New Delhi Apr 27 PTI Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Wednesday launched a pilot project to ecologically restore the central ridge and it involves replacing invasive Mexican trees vilayati kikar with indigenous speciesThe central ridge is spread over 864 hectares and according to a plan announced last year 423 hectares of it will be restored in five yearsThe invasive vilayati kikar is spread over 7500 hectares in Delhi which is not conducive to the capitals environment We have today launched a pilot project to remove this tree species from 10 hectares in the central ridge Rai told reportersThe government had in March last year set up a six-member advisory committee to monitor the progress of the project and ensure timely and effective on-ground complianceThe forest department plans to remove vilayati kikar which doesnt allow other species to thrive and leads to water table depletion through canopy lifting and planting native trees shrubs and grasses suitable for the ridges soilConsidered the lungs of the national capital the ridge is an extension of the Aravalli hill range in Delhi and is a rocky hilly and forested areaIt has been divided into four zones -- south south-central central and north -- due to administrative reasons These four zones make up a total area of around 7784 hectares PTI GVS NSD NSD

New Delhi Apr 26 PTI The Delhi government will develop four world-class city forests in the national capital where people can spend a good time in the lap of nature Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on TuesdayThe theme of the project will be Prakriti Ke Paas Parivar Ke Saath There are 19 city forests in Delhi of which four have been selected for further developmentThese are Mitraon city forest 98 acres in west Delhi Alipur city forest 48 acres in north Delhi Garhi Mandu city forest 42 acres in northeast Delhi and Jaunapur city forest 98 acres in south Delhi Rai said at a press conferenceOnly eco-friendly developmental work will be undertaken in these city forestsThe forest department will develop meditation huts amphitheaters of grass and mud and nurseries in the city forests Outdoor activities like bird watching and jungle walks will be promoted thereIt has also been recommended that the forests be developed into an open museum or a living lab he saidThe government is going to set up a steering committee that will oversee the development of these four world-class city forests Rai said Our government wants to provide the people of Delhi a place where they appreciate natureand educate the next generation about it he added The minister said Delhis green cover has increased from 20 per cent in 2013 to 2306 per cent in 2021 due to the measures taken by the Arvind Kejriwal government Delhi has also surpassed all other cities in the country in terms of per capita forest cover he said PTI GVS ANB ANB

New Delhi Apr 25 PTI The Punjab government will replicate Delhis education model in the state in order to provide quality education to students from all economic backgrounds Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said on MondayMann who is on a two-day tour of the national capital along with senior officers of his government visited health institutes and schools in the city to understand the Delhi model and replicate it in PunjabDelhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia accompanied Mann to a Delhi government school at Chirag EnclaveA revolution in the education system is being discussed across the country We will replicate the same model in Punjab The country will progress this way by learning from each otherMirroring the Delhi governments efforts we will train teachers and principals We will borrow suggestions from them the Delhi government to reform our government schools We will create an environment in the government schools for the students to thrive in The children of both the rich and the poor will sit and study at the same desk Mann saidIt is really a mindblowing experience to see this prestigious school equipped with world-class infrastructure and highly qualified staff to steer the career of young minds through innovative teaching practices I am highly impressed to see a classroom with paperless teaching where the students are taking lessons on their laptopsThese ultra-modern teaching gadgets with advanced skills would also be replicated in the Punjab schools to provide quality education to the students digitally he addedKejriwal said Let us work together to strengthen the education system of the country Why cant Punjabs schools and hospitals be as good as Delhis We will do our best to transform Punjab and leave no stone unturned Mann is accompanied by a battery of senior officers from the school education and the health and family welfare departments of Punjab to take inputs on the two crucial sectorsBorrowing ideas from the Delhi government the Punjab government will offer a better environment for its students and teachers to thrive in Punjab will become the land of job providers and not of job seekers We will transform the state It is my word We will put all our efforts towards Punjabs progress and growthThe school we visited on Monday has grand halls a swimming pool students in mindfulness classes -- all indicating the next level of education I talked to the students many of whom have joined the school after leaving big private schools Like Delhi we will place full emphasis on education in Punjab as well Soon you will get to see world-class smart schools being developed in Punjab Mann saidThe Punjab chief minister attended happiness and deshbhakti classes at the Kautilya Government Sarvodaya Co-ed Vidyalaya in Chirag Enclave The guests were welcomed by an NCC band that presented a guard of honourThe Aam Aadmi Party AAP stormed to power in Punjab winning 92 of the 117 seats in the state Assembly in the polls held in February PTI GJS RC

