SC PANEL TO MEET TODAY TO DECIDE FATE OF 11K TREES THAT FACE AXE IN METRO EXPANSION
NEW DELHI: After a petition before the high court sought a change in the alignment of Metro Phase 4, to save over 11,000 trees that may otherwise be felled, the Central Empowered Committee, set up by the Supreme Court, has called a virtual meeting of all stakeholders on Wednesday.
In a petition before the Delhi high court, it was submitted that for the construction of three of DMRC corridors —Janakpuri-rk Ashram, Maujpur-majlis Park and Aerocity-tughlakabad—the Metro had sought permission to cut 11,454 trees.
On February 11, the high court asked the CEC to “consider as representation” the plea, which contended that felling over 11,000 trees for the Metro construction would have an adverse effect on the ambient air quality of the national capital, where pollution is already at critical levels. The petitioners also sought a change in alignment of Metro Phase 4, from above ground to underground.
In a notice issued on February 15, CEC member secretary had called the Delhi chief secretary, principal chief conservator forests, public works department engineer-in-chief, Delhi Pollution Control Committee member secretary, as well as representatives of the Union ministry of environment forests and climate change and ministry of housing and urban affairs, to hear the grievance of petitioners.
The CEC on Wednesday will also look into DMRC’S request for permission to divert forest land under the Forest Conservation Act (1980), for the construction of the upcoming corridors under Phase 4.
“The copies of all relevant documents may be emailed to CEC in advance with a copy to all parties concerned. The petitioner and respondents may join the meeting with the identity of participant/user agency name,” the notice read.
Last year, the DMRC had run into trouble with the Delhi forest department for carrying out digging work on the stretch between Vikaspuri and Peeragarhi Chowk.
GREATER NOIDA: A man has been allegedly duped of ₹1 lakh by an unidentified person who impersonated his friend and asked for the money on the pretext of a medical emergency.
Niranjan Kumar Saini, a resident of a high-rise in Greater Noida West, has filed a complaint at Bisrakh police station. According to Saini, someone contacted him last week over phone and identified himself as his old friend “Sharma ji”.
“I knew Sharma Ji for several years. He is a good person and owns a factory in Noida Sector 10. The caller said that one of his family members was injured in an accident and is admitted to a private hospital in Gurugram,” he said.
Saini said that the caller informed him he had brought ₹2.5 lakh cash and he needed some more money. “He asked me to pay ₹20,000 through a UPI ID for medical bills. I believed him as his voice resembled to Sharma Ji and I made the payment,” Saini said.
The suspect again called and said that the charges of tests are high and he needed more money. “I paid ₹85,000 to the person in multiple transactions. Next morning, I again transferred ₹15,000 to the suspect’s account online,” he said.
The complainant said he smelled foul play when the suspect said that he had not received ₹15,000. “The suspect sent me an unscrupulous URL and asked to click to recover the unsuccessful transaction amount. I shifted my account’s rest of the amount to my another account and then clicked the link. I found that the link was meant to steal money from my account,” Saini said.
Later, he contacted his friend Sharma Ji to enquire about the matter and found that he had not made any such request. Police registered a case against an unidentified person on Monday.
Munish Chauhan, station house officer of Bisrakh police station, said, “A case has been registered under Section 66-D of the Information Technology (IT) Act. We are investigating it.”
Saini said that he had initially questioned the caller that his voice was a bit different from Sharma Ji. “The caller said that it may be due to cold weather,” he said. The complainant said that he has lost his saving and it is difficult to pay his child’s school fee.
He requested the suspect to return the money but the suspect blocked his number, police said.
“People should be aware of the cyber frauds. In this case the suspect was demanding money and the victim made multiple transactions without verifying the credentials of the receiver. We are investigating the matter from all angles,” SHO Chauhan said.