbo. The reason: Badarpur Police Station has come on its way. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) requires land for making a clover leaf of the six-lane elevated corridor for signal free movement at the T-junction where Mehrauli Badarpur road meets Mathura Road. To build the leaf, which will be similar to one at the AIIMS and Dhaula Kuan, the police station building needs to be relocated. This realisation has, however, sunk in late with the civic agencies.

Badrpur-Faridabad Corridor Project

• Six-lane elevated corridor
• Total length: 4.4 kms
• Elevated: 3 kms
• Project cost: Rs 340 crore

Pushing the panic button, the NHAI officials have clearly told the Delhi government that if the approval is not given within 15 to 30 days then the project will miss its deadline and won’t be ready for before the Commonwealth Games.
The government is now frantically trying to find an alternate plot to house the police station. Delhi Police has identified a land which is a little away from the existing police station and also falls on Mathura Road. “The problem is that that the suggested plot is not a Gram Sabha land. It falls in unauthorised colony which has been ear-marked for regularisation and the acquisition is problematic,” said a senior official of Delhi government. The police have said that they will shift out if an alternate land is given and is also mulling over renting out some premises to accommodate the station.

From the existing 2.5 acre premises, the police station has been operating since 1978. The Detailed Project Report of the Badarpur-Faridabad corridor was completed in 2004 and NHAI had clearly mentioned relocation of the police station in the report. This was followed by several step-by-step procedures (see dateline) and Delhi Police was informed about relocation of its station on November 12, 2008.

However, no decision on this issue was taken. “There are several issues which are bogging down the project, including shifting of the police station. I have constituted a committee of all the concerned officials and have asked them to file a report within two weeks,” said Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta. The cabinet secretariat has told the government to sort out the issue immediately.

Dateline

2004: Detailed Project Report of Badarpur-Faridabad corridor is completed
November 6, 2007: Project gets a green signal after inspection by several civic agencies
September 4, 2008: NHAI signs an agreement with the concessionaire Hindustan Construction Company
November 3, 2008: Ministry for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways notifies acquisition of land
November 12, 2008: Delhi Police gets information for land acquisition
December 23, 2008: Work on the project begins

K K Rao is the new Faridabad SP

Lakes -Badkhal, Surajkund & Damdama disappear in mining pit

The Times of India

Surajkund and its adjoining lake, Badkhal, dried up a year ago. And now Damdama too has shrivelled up farmhouses are coming up on its dry bed. The greed of man both for mining stones and grabbing land is causing an ecological disaster in the Faridabad district of Haryana.

The lakes at Surajkund and Badkhal were popular getaways for Delhites and others because of their water bodies. Today, locals play cricket while villagers graze cattle on their dry beds. The residents of the area who have seen the tourist flow getting reduced to a trickle over the years complain that no effort was ever made to maintain the water flow to the historical Surajkund built in 10th century by King Surajpal of Tomar Dynasty to catch "the rain water from the hills''.

According to ASI officials, since the Kund has dried up, the complex hardly attracts any tourists except during the crafts mela. "The Kund has dried upsince the natural rain water supply chain has been blocked because of constructions. So, the water lost due to evaporation and natural recharge of groundwater was never replenished adequately,'' said a tourism department official, who did not wish to be named.

The Surajkund and Badkhal lakes, of course, have been killed by the unregulated mining all across the Aravalis in Faridabad and Gurgaon prior to Supreme Court imposing a blanket ban. "Since the gaping mine holes were never rehabilitated, the rain water does not reach the water bodies or, for that matter, even Damdama Lake. In many areas, the mining pits have breached the groundwater level and hence slowly these water bodies dried up,'' said Conservator of Forests R P Balwan.

An alarm had been sounded in the hydrological report submitted by the Ministry of Environment in its affidavit before the forest bench of Supreme Court in August last year. It had mentioned that these used mining pits were found "filled with water'' leading to "massive evaporation of groundwater'' about 8.86 lakh ccm of fresh water.

The report was prepared by the Chandigarh office of the Central Ground Water Board. It had also mentioned that "mining was mainly carried out below the water table by pumping out of groundwater'' and "dewatering of the mines had affected the groundwater regime, resulting in depletion of groundwater resources''.

