HINDUSTAN TIMES, NEW DELHIWEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015 03| metro |

HT Correspondent■ htreporters@hindustantimes

CHANDIGARH: Stuck for six years, the 136-kilometre long proposedKundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway project, is finallyback on track with the Haryanagovernment finalising the con-tractor.

The cabinet sub-committeeon infrastructure headedby Haryana chief ministerManohar Lal Khattar onTuesday approved the bid ofEssel Infra Projects Limited, forconstructing the 83-kilometreKundli-Manesar section of theexpressway on build-operate-transfer model.

Earlier this month, theUnion cabinet had given itsapproval for the the 135-kmEastern Peripheral Expressway(EPE).

Along with the Wester n Peripheral Expressway (WPE),which is being implemented bythe Haryana government, theEPE would complete the RingRoad and provide an alterna-tive route to inter-state trafficnot bound for Delhi and helpdecongest city roads.

The contract for constructing53-kilometre Manesar-Palwalsection was earlier allottedin March to a joint venturebetween KCC Buildcon and DilipBuildcon Private Limited.

Work on the project willresume in two phases — Manesar-Palwal section andKundli-Manesar section. Whilethe Manesar-Palwal section islikely to be completed withinnine months, the Kundli-Manesar section is expected totake two-and-a-half years.

While the Manesar-Palwalsection is scheduled to get completed by January 2016, theKundli-Manesar section is likely to be ready by August 2018.

Vineet Garg, managing direc-tor of Haryana State Industrialand Infrastructure DevelopmentCorporation (HSIIDC), said theproject involves the construc-tion of a six-lane expresswayinstead of the earlier proposedfour-lane road. HSIIDC is theexecuting agency for project.

Garg also informed that theestimated project cost is about `1,680 crore, which is lessthan the estimated cost of`1,863 crore.

Ritam Halder■ ritam.halder@hindustantimes.com

NEW DELHI: In order to createawareness about the rising prob-lem of mounting e-waste, a Delhi-based NGO has come up with a unique comic book.

Non-governmental organisa-tion, Chintan, which works inthe waste management sector, has come up with E-waste Sutra,which is a sneak peek into the“mind of a friendly, philosophi-cal cell phone”.

The book traces the story ofthe mobile phone discarded bya well-to-do family in Delhi. The book tracks the phone’s jour-ney as it moves through SiliconVihar, a fictional colony which is the graveyard of thousands oftonnes of electronic waste, on thefringes of Delhi.

A c c o r d i n g t o C h i t r aMukherjee, manager, advo-cacy and outreach of ChintanEnvironmental Research andAction Group, the comic tellsthe story of discarded electronicwaste, the informal sector han-dling it, the dangers of its carelesshandling and the lack of imple-

mentation of laid down rules.“E-waste, or electronic waste,

poses a big crisis in India. In justseven years, we have an eight-foldincrease in e-waste, comprisingold chargers, cell phones, com-puters and many other itemsfrom the digital divide. Most ofthis is poorly recycled, result-ing in severe pollution. Luckily,India has a sound set of rules, the E-Waste (Management andHandling) Rules, 2011. Key to these

rules is how each one of us acts. Instead of throwing away our olde-waste, we must give it to a gov-ernment authorised collectors. This ensures its safe recycling,”Mukherjee said.

“The comic has been designedto be an easy read, enjoyable insimple language. It is highly informative. We hope it willencourage young minds to thinkabout e-waste and do their part inprotecting the planet,” she said.

Soumya Pillai■ soumya.pillai@hindustantimes.com

NEW DELHI: Marshals dressed ingreen uniform checking opengarbage and leaf burning inareas under the New DelhiMunicipal Council (NDMC)will soon be a common sight.

Taking garbage burning seri-ously, the council has decidedto depute a team of marshalsto effectively nab anyone foundviolating the rule.

“These marshals will be sta-tioned at various areas underthe council and they will check,stop and fine anyone foundburning leaves and garbageopenly. The aim is to reducethe pollution in the city,” saida senior NDMC official.

The National Green Tribunal(NGT) had issued orders toimpose a fine of `5,000 onthose who violate the openburning ban. Several noticeswere issued to municipal agen-cies across the Capital to stopcases of open leaves and gar-bage burning in their respec-tive areas but it was observedthat it was difficult to check such activity.

Only a handful of peoplehave been fined for violationsand the NDMC has issued theleast number of fines comparedto other civic bodies.

Officials said they hope that a dedicated team would stoppeople from openly burningleaves.

