Capital’s worst smog in 17 years triggers health scare
30,000
NEW DELHI: NEW DELHI: The unseasonal haze that has engulfed Delhi is not only choking the city, it is driving its residents towards an early grave.
Delhi’s worst smog in 17 years, which has pushed pollution to levels higher than on Diwali night, is making children wheeze, giving the otherwise healthy a chronic cough, and risking 17 million people to asthma, heart disease, stroke, and even cancer.
All this while authorities — be it the state government or the Centre — are either mouthing platitudes or promising “action plans” that are not being implemented.
Instead of implementing severe measures such as declaring a “red alert” and shutting down schools, construction activities and nonessential businesses, the Delhi government, the Centre and pollutioncontrol agencies are busy passing the buck to each other.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 RELATED REPORTS >> P3,4,5 NEW DELHI:
FULL REPORT >> P8 on items of common use and 18% are two standard rates that will apply to most goods
Zero tax on essential items, including food grain
Cess on luxury cars, cigarettes, aerated drinks on top of 28% tax lower under the GST,” finance minister Arun Jaitley said in a media briefing after the first day of the GST Council’s sixth meeting in New Delhi.
“The zero-tax rate will apply to half of the items in the CPI (consumer price index) basket, including food grain used by the are killed by air pollution in Delhi each year. Average life expectancy gets reduced by 23 months. These are the health problems caused by exposure to polluted air for:
LESS THAN 30 MINUTES Dry eyes, sore throat Shortness of breath
A FEW HOURS
Nausea, vomiting
Lowered alertness, sleepiness NEW DELHI/BHIWANI: Police detained Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday — the third time in two days — as a political storm intensified over retired soldier Ram Kishan Grewal who killed himself in protest against an unequal pension policy for military veterans.
The detention drama follows a VVIP parade to a Haryana village earlier in the day for the funeral of the 70-year-old Grewal. Gandhi and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal met his relatives at Bamla village in Bhiwani district and attended the last rites.
Kejriwal promised a `1-crore compensation to the family and a job for a relative of the deceased ex-serviceman. Also, he announced that his government might apply to most services tax on luxury goods
Cess to compensate states for revenue loss
`50,000 crore anticipated revenue loss to states in first year Arun Jaitley, Union finance minister common man.” The council will meet again on Friday.
The outgo will be more for those who buy luxury cars, aerated drinks, and cigarettes and other tobacco products. Dubbed “demerit goods”, these will be taxed at 28% and attract a cess that may take the total to 40%
5-10 YEARS
Lowered immunity Depression, high blood pressure
I hope the indirect tax outgo for the common man will be marginally lower under the GST...The zero tax rate will apply to half of the items in the CPI (consumer price index) basket, including food grain used by the common man.
A DECADE OR MORE Bladder, lung cancers Heart disease, stroke would grant martyr status to the retired subedar, who served the army for 28 years till 2004.
Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said Grewal cannot be called a martyr because or more, though there is no confirmation yet of how much the cess will be.
The cess, Jaitley said, will not be an additional burden on the taxpayers because the total of 28% and cess will not exceed the total of the existing levies.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 NEW DELHI: FULL REPORT >> P8 brave soldiers do not take their own lives, while Union minister Gen VK Singh called the dead man a Congress worker after doubting his mental stability.
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