Nod for phase 1 of Delhi-Gurugram-Alwar transit corridor

The Rajasthan government approved the detailed project report for the first phase of the Delhi-Gurugram-Alwar Regional Rapid Transit System corridor that will reduce travel time between Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi and Alwar to 117 minutes. Right now, it takes three hours to cover the distance.

The Regional Rapid Transit System is a central government project aimed at providing faster connectivity in the National Capital Region besides checking the rising air pollution and decongesting road traffic.

In the first phase, the RRTS corridor will be developed from Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi to SNB (Shahjahanpur-Neemrana-Behror Urban Complex) in Rajasthan, said Sudhir Sharma, chief public relations officer of National Capital Region Transport Corporation. The Haryana government approved the corridor in February.

The NCRTC Board, the implementing agency for the project, approved the Delhi-Gurguram-SNB corridor (106 km) DPR in December 2018, the official said.

In the second phase, the corridor will be extended to Sotanala. It will reach Alwar in the third phase, covering a total distance of 164 km. There will be 22 stations on the corridor in three phases.

In the first phase (Delhi-Gurugram-SNB), the corridor will have 11 stations on the elevated 71 km, and the remaining 35 km will have 5 underground stations, mostly in Delhi and Gurugram.

After the approval from the NCRTC Board and the Haryana government, pre-construction work such as geo-technical investigation and mapping of underground utilities are in progress, NCRTC CPRO said. NCRTC has also commissioned its site office in Gurugram to expedite the work on the corridor. The pile load test is expected to begin soon.

The RRTS trains will be air-conditioned and have an average speed of 100 kmph. The trains will be available at a frequency of every 5-10 minutes. There would be priority seating arrangements

for people with special needs and a business class and ladies coach in every train, the DPR says. This RRTS line will pass through the urbanized and industrialized areas of Haryana and Rajasthan and connect Delhi airport through Aerocity, increasing the connectivity in entire NCR.

The corridor will strengthen the regional transport infrastructure

by providing a fast, safe, comfortable and reliable mobility option to the residents of Delhi, Gurugram, Rewari, Manesar, Daruheda, Bawal and nearby areas. This will help in decongesting Delhi and its roads, providing citizens the choice to live and work in different regional nodes.

All the corridors will be integrated with the Delhi Metro.

US to provide India NATO ally-like status

The US Senate has passed a legislative provision that brings India on par with America’s NATO allies and countries like Israel and South Korea for increasing defence cooperation. The National Defense Authorisation Act or NDAA for 2020, that contained such a proposal was passed by the US Senate last week.

Introduced by Senate India Caucus Co-Chair Senator John Cornyn with the support of Senate India Caucus Co-Chair Senator Mark Warner, the amendment provides for increased US-India defence cooperation in the Indian Ocean in the areas of humanitarian assistance, counter terrorism, counter-piracy and maritime security.

Last week, House India Caucus Co-Chair Brad Sherman, along with Congressmen Joe Wilson, Ami Bera, Ted Yoho, George Holding, Ed Case and Raja Krishnamoorthi introduced a similar legislative proposal to the House

FY2020 NDAA that would greatly enhance the US-India relationship. The bill would be signed into law after both the chambers of the US Congress – the House of Representatives and the Senate – passes it. The House is expected to take up its version of the NDAA sometime in July before legislators adjourn for the month-long August recess on July 29.

In a statement, the Hindu American Foundation commended Senators Cornyn and Warner for their efforts in advancing the US-India strategic partnership. “Elevating India to non-NATO status is vital, now more than ever, for the US, for India, and for the entire region,” said HAF managing director Samir Kalra.

“Whether we do that with free standing legislation or whether we do that with an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act matters, I think, very little. What matters is that we recognise the importance, in a tangible way, of the US-India alliance,” Congressman Sherman said at the HAF Capitol Hill Reception last week.

The US recognised India as a “Major Defence Partner” in 2016, a designation that allows India to buy more advanced and sensitive technologies from America at par with that of the US’ closest allies and partners, and ensures enduring cooperation into the future.

Rahul's resignation saga continues

Chief Ministers of five Congress-ruled states met Rahul Gandhi in a bid to convince him to continue as Congress president. Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh, Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel and Puducherry CM V Narayanasamy met Rahul at his residence to ‘convey the sentiments’ of party workers. Sources said that Gehlot and Nath yet again offered to step down in the wake of Rahul’s displeasure over them prioritising their sons’ campaigns. Though sources said the meeting was highly confidential, it is learnt that Nath, Gehlot and Baghel were specifically pulled up for ‘poor’ performance in their states.

