Centre has not given a single paisa for Kodagu disaster affected: Minister UT Khader
'Pratap Simha lacks information'
Mangaluru, Dec 9: "The central government has not given a single paisa for the rehabilitation of affected people in Kodagu natural disasters. Without knowing proper information, MP Pratap Simha has given statements just for publicity. If the centre has given the funds, let him give statistics", challenged Urban Development and Housing Minister UT Khader.
Speaking to reporters here on Sunday, the Minister said that when the natural disaster struck Kodagu district, it was state government which invested Rs 9.40 crore to construct houses for those who lost houses and became a model to the country. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has just sent an order saying that it would give Rs 546.21 crore for Kodagu rehabilitation work. But the centre has not yet released a single rupee for the purpose. NDRF funds would be equally distributed to 8 districts including Kodagu where natural disaster struck them. It was not just limited to the state. It was a routine process that NDRF would sanction funds to all states for that purpose. If Rs 546.21 crore was distributed equally for all eight districts, each district would get Rs 60 crore which will not suffice to develop just Sampaje road. Kodagu district was declared natural disaster hit district. But the Center has not declared a special package for Kodagu district, he said.
On humanitarian ground, both Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and Deputy Chief Minister Dr G Parameshwar released funds. When the houses were collapsed, the state government has given Rs 1 lakh and additional Rs 50,000 compensation against the norms. When there was a problem in North Karnataka during BJP administration, the affected people had to live in sheds for more than six months. But the coalition government has been giving house rent for the families which lost houses. Instead of single bed-room houses, the government has made available double bed-room houses, he said.
If the Lok Sabha Member has concerns and responsibility towards Kodagu people, he should have spoken in the Parliament and asked special package. Instead of speaking about such development works, he has spoken against the Chief Minister for publicity, he said.
Single window system to avoid middlemen
Implementing single window system would avoid the harassment and middlemen menace. The government would officially inaugurate single window system on December 15. Earlier, getting approval for house construction, layout planning and other works would have taken several months. In coming days, such works would be completed within a month and it was a model project to the entire country, he claimed.
People were facing lot of problems. Applications of some people were being rejected despite submitting all records and applications of some others were being accepted even though there were no proper records. In future, such complications would not happen. Officers of all concerned departments would attend the spot inspection and they would upload all information on the spot. All officials would get prior information on spot inspection date, time and details about the place to their mobile phones. This would ensure transparent administration as everything would be digitalized, he said.
Toll-free number for sand distribution
Sand distribution process started in the district since 15 days. If the people called over a temporary number, they would be supplied sand. In coming days, a toll-free number would be started to avoid middlemen. The Sand Distribution Monitoring Committee would fix the price on this new system. The City Corporation would collect sand from Thumbe vented dam and supply it to the people, the minister said.
Self licencing system
For getting NOC to construct 30x40 houses, it would take long time in the existing system. But in coming days, the beneficiaries could get the self licence just by uploading all the documents to the website. If the system was successful in the district, it would be extended to the entire state in future, Khader said.
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Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