"The natural drainage pattern has also altered due to mining and dumping of waste material,'' the report stated. R K Srinivasan, a researcher with the Centre for Science and Environment, too blames the indiscriminate mining. "Surajkund and Badkhal lakes dried up due to mining, massive quarrying and colonisation. We need to urgently restore the catchment area and to go for large-scale watershed management.'' Experts also point out that the Aravali rocks are predominantly quartzite which don't have porosity. "These rocks also don't have permeability meaning they don't have the capacity to allow flow of water in between grains,'' said an expert.

Earlier, when natural sources were active, these factors were not so relevant. Groundwater board officials warn that the drying up of these lakes doesn't augur well for the water supply to the twin cities. While Faridabad is 100% dependent on groundwater, Gurgaon gets 40% of its supply from under the ground.

Faridabad SP Shrikant Jadhav transferred

The Times of India

Shrikant Jadhav, who was earlier SP Faridabad, will be the new SP of Panchkula and Panchkula SP Sandeep Khirwar was transferred to Palwal district yesterday.

Home appliances & furnitures in Faridabad

• Ashoka Trading Co.- IFB, Sec16, Tel:4041956
• AVN Kitchens- Sec28, Link road, Tel:4014585
• Kunal kitchen- Prestige, Tel:2411938, Kishanlal Tel:4028116
• Pyramis-kitchen stuff- Monga Sanitary-Tel: 2260477, 2280477
• Mansi Kitchen-1A/231, Neelam Bata Road, Tel:9310005181
• Glen-kitchen-9910060203
• Evok-Ist & 2nd floor, Crown Interiorz Tel:9717822196, 4161022/26
• @home-furniture-Crown Interiorz Tel:4161191/92

Surajkund Craft Mela pictures 2009

The nine-yards wonder: Jamdani Sarees from Bangladesh


Foreign Guests busy parleying purchase plan


Live Performances


Come on kids i'm ready to give you a ride

Beware! Snake charmers on high notes

Colourful umbrellas

The perfect balance

The wide eyes

Biscope returns

The partner country

The lives on Terracotta

Different Strokes

Thailand beckons without 'smiles'

All Pictures: Faridabad Post

SC stays demolition of illegal Faridabad homes in Aravali Zone

The HINDU

The authorities in Haryana were restrained by the Supreme Court from demolishing illegal constructions in ecologically-threatened Aravali zone in Faridabad where hills have allegedly been damaged for building homes.

"Let the status quo be maintained," a special Forest Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan said. "Let us examine the issue and lay down some principle," the Bench, also comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and S H Kapadia, said.

The Bench passed the order after senior advocate Harish Salve, assisting the Bench in forest matters as amicus curiae (friend of court), said under the garb of the report of the Central Empowered Committee the authorities were ready with bulldozers.

The CEC report has called for demolition of encroachments in posh localities such as Kant Enclave, Lake Wood View Properties and some owned by Karmayogi Shelter Private Ltd in Faridabad.

The report relating to illegal constructions in Aravali hills in Gurgaon is awaited, the court was told adding that it would be placed before the bench in a day or two. Salve said the national capital would become a desert if mining and cutting of hill was allowed.

• Residents heave a sigh of relief after SC order
  

Mahindra to roll out mine-protected vehicle from Faridabad facility

Sify

Mahindra Land Systems will launch a mine-protected vehicle in early 2010 in partnership with UK-based defence manufacturer BAE Systems.

“The mine-protected vehicle will be the first one to come out of the joint venture. We will launch the prototypes by the end of this year and the final vehicle in early 2010,” Brigadier Khutub Hai, CEO, Mahindra Defence Systems, told Business Line. The vehicle will roll out of the Mahindra Special Military Vehicle facility at Faridabad.

Faridabad's water woes to end by 2011

The Times of India

Faridabad can hope to get 24X7 uninterrupted water supply by the second half of 2011, around two-and-a-half-years from now. After the Centre approved the Rs 493.4 crore water augmentation plan, city managers claim that Faridabad will get rid of all water tankers within six months and in the next phase of the project it would get round-the-clock water supply.

The Centre approved the plan placed by Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF) under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). According to a government release, the plan has been approved by the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee of the sub-mission on Urban Infrastructure and Governance under JNNURM. The Centre will provide Rs 246.7 crore assistance to MCF and proposes to release Rs 61.68 crore in the first instalment.

