First ever PTM in Delhi Govt. schools a huge success #DelhiGovernance

First-ever PTMs in govt schools a huge success.

Happy parents, students and teachers make it a win-win for Delhi govt.

 

New Delhi, July 30, 2016

For the first time in Delhi, more than a 1000 government schools held parent teacher meetings (PTMs) in which parents and students met with teachers to discuss their performance. The scene outside government schools in the capital wore a festive air with hundreds of students accompanied by parents queuing to discuss their performance and other issues with the class teachers.

Earlier, while announcing the PTMs Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Mr Manish Sisodia had urged every parent to participate in the PTM and explaining the Educations Department’s efforts to improve the quality of education in government schools.

Today Mr Sisodia visited several schools in every zone of Delhi and interacted with parents, students and teachers and said he was pleased to see the overwhelming response to the government’s initiative.

At the Rashtriya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya (RRPV) in Civil Lines Mr Sisodia visited several classrooms where PTMs were in progress and talked to parents as well as students. “I am happy that I have been able to provide in Delhi’s government schools that which every parent looks forward to for their children,” he said. “I noted how students are happy that teachers were praising them in front of their parents. Such meetings will inspire not just students but parents and teachers as well,” he added.

Mr Sisodia spoke about the Delhi “model” of education and hoped that it would inspire other states to improve the quality of education provided in their schools. He said “Chunauti 2018” was a radical measure of the Delhi Government aimed at providing “age-appropriate learning” to students. “Delhi has some 16 lakh students in government schools. No change is possible unless we change and improve our government schools,” he insisted.

The Deputy CM was praised by several parents for starting PTMs and they urged him to make PTMs a regular part of the school curriculum. For starters, Mr Sisodia said that the Delhi Government had allotted a separate budget for two Mega-Parent Teacher Meets every year in every school. He said PMTs will be held every quarter to ensure that this vital dialogue between teachers, students and parents continues.

Delhi Chief Minister Mr Arvind Kejriwal congratulated Mr Sisodia in a tweet: “Congrats Manish for organizing Mega PTM in govt schools. V heart warming stories coming from various schools.” Mr Satyendar Jain, Minister of Health also tweeted about the “first ever Parents Teacher Meeting in govt schools of Delhi.

Many ministers and several AAP MLA also visited various government schools in the capital to see the first PTMs being held. The twitter handle #MegaPTMInDelhi was trending as social media users discussed the AAP Government’s initiative.

At the RPVV in Civil Lines, Mr Sisodia met three alumni of the school who did not realise the special occasion and simply happened to be revisiting their alma mater today. “We’re from the 1998 batch and came back today to revisit our memories of school,” said Nitin to Mr Sisodia. “I wish we had this concept in our days. But we are thrilled to see it being implemented now,” he added.

Mr Sisodia said that the success of the Mega PTM showed that it was possible to improve standards at government schools so that there is no difference between them and the education provided by private schools.

Delhi Minister @SatyendarJain inspects land for EWS housing #DelhiGovernance

·       Urban Development Minister Satyendra Jain inspects land for EWS housing

 New Delhi: 29/07/2016

Delhi Urban Development Minister Mr Satyendar Jain today visited Bhalswa Dairy area in North Delhi and Raja Garden in northwest Delhi to inspect land acquired by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) for constructing housing for the economically weaker sections (EWS). Mr Jain was accompanied by V.K. Jain, Chief Executive Officer of DUSIB and other senior officials of the Urban Development Department.

The DUSIB is primarily responsible for improving the quality of life of Slum & JJ Dwellers in Delhi. The Slum & JJ Department which was earlier part of MCD has now been transferred to Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, under Delhi Govt. with Hon’ble CM as its Chairperson.

The Delhi Government has focused on in-situ (on site) rehabilitation of slums in Delhi. The government says that relocation would be done only if there is a court order or if the encroached land is required for a specific public project.

The Minister said, “It is my endeavour to provide housing to the economically weaker sections of society, with all civic amenities. We aim to resettle the homeless so that no one is without shelter.”

Delhi Govt. develops and inaugurates Kalam Memorial at Dilli Haat #DelhiGovernance

Delhi Government develops and inaugurates Kalam Memorial in the National Capital

 

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal along with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Art &Culture Minister Kapil Mishra inaugurated the Kalam Memorial in the nation’s capital yesterday. The Memorial has been built, at Dilli Haat in INA area, to honor the late President and eminent scientist. It contains his personal belongings including books and his treasured artifacts.

