Projects stuck due to non-cooperation of AAP government: Harsh Vardhan
New Delhi, June 19: Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday said that projects in his parliamentary constituency Chandni Chowk, including the Shahjahanabad redevelopment plan, are stuck due to non-cooperation of Delhi's AAP government.
He also said that much-awaited Rani Jhansi flyover in north Delhi will be completed by August this year.
Asked about works stuck in his constituency, he said that two of his pet projects - the Shahjahanabad redevelopment plan and under-grounding of electric cables in Chandni Chowk - could not be accomplished as the Arvind Kejriwal government did not cooperate.
"We followed up the Shahjahanabad redevelopment plan aggressively, I also met Lt Governor (Anil Baijal) and he was interested but the Delhi government backed out. I also met Chief Minister but he was reluctant," said Harsh Vardhan.
He further added that another project for removing all the hanging electricity wires and cables in crowded Chandni Chowk area could not be accomplished because of the "attitude" of the Delhi government.
"We were in talks with the Union Power ministry and Delhi government... the mechanism is such that you got to have their (Delhi government) support... but after few meetings, the AAP government representatives stopped coming to the meetings," he said.
Citing his achievements in his constituency, Harsh Vardhan said these included opening over 50 open gyms, and a skill development centre for Muslim girls at Jama Masjid Police Station.
"Eighty more gyms are are planned, besides 35 to be developed with cooperation with DDA (Delhi Development Authority)," he said.
The Union Minister also disclosed his plan to provide separate facilities to women in the open gyms so that they are not deprived of the facility due to long queues in parks.
He said that around 237 projects were in different phases of progression in his constituency and will be visible in next one year.
"People had been walking in my house for past 25 years to get their issues resolved and they don't have to take any appointment... this the kind of public dialogue our government promotes," Harsh Vardhan added.
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Karnataka Cabinet to meet again to discuss SC internal reservation during recruitment
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka Cabinet has decided to meet again to discuss the issue of providing internal reservation among Scheduled Castes for direct recruitment in the government sector, as deliberations on the matter remained incomplete.
While no specific date for the next meeting has been announced, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil told reporters it would be held "at the earliest" and reiterated the government's commitment to the issue.
The issue came up for discussion at the Cabinet meeting on Thursday, amid reports of rifts between SC(Right) and SC (Left) factions within the ruling Congress over providing internal reservation in the recruitment to 56,432 vacant posts.
"The government is committed to providing internal reservation. We will meet again for further discussion. The chief minister will decide when to meet at the earliest. It will be a Cabinet meeting and will be held as early as possible," Patil said.
He said, "We had a detailed discussion on this matter for some time, but it was incomplete because many ministers are yet to speak on this. The order already issued (for filling up vacancies) will not be disturbed, and about other things, we will discuss in the next meeting."
The state government decided to conduct recruitment for 56,432 vacant jobs based on the reservation order in force before December 28, 2022, (15 per cent for SCs and 3 per cent for STs), due to the stay on the enhanced quota and internal reservation, while continuing to pursue its case in court.
The previous BJP government had increased the reservation quota for SCs from 15 per cent to 17 per cent and for Scheduled Tribes from 3 per cent to 7 per cent, raising the state's total reservation to 56 per cent, exceeding the Supreme Court-mandated 50 per cent ceiling.
While this matter is still in court, the Congress government decided to provide internal reservation by slicing up the 17 per cent reservation matrix given to 101 scheduled castes, under three groups, with a formula of six, six, and five per cent respectively.
According to sources, the SC(Left)/Madiga community, which has fought for internal reservation for decades, opposes recruitment for 56,432 jobs without providing internal reservation.
The SC (Right)/Holeya community, however, favoured recruitment without providing internal reservation.
At the meeting, the Cabinet gave administrative approval for Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation to purchase 144 'BS-VI' urban transport diesel buses at an estimated cost of Rs 62 crores.
It also granted administrative approval for the purchase of hardware and software for implementing ICJS (Inter-operable Criminal Justice System) and IT services in the state under the Police Modernisation Project at an estimated cost of Rs 227.58 crores.
The Cabinet also asked the health minister to speak with officers, doctors and other staffers appointed on a permanent, contract, temporary, or outsourced basis in the health department, who have threatened to go on strike over their various demands.
Approval was also given for amendments to certain sections of the Karnataka Municipalities Act, 1964, and the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976, regarding advertisement charges under local bodies.