The main objective is to augment water supply sources and spread the supply network to cover the entire city. Said MCF commissioner R K Khullar: "The tender for the first phase has already been floated to ensure we don't waste time after getting central assistance. Every ward will get an overhead storage tank, which will store enough water to meet the supply for at least 40% of the houses for one day in case there is any disruption in supply from the source.''

Khullar added that after the second phase all tubewells that have turned saline would be abandoned. According to official estimates, approximately 230 tubewells out of 600 have turned saline and the water is unfit for consumption. The present transmission network, which depends entirely on groundwater, covers around 35% of the city.

At present, the per capita water supply is 87 lpcd, with urban poor getting only 40 lpcd, 34% of the area gets 40 lpcd and 17% of the city limits get 60 lpcd. The project envisages water augmentation up to the reservoir level through augmentation of service reservoirs by constructing reverse osmosis (RO) plants, radial collecting well, tubewells and buffer storage reservoirs.

With the population expected to shoot up in next few years, water demand is set to increase manifold. As per estimates, Faridabad's population would touch the 15.37 lakh mark by 2011 and will grow further by 2021 to about 21.34 lakh people. This figure is expected to reach 28.46 lakh by 2031.

The population of Faridabad is about 13.37 lakh (approx 40% living in slums), having daily water requirement of about 201 million litres (MLD). About 115 MLD is drawn from 420 deep tubewells and nearly 25 MLD from two ranney wells located along the Yamuna.

The MCF is likely to take up work to increase the drinking water supply and also improve its quality in the first phase. However, what seems to raise doubts about MCF's claims is that it has to share 50% of the project cost. "This is huge. With little source of income available to us, it would be nearly impossible to raise the amount,'' said an MCF official.

Electronics & Computer stores in Faridabad

• SONY-FF01, Parsvanath mall, Sec 12, Tel: 4159971, 9811473889
• Croma-Crown Interiorz
• NEXT-NIT 5M/118, Tel:9910085020, 4058011, Sec.19,Tel:4100436, 9899982070
• Prolab Computers-Sec16, Tel:9810022658, 9871597581
• Mayur Electrovision- Samsung products-SRS Mall, Tel:4090149, 2439553
• Ashoka Sales Agency- Sec16, Tel:4002716, 4012716
• Prolab Computers-Sec16, Tel:9810022658, 9871597581
• Sagar Computer-B364, Nehru Ground, Tel:40576, 9810810538
• Deep Computers- Parsvanath Mall, Sec12, Tel:4159904 Krishna Place, Neelam, Tel:2295429. 9810584887, 9810504887
• Jay Kay Computers- 9718511512
• GuruDev Computers- 9810549887

Salons in Faridabad

• 
  
  The Body Care- LG2-3, Crown Plaza, Sec15-A, Tel:4015014-16/18 http://www.thebodycare.in/
• 
  
  Real Essence- Sec15, Tel:2267686, 4127686
• 
  
  New Look laser clinic- Tel: 2227902/3
• 
  
  VLCC- Tel: 2269901, 2269902, 2268937
  http://www.vlcc.co.in/
• 
  
  Habibs-A4, Nehru Ground, NIT, Tel:2411721/24
• 
  
  Reflection-114, Sec31, Tel:3228282
• 
  
  Head Turners (curl & curves)
  197, Sec. 21B, Tel: 9910853420, 9310111897
• 
  
  Belinda beauty salonSec 29, Tel: 98105749936
• 
  
  Just Cuts Saloon- F14, Crown Interiorz, NH2, Sec35, Tel:4161139,09958586622
• 
  
  Profile- Sec. 34, Tel: 4105553, Sec. 21c, Tel: 4076151
• Sneha beauty Parlour- 323, sec29, nr. Holy Child School, Tel: 9953602061

Gym's

• 
  
  Shake'N'Shape fitness- Sec17 market, Tel:9899704400
• Gold's Gym- Sec16, Tel:0129-4070233/234/235, 9971003020

Utility Services in Faridabad

• Home Tuition: 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th Biology Classes
  By Mrs. R. Shukla
  Sec. 28
  Mobile: 9958270454
  
• Want to send plants as gifts                                                                           Log on to http://www.greensomethings.com/
  