 

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was known as the people’s President and was universally loved and revered. He had dedicated over four decades of his life to our country’s esteemed Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), while also playing a pivotal role in making India a nuclear power. His sudden death on July 27, 2015 shocked the whole country. Soon after he passed away, there was a growing demand to convert his Delhi home into a memorial and knowledge center. His supporters strongly believed that Dr. Kalam’s books and belongings would be most useful for students, academics and his followers, if they were well preserved in Delhi. Chennai-based veteran journalist Bhagwan Singh, an admirer of Dr Kalam, decided to start an online public campaign. His campaign asked the Central government to convert Dr. Kalam’s house into a Knowledge Centre. His petition on Change.org was supported by over 30,000 people. Despite repeated requests from family members and various other sections of the society, the Central Government evacuated Dr. Kalam’s house. However, the Delhi Government responded proactively to the concerns of the citizens and decided to build a memorial to pay tribute to our beloved former President and an exceptional Indian. On May 4th 2016, the Delhi Cabinet approved the setting up of this Memorial.

 

Dr. Kalam’s family then placed a formal request with the Delhi Chief Minister’s office for setting up the memorial in Delhi. A three-member committee was set up to facilitate this transfer of Dr. Kalam’s belongings to its rightful place in Delhi. In April 2016, Minister Kapil Mishra arranged for this transfer from his hometown in Rameshwaram,Tamil Nadu to Delhi. The Minister also met the Late President’s elder brother Mohammed Muthu Meera Lebbai Maraikayar and thanked him for donating many of Dr. Kalam’s personal possessions to the Delhi Government. At the inauguration yesterday, Kapil Mishra said, “Today Kalam Sir is coming back to Delhi, and this time it is forever. We are proud to carry forward his legacy in Delhi.”

 

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, while inaugurating the Memorial yesterday, said, “This Memorial will ensure that our citizens have a place to observe Dr. Kalam’s life, times and memories. From Rameshwaram to Rashtrapati Bhavan to People’s Hearts, we dedicate this memorial to Dr. Kalam and every child of India.” while Deputy CM Manish Sisodia added that, “The Delhi Government resolves to bring Dr. Kalam’s teachings and advice to life by ensuring that every child gets proper education that enables them to choose the path to true enlightenment.”

 

@KapilMishraAAP promotes the message of love and harmony through wall painting event #DelhiGovernance

• Art and Culture Minister Kapil Mishra participates in Shahdara Wall Painting Event at DJB Office in Shahdara
• Wall painting event consisted of music, dance and painting of Delhi stories in 4 languages: Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and English
•  Culture Minister Kapil Mishra hails this event as a strong message against those spreading hatred
• Wall painting event by Delhi, I Love You marks the completion of the Urdu story painting that was stopped by RSS and BJP workers in Shahdara

On the occasion of painting the 20th mural from #MyDilliStory series,the walls of the Delhi Jal Board office on GT Road near Shahdara between 5-6 pm on 26^th July 2016.

The event was attended by Shri. Kapil Mishra, Hon’ble Minister of Languages, Tourism, Art & Culture and Water, Government of Delhi, who encouraged the artists and musicians, as well as expressed his support and love for the linguistic diversity of Delhi.

Kapil Mishra, Hon’ble Minister of Languages, Tourism, Art & Culture and Water, Government of Delhi said, “Today’s event was about sending a strong message to those who think that they can create boundaries and walls of hatred amongst various religions and communities. By painting this wall with vibrant stories of Delhi in its different languages, we are breaking those walls. Last time, when the painters were painting the Urdu story, they were harassed by RSS men and their beautiful painting was splashed over with words “Swach Bharat Abhiyan” and “Jai Shri Ram”.”

Further, he added, “Instead of thanking the foreigners for their service to the city, they attempted to use language and religion to polarize us as Muslims/Hindus or Indians/Pakistanis. Today’s music, energetic performance by NerveGizers and beautiful story wall-painting by Delhi, I Love You is a strong response that shows that love, peace and harmony defeat hatred, war and chaos each and every time. We are back here to raise awareness of our unity in diversity and also show the power of colours, music and dance. We will take this message across the city to spread communal harmony and unity. We will never allow preachers of hate to hold this city’s heart and soul to ransom.”

He finally stated, “The Delhi Government recognises and respects the diversity that coexists in Delhi and is happy to be associated with projects like these, that encourage the use of local languages in Delhi. Art and culture have the power to create autonomous platforms for communication in times like these, where we find society paralyzed by polarity. It is imperative that we try to be more tolerant and accepting of each others cultural, religious, linguistic differences. The young musicians, poets and artists of Delhi are here to show us the way and we stand by them.”