Meanwhile, mass resignations by Congress functionaries opposing Rahul’s stand to quit reached 300 and a massive sit-in from across the country is planned today. Leaders from the party’s Delhi unit sat on an indefinite hunger strike at the party headquarters (24, Akbar Road) from Monday morning and more leaders are set to join the agitation, said Delhi unit’s working president Rajesh Lilothia, who was the first to begin the resignation drive. Sources said it is likely that party workers and leaders from state units across the country might join in, forcing Rahul to make an appearance before the agitating workers.

After the two-hour closed-door meeting, Gehlot came out of Rahul’s residence and told reporters that it was a ‘good meeting’ and added, “Rahul ji listened to us intently and we expect him to take a positive decision.” He said, “The other side misled the country in the name of patriotism. BJP did its politics hiding behind the Army… did not once talk of development, economy, jobs. They ignored all these issues and fought the elections on caste, religion and army, whereas Rahul Gandhi campaigned actively and the entire country took note of it.”

Asked if he and Nath submitted his resignations, he maintained, “Resignations are given the day the results come in… CMs naturally have to put in their resignations. The entire CWC has authorised Rahul ji to make changes, reshuffle, remove…”

Baghel had held yet another meeting with Rahul last week following which he vacated the position of Chhattisgarh state Congress chief and was replaced by Mohan Markam. Amarinder Singh had won a word of praise from the Congress Working Committee during its first meeting after the election results came in and sources said that even on Monday he was not specifically asked any tough questions by the Congress chief.

June 2018: Motown in low spirits

Passenger car sales shrank by double digits for the third straight month in June as buyers continued to be put off by higher interest costs following the non-bank lending crisis and by rising automobile prices.

The end of election uncertainty in May did not revive Motown’s spirits and the numbers could increase pressure on the Narendra Modi-led NDA government to open the purse strings in this week’s budget to spur lending and growth. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her first budget and the Modi government’s seventh on Friday amid a sharp consumption slowdown.

The motor industry estimates that passenger vehicle sales fell by about 19% to 222,000 units in June, the third straight month of double-digit declines. Vehicle sales had fallen 17% in April and 20.5% in May.

Market leaders Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor India led the drop, with wholesale volumes declining by 17% to 111,014 units and by 7.3% to 42,007 units, respectively.

“The elections got over towards the end of May. Demand cannot revive overnight. The budget, new policies are yet to be announced by the government,” Maruti Suzuki chairman RC Bhargava told ET. “That said, wholesale numbers do not reflect the demand on ground. If we look at retail data on a month-on-month basis, it will give a better picture of consumer sentiments.”

Data with the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers shows retail sales of passenger vehicles declined by 1.28% to 264,035 units in April and by 1.46% to 270,048 units in May. The retail data for June is yet to be announced.

CR: Thane To Diva 5th & 6th Line Plan In Last Leg

The fifth and sixth railway lines between Thane and Diva, which have been in the making for nearly a decade, has got a boost with the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority allowing construction of an 1.4 km elevated section near the Mumbra creek. The railway bridge will be constructed over the Mumbra bypass road, which connects Thane to Navi Mumbai, and a 500 m portion of it will run along the Ulhas river.

The two Central Railway lines when completed will help segregate outstation and suburban train operations between Kurla and Kalyan. Six lines exist from Kurla-Thane and Diva-Kalyan.

The MCZMA clearance was required as 37 mangrove trees need to be cut and also because of the flyover’s proximity to Ulhas river. The Bombay high court has already approved cutting of mangroves “in public interest”. The MCZMA, while forwarding the project proposal to the State Environment Impact Appraisal Authority, has placed conditions on the bridge construction such as no debris dumping in Coastal Regulation Zone and on the beach. Also, no chemical manufacturing or processing will be allowed on the spot and five times the destroyed mangroves need to be replanted.

The plan to add the two lines—fifth and sixth—on Central Railway was proposed in 2000 but work finally started only in 2009. The work was chiefly obstructed due to encroachments and squatters refusing to vacate. Also, according to the initial plans, a tunnel was to be constructed through Parsik Hills near Mumbra to make way for these lines. However, it was observed that the boring work could harm an existing 150-year-old railway tunnel and hence, the plan was dropped.

The project is a joint venture between Indian Railways and the state while it is being executed by Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation.

Officials said that the elevated line is already under construction and would be completed by December 2019. “Thereafter, it would be connected to the railway yards at Thane and Diva. While the target is to commission the fifth and sixth lines by March 2020, it may actually happen in December 2020,” said an MRVC official. The project has been delayed by 12 years and its cost has shot up from Rs.130 crore to over Rs.400 crore.