  Contact Pallavi Jain- Tel: 9717103339
  
• Send flowers in Faridabad; Raj Flowers, Sec15, Tel:9811099723
  
• Need Autorickshaw dial Sanju Baba the autowallah on 9250449139

• Gupta showroom, Gift shopSec 29, Tel: 4047402
  
  
• Minni Mart, Gift shop1747A, Sec 29, HB Colony
  
  Tel: 9212095024
  
• Krishna Taxi Service
  
  Sec 29, tel; 9810367976
  
• Jai Laxmi taxi, Sec 33, Inderjeet Singh, Tel: 9818595072
  
  
• Taxi: Sec 21D, Tel: 9953541382, 9873366434 Sec 33, Tel: 9818595072
  
  
• Runny taxi, Sec 28, Tel: 9810446960, 9810179948
  
  
• Balaji Tour-Sec30-31, Old, Tel:9810414606
  
  
• Sai Advertisement & printer
  
  Shastri Colony
  Tel: 9811617744, 9899059054
  

• Manu financial services: shop no. 73, sector 28, Tel: 0129-2270954, 2276221, 9810474175
  
• Computer repair: Galaxy Enterprises, Sec 31, Tel: 4161913, 9811833949
  
• Physiotherapy: Sec 19, Tel: 9891791455, 9891782210
  
• All Services: property, generator, whitewash etc., Tel: 9711832295
  
• Newsvendor: Tilakram, Tel: 9891342792
  
• Electrician: Sec 29, 9810440693, 9312572759 (Jai Verma)
  
• Drinking Water: Sec 29, Tel:9891427028 (home supply)
  
• Air booking: 9810157911
  
• Dish TV-Sec29, Tel:9811196176, Sec19, Tel:9891509985
  
• BIG TV DTH- Tel:1800-200-9001; Connect India-9310181018
  
• Shivam Enterprises-for internal security apparatus-Sec16, Om Shubham Plaza, Tel:4073357
  
• Tuition-APT Netizens, Old Faridabad, Tel:9311605717, 4076333, email: aptnetizens@yahoo.com
  
• Airtel Broadband-Tel:4052800
  
• Tracking Solutions-Sec11, Tel:9999595560
  
• e-vision (safety devices)Old F’bd, near PNB
  Tel: 4077704, 9811250806
  http://www.evisionindia.com/
  
• Keshav Camera repair-5R/8,112, Neelam Chowk, Tel:9899991820
  
• Dipak Color lab- J-105, Sec9&10, Neelam Chowk, Tel:9810040090
  
• Water overflow alarm at Sainath Tech., SGM Nagar, NIT, 9899966173
  
• Vastu help, Tel:9990701505, 9210920732
  
• Book Express Library
  SCO12, shop no 9, sec16, Tel:9871066466, 9871066766
  email: onlinebookexpress@gmail.com
  
  

Interested in Sufi music, come Surajkund today

At 6 pm today the voice of Dev Dildar will be soothing your nerves at the Natyashala (auditorium) at the Surajkund Mela. A very special programme has been organised on the popular demand. It will be followed by classical dance by Anu.


Photo courtsey: The Tribune

Listen to Dev's song-Tichraan Na Karya Kar

• Surajkund is in full bloom
• Surajkund Craft Mela from Feb 01-15
• Handicrafts from Madhya Pradesh
• Surajkund Pictures 2009

KARNA to be staged today at Surajkund Mela

• Surajkund Pictures 2009

Surajkund Craft Mela is a Connoisseurs' paradise. Everyday there is wonderful performances are being held by the famous artists and groups. Theatres, Kavi Sammellan (poetry session), fashion-show, folk performances everything is there.

• Today, the Natyashala (auditorium) invites all of you interested and theatre lovers to be part of an epic dance-drama, KARNA, at 6pm. Sri Ram Bhartiya Kala Kendra will stage this drama.
• Tomorrow the danseuse Anu Sinha will enthrall you

Literally, all roads went to Surajkund this Sunday. More than 100,000 people visited the Venue and many people gave in and returned after spending hours in traffic jams. From, Faridabad side it took 3 to 4 hours to reach the Mela Venue, which takes usually 15-20 minutes.

Nevertheless, whoever reached there enjoyed the Mela very much; especially children and women. Food stalls minted money despite complaints that the rates were hyped.

Jamdani sarees from Bangladesh took the centrestage. The hand-made sarees are very soothing and useful in summers. The rates are between INR 1800-4000.
The evenings are more appealing as quality programmes are being held in the Mela Chaupal and Natyashala, the theatre.