Areas under New DelhiMunicipal Council in the citymay have, arguably, the lowestlevels of pollution in the cityand the highest volume of treesin the city but it is also believed to have the highest number ofleaf burning cases.

“We wil l not hire new employees. We have been train-ing our existing staff to dealwith such cases. Our primaryaim will be to educate peopleon how the open burning ofleaves and garbage can affectthe environment and theirhealth. Fines are only second-ary,” said the official.

He said the plan was still inits preliminary stages and itmight take a few months before these marshals are trained anddeployed.

KMP e-way gets back on trackafter 6-yr delay

Work at women’s panel won’t be part time now

Heena Kausar■ heena.kausar@hindustantimes.com

NEW DELHI: An engineering grad-uate who gave up her job forsocial work, 30-year-old SwatiMaliwal finally took charge of the Delhi Commission forWomen on Tuesday. Maliwaltalks to HT about her plans tomake the panel more effective. Excerpts from an interview:

What do think about the func-tioning of DCW so far?I don’t have to comment onprevious commissions. You can ask anybody… It waslike a very part-time kind ofthing. The member’s work is in any case part-time but the

to GB Road. Just once theyvisited Tihar. This is not ourvision for DCW. We are goingto make these visits again andagain till our recommenda-tions are complied with.

What are your priorities?

ing in red light areas, disabledwomen and women on streetsare on our priority.

We are creating a list of allthose undertrial women inTihar who have completed theirterms but are still in jail andwill be working for them.

What changes are you planning in the functioning of DCW?We will open our websiteto people so that anyonecan give their feedback onissues, policies and function-ing of the commission...We will also speak to fieldexperts to include the bestpractices.

ment, L-G and the police.

Will DCW take up cases against AAP leaders Kumar Vishwas and Somnath Bharti? I have found out the cases wereclosed by the previous commis-sion. However, if the complain-ants approach DCW again, wewill look into the issue.

How do you view the objections raised against your selection as you are AAP leader Naveen Jaihind’s wife?It reflects the patriarchalmindset of people. We talkabout women empowermentbut when a woman is chosenbased on merit why do weonly talk a

facetofaceSWATI MALIWAL, chief, Delhi Commission for Women

CHANGE OF GUARD Swati Maliwal says predecessor hardly visited DCW office

■ Swati Maliwal after taking charge as Delhi Commission for Women chief at her office on Tuesday. RAVI CHOUDHARY/HT PHOTO

Green body raps agencies for playing blame gameHT Correspondent■ htreporters@hindustantimes

NEW DELHI: The National GreenTribunal on Tuesday repri-manded the Delhi Metro RailCorporation, Delhi DevelopmentAuthority and the Public Works Department for passing on thebuck on the issue of removal ofconstruction and demolitiondebris in the Capital.

“You remove the junk and fin-ish it off. You are public bodiesand it’s your duty to do it. Whodoes it, how is it done and whomyou consult is your concern,”a bench headed by NGT chair-person justice Swatanter Kumartold DMRC, municipalities and

agencies like the DDA and PWD.The green panel, while mon-

itoring implementation of theYamuna revitalisation project2017, warned them not to blameeach other and get the work doneimmediately.

The tribunal’s observationcame after the DMRC expressedhelplessness in removing the rub-ble near Yamuna bank saying theDDA had cordoned off the area.

Regarding debris near LalitaPark, the DMRC counsel said thematerial was municipal wastewhich belonged to the East DelhiMunicipal Corporation and itwas the responsibility of thecorporation and the PWD toremove it.

G R E E N C O N C E R N S

Marshals will check leaf burning in New DelhiTo draw attention to e-waste, book takes sneak peek into phone’s life

■ E-waste Sutra is a sneak peek into the mind of a ‘friendly, philosophical cell phone’.

D E L H I

Faridabad

Gurgaon

Sohna

KUNDLI

PALWA

Western

Expressway

East

ern

Expr

essw

ayNoida

Ghaziabad

271 KM Total length of eastern and western peripheral expressway

The Ring Road will providealternative route to traffic

DECONGESTING DELHI

To connect Kundli to Palwal via Manesar.

Total length: 136 km

Status: Work allotted for 53-km Manesar-Palwal and 83-km Kundli Manesar sections

Western Peripheral Expressway

›I have found out the cases (against

Kumar Vishwas and Somnath Bharti) were closed. However, if the complainants approach DCW again, we will look into the issue.

›We will not hire new employees. We have

been training our existing staff to deal with such cases. Our primary aim will be to educate people on how the open burning of leaves and garbage can affect the environment and their health. SENIOR NEW DELHI

MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OFFICIAL

theairwebreathe

Hindustan Times 29 July 2015