New Delhi Apr 25 PTI Two fresh dengue cases were reported in Delhi last week that took the citys tally to 76 according to a South Delhi Municipal Corporation SDMC report released on MondayTill April 18 this year 74 dengue cases had been recorded in the cityTwo fresh dengue cases were reported last week At least 76 dengue cases have been recorded so far this year the report saidNo death has been reported due to the vector-borne disease so far it saidDelhi had recorded 23 dengue cases in January 16 in February and 22 in March As many as 15 cases had been reported till April 23 the report statedDuring the period from January 1 to April 23 14 cases were logged in 2021 13 in 2020 eight in 2019 12 in 2018 and 18 in 2017 it saidCases of vector-borne diseases are usually reported between July and November but the period may stretch till mid-DecemberCivic officials said this year dengue cases are being recorded early due to the congenial weather for mosquito breedingThe SDMC is the nodal agency for the control of vector-borne diseases in the cityLast year 9613 dengue cases the highest since 2015 were recorded in the national capital As many as 23 deaths the highest since 2016 were also recorded in the cityIn 2016 10 deaths due to dengue were recordedDelhi had recorded two deaths due to dengue in 2019 four in 2018 and 10 in 2017According to the SDMC report 4431 dengue cases were recorded in Delhi in 2016 4726 in 2017 2798 in 2018 2036 in 2019 and 1072 in 2020In 2015 the city had witnessed a massive outbreak of dengue with the number of cases crossing 10600 in October itself It was Delhis worst dengue outbreak since 1996Delhi has also reported nine cases of malaria and eight of chikungunya so far this year the SDMC report saidThe SDMCs Public Health Department on Monday conducted a drive to check mosquito breeding at construction sites in schools and hospitals and issued 99 notices against violatorsLast week also the SDMC had issued 144 notices against violators PTI AKM AKM DIV DIV DIV

New Delhi Apr 25 PTI Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday said his state will learn from Delhis model of mohalla clinics that has won the national capital praise from the entire worldMann who is on a two-day visit to the national capital to learn about the best practices of the Aam Aadmi Partys AAP model of governance visited a mohalla clinic a government hospital and schools with his Delhi counterpart Arvind KejriwalAt the mohalla clinic Mann interacted with the patients who told him that it takes them just 10 minutes to meet the doctor and get medicinesThe mohalla clinics in Delhi have been praised by the entire world We too will learn from this model for the betterment of Punjab Mann saidPunjab Health Minister Vijay Singla and senior officials are accompanying Mann on the Delhi visitBhagwant Mann ji visited Delhis hospitals and world-famous mohalla clinics He was very impressed he expressed his wish to build similar hospitals and clinics in Punjab too We will extend all possible help to the Punjab government to provide world-class health facilities to the people of that state Kejriwal saidLast month Singla had announced that their government would set up 16000 mohalla clinics across Punjab Besides every resident of the state would get a health card he had saidKejriwal said 95 per cent of the patients visiting Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics in Delhi are satisfied with the services provided thereAnybody be it from any state can come and get free treatment at these health facilities he saidWe have opened two mohalla clinics in Delhis most posh area Greater Kailash and a lot of well-off patients also come to these centres They say they do not get such care anywhere else Kejriwal told MannDelhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said all major tests are conducted at mohalla clinics free of cost and the reports are uploaded online the next dayDuring a visit to Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital Kejriwal told Mann that government hospitals in Delhi are as modern as private hospitalsKejriwal and Mann also interacted with the patients at the hospitalAt a government school in Chirag Enclave Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia told Mann that after coming to power in Delhi the AAP had called a meeting of school principals and sought their suggestions to strengthen the education system in the cityKejriwal told the Punjab officials that the principals of government schools were sent for training abroad and the teachers were trained at Indian Institutes of ManagementTamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin had also visited mohalla clinics and government schools in Delhi earlier this month He had said that his government would create a model school in the southern state on the lines of Delhi and invited Kejriwal to visit it PTI GVS DIV DIV

New Delhi Apr 25 PTI Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday said his state will learn from Delhis model of mohalla clinics that has won the national capital praise from the entire worldDelhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal showed a mohalla clinic and government schools to Mann who is on a two-day visit to the national capital to learn about the best practices of the Aam Aadmi Partys AAP model of governanceAt the mohalla clinic Mann interacted with the patients who told him that it takes them just 10 minutes to meet the doctor and get medicinesThe mohalla clinics in Delhi have been praised by the entire world We too will learn from this model for the betterment of Punjab Mann saidPunjab Health Minister Vijay Singla and senior officials are accompanying Mann on the Delhi visitKejriwal said 95 per cent of the patients visiting Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics in Delhi are satisfied with the services provided thereAnybody be it from any state can come and get free treatment at these health facilities he saidWe have opened two mohalla clinics in Delhis most posh area Greater Kailash and a lot of well-off patients also come to these centres They say they do not get such care anywhere else Kejriwal told MannDelhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said all major tests are conducted at mohalla clinics free of cost and the reports are uploaded online the next dayAt a government school in Chirag Enclave Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia told Mann that after coming to power in Delhi the AAP had called a meeting of school principals and sought their suggestions to strengthen the education system in the cityKejriwal told the Punjab officials that the principals of government schools were sent for training abroad and the teachers were trained at Indian Institutes of ManagementTamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin had also visited mohalla clinics and government schools in Delhi earlier this month He had said that his government would create a model school in the southern state on the lines of Delhi and invited Kejriwal to visit it PTI GVS DIV DIV