Rajhans Hotel within the Mela provided glamour quotient when a fashion-show organised with some of the top models walked the ramp wearing traditional dresses on the Khajuraho theme.

• Surajkund is in full bloom
• Surajkund Craft Mela from Feb 01-15
• Handicrafts from Madhya Pradesh

Surajkund is in full bloom

• Surajkund Pictures 2009

Surajkund mela is in the full bloom hosting people from every part of India and abroad. For the people of Faridabad and Delhi it provides a rare opportunity to enjoy the outing and see the other India. The commemorative structure for the Mela is a replica of Bhimbetka, an important landmark of the Theme State Madhya Pradesh, popularly known as “The Heart of Incredible India”.

A fashion show on the theme “Khajuraho” will be organised by Madhya Pradesh on February 7.

a traditional Bheel couple of Madhya Pradesh at the Mela venue

Photo courtsey: Anjum Naim

Tickets for Surajkund mela:

• Apart from the Mela venue tickets are also available in Delhi at Metro stations, CGO Complex Lodhi Road, Player's Building at ITO, UPSC campus, Yojna Bhavan, ENT building at Patel Chowk, Krishi Bhavan, Eastern Court etc.
• In Faridabad, HUDA office in Sector-12, municipal corporation office, Punjab National Bank NIT tickets are available.
• Surajkund Mela Authority is providing a package deal for the visitors with lunch and exclusive parking zones near the entry point.

Foreign visitors have thronged Surajkund mela in large numbers and are on a buying spree. Their prime target is the Indian handicrafts. The shopkeepers are enthusiastic as well. The first two days sell touched INR 1.2 million. The students were seen volunteering and helping the guests in purchasing and became interpreter. Everyday on an average 200-300 foreigners are visiting the mela.

Folk performances and gourmets from different parts of India are high on the agendas of the visitors. People are enthusiastic about the cuisines from the theme state Madhya Pradesh, such as Daal Bafla, Corn Kachauri, Poha etc. You can find South Indian food, Rajasthani foods, and Chinese delicacies also.

The visitors are showing great interest in TUMA handicrafts from Madhya Pradesh -the handicrafts made from the hard shells of Pumpkin (kaddu or lauki).

Sensing the opportunity, the Haryana State AIDS Control Society (HSACS) has set up a stall on AIDS awareness and providing consultations and conducting tests.

Licence for property dealers in Faridabad

The Hindu

Any person, company or a society dealing in properties in Haryana will now have to get a licence according to the Haryana Regulation of Property Dealers and Consultants Rules, 2009 notified by the state government.

As per the rules, the licence holder shall get only one per cent commission on the agreed consideration value paid by the seller and purchaser of the property.

Both the seller and purchaser will pay 1/2 per cent on finalisation of the deal as per their agreement entered in the register of the dealer under the valid receipt.

In case of deal of lease/rent of immovable property, rate of commission shall be paid by the lesser and lessee at the rate of one month rent of property to the licence holder.

Any property dealer or a company/society/firm can apply for licence under the Act.
In case of individual, a person who has attained the age of 21 years and is not bankrupt can apply for a licence.

Faridabad as Green City

Indopia

Under a new Union government scheme, 60 cities in the country, including Gurgaon and Faridabad, would be developed as Solar or Green Cities during the 11th Plan period with a view to cut down conventional energy demand by 10 percent in five years.

Under the scheme, each of the 60 urban local governments would be provided a total of Rs 50 lakh assistance of which Rs 10 lakh would be for preparation of a Master Plan, Rs 10 lakh for setting up a Solar Cell in the city council, Rs 10 lakh for implementation of the plan over five years and the remaining Rs 20 lakh for other promotional activities.

Under the programme, of the 60 cities having population between 5 lakh to 50 lakh that would be provided assistance during the 11th Plan period, in principle approval for 15 cities including Gurgaon has already been accorded by the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

The in principle approval for Faridabad would also be accorded soon, the spokesman said while spelling out details of the new programme called" Development of Solar Cities".

The programme aims at enabling/empowering urban local governments to adopt energy efficiency measures and ensure greater use of renewable energy so as to reduce the projected demand for conventional energy by a minimum of 10 per cent by the end of five years.