Aastha Chauhan, Director, Delhi I Love you, said “#MyDilliStory has painted 20 murals in the neighbourhoods of  Punjabi Bagh, Ashok Vihar, Rohini, Jhandewalan, Kewal Park, Paschim Vihar, Pratap Nagar, Pahar Ganj and Kashmiri Gate. At the midway mark, we are happy to be amongst friends who believe in plurality and are bringing their music to our site in Shahdara to support our work.

#MyDilliStory is a Twitter based competition that invited people to share their stories, poems and quotes about Delhi. Forty of these tweets were selected by a jury and are currently being painted on prominent public walls around the city, by the city’s signboard painters. Entries were invited in Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi and English. The idea behind #MyDilliStory is to bridge the virtual and physical divide, bring the magic of hand painted typographies back into public spaces and most importantly celebrate the linguistic diversity of this megacity. The project is in partnership with the Delhi Government, Twitter India, Nerolac Paints and Tales on Tweet.”

About DILY-Delhi, I love You: A independent movement of Love in the city of Delhi that started in May 2015. DILY is an initiative with an aim to promote people who bring positive energy to the city, to connect people & organisations in Delhi who have not worked together before.The programming for the movement  includes projects that focus on Art, Music, Food, History, Architecture, Environment and Social work.  

 

 

Delhi Jal Board praised for Palla floodwater harvesting at Natural Cities Conference #DelhiGovernance

• DJB lauded for Palla floodwater harvesting efforts at the Natural Cities Conference
• Scientists, environmentalists and water activists hail DJB’s efforts in floodwater harvesting
• Amravati, the new capital of Andhra Pradesh, to learn from Delhi model of water management
• Noted scientist Vikram Soni, Water Activist Diwan Singh and veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar hail Delhi’s model of water management as a positive step

At a recently organized at India International Center in New Delhi, Delhi Jal Board was widely lauded for their groundbreaking efforts on extracting water from Yamuna’s floodplains in an environmentally sustainable manner. The event was attended by activists, environmentalists, farmers and fishermen from Andhra Pradesh. Their capital city, Amravati, is being developed in floodplains and thus is seen as a potential benefactor of this model. This event was of critical importance for other cities as well due to their increasing reliance on limited and rapidly depleting freshwater resources.

Delhi Jal Board’s Palla project has already started capturing 24 million gallons per day (MGD) extra water and is likely to increase in phases to 60 MGD by the end of the year. In addition to capturing this extra water, a new reservoir and SCADA enabled water quality monitoring systems will be set up as a part of the project. This project comes as a respite for cities like Delhi, which rely on other states’ water for fulfilling their demand.

Vikram Soni, Professor emeritus at JNU, said, “Flood plains of all rivers in the country, be it Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Krishna or any other river in the country must be protected and be used in ‘ conserve and use’ manner to give a sustainable, perennial supply of water to the adjacent city, town or village.” He added that, “Floodplains of Krishna at Amravati site can give 75 MCM (45 MGD) of water. Its value is worth Rs 900 crores at normal tanker rates.” to highlight the additional financial prudence of this project.

Kuldip Nayar, eminent journalist and activist, said “Destruction of natural resources like flood plains would be hugely disastrous for present and future generations. We must protect these sacredly and thus Delhi Government’s step in this direction is a welcome one.”

Diwan Singh, a water activist very closely associated with the project, said that the proposal was drafted in 2007 and since then they had been pursuing the matter with DJB. He said, “I thank Delhi Government for adopting “conserve and use” scheme for Yamuna Flood plains. It would be great if can conserve these plains and allow no further constructions on them to allow for water recharge, and agriculture cum biodiversity functions.”

The project has proved that cities like Delhi, which comprise of river floodplains, can gain access to additional freshwater in a non-invasive, sustainable and perennial manner. Experts present at the conference emphasized that the concept, methodology and outcomes of this one of a kind project deserve to be widely disseminated across the country and internationally.  A common call was made for Amravati to use this process and technology to meet their future water requirement.

Experts summarized that harvesting water from floodplains is almost a new perennial source of water for urban regions across the country and can be used as a regular and a contingency water reserve. They cautioned that as long as we don’t over-exploit this resource, and prevent encroachment on river floodplains, it could become a dependable source for around 300 towns and cities in India.