New Delhi Apr 25 PTI The Punjab government will replicate Delhis education model in the state where students from all economic backgrounds will get quality education Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said on Monday Mann who is on a two-day visit to Delhi along with his senior officers toured health institutes and schools in the national capital to understand the Delhi model and replicate it in the state Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia accompanied Mann to a Delhi government school in Chirag Enclave The revolution in educations system is discussed across the country We will replicate the same model in Punjab where students from either rich or poor background will get quality education together The country will progress this way by learning from each other Mann said Kejriwal said Let us work together to strengthen the education system of the countryThe Punjab CM is accompanied by a battery of senior officers from both school education and health and family welfare departments to take inputs on the two crucial sectors PTI GJS GJS DV DV

New Delhi Apr 24 PTI The Delhi government will hold a stakeholder consultation on Tuesday on the formulation of a cloud kitchen policy announced in its annual budget for 2022-23Several cloud kitchen operators and food delivery aggregators have been invited to the session to be chaired by Dialogue and Development Commission DDC vice-chairman Jasmine Shah said an official statementCloud kitchens have a huge potential to attract investments increase the market size of the food and beverages sector and generate large-scale direct and indirect jobs Shah saidThe consultation organised by the DDC in collaboration with the industries department aims at understanding the various challenges faced by Delhis cloud kitchen operators and exploring the potential and viability of setting up cloud kitchen clusters across the cityThe government is deliberating upon the provision of land and other incentives to cloud kitchens easing of licence regulations for such units and setting up of cloud kitchen clusters with plug and play features across different land parcels in Delhi the statement saidThe number of cloud kitchens in Delhi is growing at a rate of over 20 per cent every year There are more than 20000 cloud kitchens currently active in the city which provide direct employment to around 200000 people and indirect employment to at least 50000 it saidCloud kitchens are set to be a USD 2 billion industry in India by 2024 up from USD 400 million in 2019As cloud kitchens prepare and deliver food at the customers doorstep after taking orders via online food ordering platforms they can operate at a fraction of a traditional restaurant space it added PTI VIT IJT

New Delhi Apr 19 PTI The unabated heatwave pushed the power demand in Delhi to 5735 MW on Tuesday the highest ever in April discom officials saidThe previous high was recorded at 5664 MW on April 30 2019 they saidThe unabated heat wave in the national capital continues to push the power demand to newer highs At 330 pm on Tuesday Delhis peak power demand touched 5735 MW the highest ever in the month of April officials said This is an increase of over 28 percent from April 1 when the citys peak power demand had clocked 4469 MW The peak power demand was 5641 MW on Monday Delhis peak power demand in April so far has crossed the 5000 MW-mark on nine days vis--vis zero days in 2021 and 2020 In 2019 it had crossed 5000 MW on seven days in April they saidThe peak power demand of Delhi had breached the 7000 MW-mark for the first time peaking at 7016 MW in 2018In 2022 it is expected to soar to around 8200 MW which is an increase of around 285 percent over the peak power demand of 2879 MW in 2002 discom officials said Delhi has recorded seven heatwave days so far this summer the IMD official said The maximum temperature in the city has been upwards for 40 degrees Celsius in past many days raising the demand for power PTI VIT VIT TDS TDS

New Delhi Mar 26 PTI The Delhi government on Saturday said it will set up an incubation centre to promote the startup ecosystem and also connect innovators with banks and investors for seeking funding for their new ventures Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday presented a Rs 75800-cr Rozgar Budget in the Assembly for the financial year 2022-23 and said plan is to generate 20 lakh new jobs here in the next five years through various measures He said the Delhi government has made a Startup policy and I am happy to share this information before the House that today our Delhi is the startup capital of India Most startups have been registered here in the country To further strengthen the startup ecosystem of Delhi we have made Delhis startup policy more progressive In our country if a young person wants to set up a start up then leaving his original job he has to waste 90 per cent of his time only for getting entangled with the government for works like taxation enforcement GST MCD patent etc Further he has only 10 per cent time to work on his idea said Sisodia who also holds the finance portfolio The new Startup Policy of the Delhi government will ensure that 100 per cent of the time of the youth that is setting up a startup goes towards working on their idea and the Delhi government will take the responsibility of the formalities which counts for 90 per cent of their time spent in present scenario he added The Delhi government will set up an incubation centre organise conferences for marketing mentoring and investment Further it will also get them connected with banks and investors for finance There is a provision of Rs 50 crore in this years budget for the implementation of the new startup policy Sisodia said In his address he also spoke about the Business Blaster programme started at Delhi schools last year with the aim of challenging class 11 and class 12 students to successfully work on their business ideas Over three lakh children worked on 51000 business ideas and today there are thousands of business ideas on which these children are working continuously They are earning money and giving employment to others From the next financial year the Business Blaster programme will be implemented with the children studying in government as well as private schools in Delhi so that they should not be job-seekers but study with the mindset of becoming job-providers he asserted I am sure that in the years to come these children of Delhis government and private schools from the very early years of their youth will be contributing significantly in meeting the countrys need of generating nine crore new jobs Sisodia said PTI KND CK