June sees 33% rain shortfall

June has ended with a huge countrywide rainfall deficit of 33% of normal, making it the fifth driest month of June in the past 100 years. While monsoon’s performance has so far been way below expectations, met officials say there are indications of good rains in the first half of July.

Rainfall across India in June was recorded to be 112.1 mm, as against the long period average (normal) of 166.9 mm, according to the India Meteorological Department. In the past 100 years, June rainfall has been less than this in just four years — 2009 (85.7 mm), 2014 (95.4), 1926 (98.7 mm) and 1923 (102 mm).

As many as 30 out of India’s 36 meteorological sub-divisions registered deficient (lower than 20% below normal) or large deficient (60% or less below normal) rainfall during the month. With a huge deficit opening up in June, monsoon will now have to perform at over 102% of average over the next three months in order to finish at 96%, the lower end of the normal range, which was IMD’s forecast for this year’s monsoon.

Monsoon’s failure in June, mainly because of late onset and tardy progress till June 19, comes on the back of weak pre-monsoon rainfall. As per the Central Water Commission’s update late last week, reservoirs in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra were at critically low levels of 84% and 77%, respectively, below normal for this time of the year.

Reservoir levels across south India are running very low. However, better news could be in store for the next couple of weeks, with all eyes on a low-pressure system that has formed in the Bay of Bengal and which could intensify into a depression over the next two days. “This system is set to move inland and bring good rainfall over central India as well as some parts of east and north. Monsoon will very likely cover entire central in the next few days and move further into north India,” said D Sivananda Pai, IMD’s lead monsoon forecaster.

IMD has issued red alerts for very heavy falls at several sub-divisions, including Odisha, Chhattisgarh, east MP, Vidarbha and Telangana over the next three-four days.

Private forecaster Skymet has predicted a monsoon surge in the first half of July. “Mumbai is at serious risk of flooding between July 3 and July 5. Close to 200 mm or more rain per day is going to batter the city during this period,” said Skymet MD Jatin Singh.

Jal Shakti scheme launch today

The government is set to launch the ambitious Jal Shakti Abhiyan, which aims to put in place measures for rainwater harvesting, water conservation and replenishing water bodies, at time when the Narendra Modi government is turning its attention towards water shortage in various parts of the country.

Officials familiar with the matter said high-level teams have been constituted in 254 districts before the launch of the programme, and engineers and technical staff have been placed in 1,539 blocks across the country to take stock of the ground water levels, the state of acquifers, and ponds and water bodies that may have been encroached upon over the last two decades.

“As of today, India only conserves 8% of all rainfall, which is among the lowest in the world,” said a senior official of the Jal Shakti ministry who asked not to be named. “We need to change this.” With only 4% of the world’s water resources and 16% of the global population, India’s water crisis is headed towards an inflection point.

According to a paper released in 2018 by the Niti Ayog, the state-run policy think-tank, India’s ground water in 21 cities is set to plunge to bare-minimum levels by 2020. The real problems are irregular supply, widespread contamination and growing demand in the face of declining available sources.

At a meeting at South Block last week attended by officials several ministries, including Jal Shakti and rural development, Modi said that the way the government owned the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan for sanitation and turned it into a success, it’s time to take ownership of the Jal Shakti Abhiyan and make it successful, said a second official on condition of anonymity. The first phase of the scheme will run till mid-September, he added.

The Modi government, in its second term, merged the water resources and drinking water and sanitation ministries to form a new ministry called Jal Shakti. Its scope and mandate stretches across international and interstate water disputes, the Clean Ganga project, and making drinking water accessible for all.

On June 22, the Prime Minister wrote letters to all village panchayat heads, urging them to undertake rainwater harvesting and water conservation activities in rural India. The government is likely to announce a major national water conservation policy soon. A separate high-priority conservation programme is also likely to implemented in 226 identified water-stressed districts of the country, said a third official in the know.

In addition, the government will ask all MPs to give priority to water storage works under their local area development fund.

“In the last four years, nearly 50,000 villages have used MGNREGA [rural income guarantee act] and other state funds to successfully conserve rain water in a big way,” said rural development secretary Amarjeet Sinha.

The government also plans to award civil society and community leaders who have worked on water conservation, according to the official.

Recycle and reuse will be the focus of Jal Shakti Abhiyan in urban areas where much of the used water is dumped into rivers and other water bodies while in rural areas the target will be to promote conservation and harvesting rainwater.