@IIITDelhi, Delhi Govt.’s premier university to host Mini Maker Faire #DelhiGovernance

IIIT Delhi, Delhi Government’s premier technology university to host Mini Maker Faire on 6th August 2016

For the first time in Delhi, the first Mini Maker Faire will be organised on the 6th August 2016 at the IIIT Delhi campus. 50 shortlisted makers will showcase their projects at the faire from across age groups and disciplines.

Some highlights of the faire are: mini-workshops and D-I-Ys (do-it-yourself) by community makers, games, performances and interactive installations by volunteer teams and community partners, industry sponsored workshops and stalls.

Each and every student of Delhi (6th grade and above) is welcome to experience the faire and be introduced to the world of makers as the ‘Maker Movement’ around the world is here to stay to change the future of things.

School children in uniform with valid id, if not, students who come in groups accompanied by a school teacher will be FREE OF CHARGE.

As a precursor to the event, principals, teachers and educators are welcome for a program titled “Orientation of Fabrication in School” program on the day before the faire at IIIT Delhi between 2-5 pm on 5th August 2016. Workbench Projects, the hosts of Delhi Mini Maker Faire, have planned for a 3 hour Orientation of Fabrication in School Program on the day before the faire at IIIT Delhi between specially designed for school principals, teachers, school leaders and educators.

Details of both events are given in the posters attached.

@KapilMishraAAP launches #NoJailNoMooch to expose BJP MLA Vijender Gupta #DelhiGovernance

Delhi Water Minister Kapil Mishra launched a countdown to expose the duplicitous behaviour and action taken by the Bharatiya Janta Party.

विधानसभा को वादा था अगर दो महीने में अपने भाजपाई आकाओं से  शीला दीक्षित को जेल नहीं करवा पाये तो विजेंदर गुप्ता जी अपनी मूँछे मुंडवा लेंगे। आज से उलटी गिनती शुरू।

In a campaign titled #NoJailNoMooch, he reminded the media and the citizens of Delhi of the falsehoods and empty promises made by BJP MLA Vijender Gupta.

Water Minister Kapil Mishra said, “BJP MLA Vijender Gupta had tried to divert attention from the issue of Congress corruption using illogical and tragecomic performances in the Delhi Legislative Assembly when he stood on top of the LOP’s table. His disgraceful move could not shroud the truth though. We have given all FIRs and evidence against former CM Sheila Dikshit to the ACB, CBI, LG and PM Modi ji.

And yet, there has been no action. She has still not been arrested and is being written “request letters” instead of being treated like a criminal. On June 13th 2016, a promise was made that Vijender ji would shave his moustache in 2 months if former CM Sheila Dikshit is not arrested. August 13th is coming soon. This is why we have launched a volunteer-created website www.nojailnomooch.com which seeks to track the time until when Vijender Gupta and the BJP will fall flat on yet another promise.

Our countdown is a reminder to him to arrest former CM Sheila Dikshit, which he can’t do because of the active collusion between BJP and Congress. In which case, he should prepare for a new facelift, and remove his moustache and confess in front of the people of Delhi, that his words were lies and jumlas. ”

Press Conference Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHu7Dm-Kvv8
Website Link: http://www.nojailnomooch.com/
Youtube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDrxgRYemLU

PS: To be clear, this website and campaign is run by volunteers and not by the Delhi Government.

Delhi Govt. PWD to illuminate dark spots in Delhi #DelhiGovernance

DELHI GOVERNMENT’S PWD TO ILLUMINATE DARK SPOTS IN DELHI

–     Over 3768 light poles and 7428 LED lights will be installed at the identified dark spots –

 

New Delhi, July 26, 2016

The Public Works Department (PWD) of Delhi Government will initiate the process of installing street lights at the identified dark spots across East Delhi and North Delhi Municipal corporation area roads. The PWD has received the much-awaited NOC from the North and East Municipal Corporations.

 The illumination of such dark spots will make the areas safer for the residents in general and will ensure women safety also.

 A detailed survey was initiated by the PWD to identify the dark spots in these regions. It was found that there are 124 dark spots in the East Delhi Municipal area and around 7304 dark spots in the North Delhi Municipal area.

 The PWD will immediately commence work of lighting up these areas and will install around 82 poles in East Delhi and 3686 poles in North Delhi regions. The Department also plans to install 124 LED lights in East Delhi and around 7304 LED lights in the North Delhi region to illuminate the dark spots.

The proposed drive to illuminate these regions will be initiated immediately and is expected to be completed within a span of 3-4 months in the East Delhi region and will be completed within 5-6 months in the North Delhi region. Installing LED lights in these regions will help in reducing the overall electricity consumption and also help generate substantial savings.PWD is yet to receive NOC from the South Delhi Municipal corporation.