Faridabad goes vertical

The Times of India

The Haryana government has decided to allow floor-wise registration of the houses falling under municipal limits, HUDA sectors and Town and Country Planning licenced areas. Besides making people in Gurgaon, Faridabad and Panchkula the legal owners of their part of the house, the move will also help the state earn a revenue of around Rs 200 crore annually as stamp duty.

It would be applicable only to the residential units in authorized areas and vertical divisions of plots and increase in floor area ratio (FAR) would not be allowed. In the existing sectors/areas the size of plots on which construction/floors are proposed to be registered independently would not be less than 180 square yards, he added.

State finance minister Birender Singh said that in addition to the normal stamp duty, 1% extra stamp duty would have to be paid by the party desirous of registering the floor-wise dwelling units through a separate challan. This 1% stamp duty would be paid by the treasury to the municipal committee/HUDA depending on where the property in question is located, for defraying the costs of additional external development that the municipal body/HUDA would have to incur due to the pressures on civic amenities that would rise.

The minister said registration of floors could also be done in case of plots which are yet to be constructed and there would be no restriction on the size of plots that could have multiple owners floor-wise. For new sectors, HUDA could devise rules and licence fees keeping in view this decision. Singh directed to expeditiously carry out any changes required in the existing rules and regulations of HUDA and Town and Country Planning Department to make the decision legal.

Relief for builders in Faridabad

The Times of India

Amid reports of private developers backing out of residential and commercial projects in the NCR, a worried Haryana government has announced flexible schemes for payment of licence fee for builders in Faridabad, Gurgaon, Sonipat and Rohtak. It has also extended the licence validity period from two to four years.
According to officials of the town and country planning department (DTCP), which grants licences to projects, the government has not come out with any financial package despite demands from developers. The present package, besides extending validity of the licence period, has also doubled the licence renewal period from one to two years. This means developers will now get more time to start construction work and at the same time, the renewal fee will come down drastically.

Private developers as well as government agencies will now need to pay only 25% of the licence fee while applying for a licence. The rest will have to be deposited when the licence is granted. Earlier, the full amount had to be paid while applying.

The present licence fee for one acre of residential and commercial property in Gurgaon is Rs 2.5 crore and Rs 1 crore respectively.

In another move, the government has extended the repayment period of external development charges (EDC) of such projects. Now the payment can be made in five years, against the earlier limit of four years. Responding to plea of developers finding it difficult to pay the enhancement fee at one go, the government has relaxed the norm to four equal instalments at 9% interest.

Faridabad based NPCC to receive stimulus

Steelguru

Faridabad based ailing PSU National Projects Construction Corporation Ltd may get stimulus from the government.

Project Monitor reported that ailing public sector unit National Projects Construction Corporation Ltd will receive INR 650 crore fiscal relief packages from the Centre.

A senior NPCC official said that the details and modalities are being worked out.

The official said that NPCC's current order book position is over INR 4,000 crore, adding that fencing of the Indo-Bangladesh border in the northeast was a major project on hand. The corporation is also executing projects for Assam Rifles, civil works for NTPC's power projects, apart from building all weather village roads in Bihar as part of the Centrally sponsored Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. There were no international projects on hand, although the company has executed contracts in Bhutan, Nepal and Iraq in the past.

Incorporated in 1957 and part of the ministry of water resources, Faridabad headquartered (Sector 25) NPCC was formed essentially to undertake irrigation projects. It subsequently diversified to other areas. NPCC is currently a loss making company, saddled with negative net worth.

CEC irked by concrete belt from Surajkund to Badkal

The Times of India

The array of schools, engineering colleges, residential colonies and farmhouses on the road connecting Surajkund and Badkal belie the fact that the area is actually a green belt.

The Supreme Court appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has termed the hectic construction activity as a violation of forest rules even as owners and promoters of the myriad buildings claim no rules have been violated.

A list of violations was submitted to the apex court years ago by the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA). The report - mentioned in the SC judgment on May 14, 2008 - said, "We saw large scale construction on this road (between Suraj Kund and Badkal) from schools to management colleges, and housing colonies.''

Now when the CEC has recommended the demolition of all these structures - some of the institutions were set up as recently as 2002 - as "procedures'' were not followed, owners have started asking why permissions were given by the Haryana government in violation of the law and why should individuals and companies pay the price of the government's oversight.