Following SC rap, telcos asked to pay AGR dues immediately
- The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the managing directors and directors of companies, including telecom majors Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, to show cause why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them for failing to pay even a “single penny” to the government in Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues, worth ₹1.47 lakh crore, despite an October 2019 judgment.
- Bharti Airtel, one of the defaulting telcos hauled up by the Supreme Court for not paying AGR dues, informed the Department of Telecommuciations (DoT) that it would deposit ₹10,000 crore by February 20, and promised that the remaining amount would be cleared “well before” the next date of the hearing — March 17. The DoT began issuing of notices circle wise to the telcos.
SC lifts Delhi-NCR construction ban
- The Supreme Court on Friday lifted completely the ban on construction and demolition in DelhiNCR after putting a stop on such activities for over three months.
- That decision was based on an affidavit submitted by the Central Pollution Control Board that air quality was less toxic than it was in the previous month.
- On November 4, the court was compelled to take a series of stern steps, from a ban on stubble burning to a blanket ban on construction activities and garbage burning, to rescue Delhi from choking on the toxic air quality.
Delhi hospital keeping two suspected COVID-19 cases in isolation
- “The hospital currently has two suspected cases who have been kept under isolation,” confirmed hospital authorities.
- The hospitals here, including All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Safdarjung Hospital, have been on red alert — to takein, isolate and if infected treat COVID-19 — for nearly a month now.
- The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called COVID-19 “public enemy number one”, which could create significant political, economic and social upheaval.