The proposed drive by the Delhi government will help address the pertinent issue of women safety in these regions and will also reduce the risk of accidents in these regions.

@ArvindKejriwal promises ten times compensation to consumers in false power theft cases #DelhiGovernance

Ten times compensation to consumers in case of false power theft cases soon

Dated : 26/7/2016

 

 The Chief Minister of Delhi, Mr. Arvind Kejriwal, on July 26 asked the Power department to expedite the implementation of the directions issued by the department to the DERC on paying compensation to the consumers over false power theft cases.

 The Chief Minister enquired about the delay in the implementation and asked the officials of the department to talk to the DERC and get it expedited which will in turn send a relief to the people of Delhi.

 Earlier, the government had decided to pay consumers 10-times of the amount if they are falsely charged with power theft.

 The DERC was directed by the Power Department to implement the orders for the good of the consumers. A compensation to the tune of ten times has to be paid by the power companies to the aggrieved consumer in case of penalty charges over false charges of power theft. Power companies will have to pay the fine directly to the consumer. This was communicated to the DERC through a notification issued by the Delhi Government earlier.

 According to the notification which was issued by the Delhi Government, there are numerous consumer complaints whereby they are wrongly accused of power theft under Section 135 of the Electricity Act 2003. Similar such complaints have also been received by various MLAs across Delhi. In addition to this, cases related to power theft have been dismissed by the Civil and Special Courts numerous times. However, the whole process of getting justice takes away a good amount of time and money of the consumers.

 According to the notification, DERC will depute senior officials to give requisite permissions required to carry out inspections of discoms wherever cases of power theft and misuse have been reported. Simultaneously, such cases will also have to be reported with the consumer grievance cell of the Delhi Government. Moreover, only post approvals from the Public Grievance Cell of the Delhi Government, the discoms can send the bill to the consumers for final assessment.

Dy. CM @msisodia inaugurates new campus of Ambedkar University #DelhiGovernance

New Delhi:27/07/2016

Ambedkar University of Delhi campus inaugurated

Dy CM & Education Minister vouches for the left out 1.25 lakh 12^th pass out students in Delhi

New Delhi: More than half of 2.5 lakh students, who pass out of schools every year, are not able to make it to the colleges for higher studies. They either dropout, or make it to the colleges outside Delhi or get admission into the private colleges paying a hefty amount. How can we accommodate them, asked Dy Chief Minister Mr Manish Sisodia to the University officials while inaugurating the new campus of Ambedkar University of Delhi at Karampura on July 27, 2016.

The AUD campus has the capacity of accommodating 200 undergraduate students in four courses at the momentand will accommodate over 2200 students by 2019. It aims at becoming a multi-campus University with facilities across the city. Till now it has been operating from its campus at Kashmere Gate where 40 Undergraduate, Postgraduate and research programmes are offered currently. Two new campuses in Rohini and Dheerpurare are scheduled to function from 2020. The University focuses on research and teaching in social sciences and humanities.

Addressing the august gathering, Mr. Sisodia emphasized the need to scale up the capacity to accommodate more students and urged the teaching faculty and university officials to maintain the standards of education at all cost.

He said, “The proportion of increasing the seats every year by 10 to 100 will not work. Over 2.5 lakh students out of 26 lakh, including that of 16 lakh from the Govt schools, pass out every year from the schools.” He stressed upon improving the quality of education and at the same time increasing the seats. He challenged the teaching and student community to make this University a “much sought after Institute”. He emphasized on the need for creating an ambience to have research activities in the campus along with skill related courses.

Speaking on the occasion, Ms. Punya Salila Shrivastava, Secretary, Education, elaborated upon the key initiatives taken by the Delhi Government this year by opening Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences & Research University, 9 polytechnics that were upgraded to Institutes of Technology and affiliated to IP University and are running B.Voc. courses with over 900 seats. Two ITIs have been made operational at Mangolpuri and Nandnagri (women). Two new private institutions have started offering undergraduate courses at Leelavati Munshi College of Education and Action for Autism in 2016. IP University has last year increased the enrollment by 4000 after streamlining the processes. This year it has increased the capacity by another 2000 by introducing two new institutions, colleges and also by expansion of courses.

Prof Shyam B Menon, Vice Chancellor shared the vision of Dr B R Ambedkar for social justice and transformation. He said, the university is specifically working in the area of Development studies, Public Policy, Disability studies, publishing, among others. The objective is to expand and diversify the classroom mode of education to the field exploring mode of education.