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No, I am not going to retype this, so will post from a article I wrote on this exact question.Palestinians: What is Fact, What is FictionPosted by Timothy Benton | Jan 16, 2017 | featured, Israel | 0I wanted to take an factual look at the Palestinians, their claim of having lived in the area for centuries along with the claim that they should be the righteous inheritors of the Ottoman land that was once part of Syria. The very land the British upon seizing renamed Palestine. Do the historical documents and archaeological finds back up their claims, or is this a narrative?Right from the start, there was a huge problem, almost like a black hole of nothingness, there is simply nothing prior to 1900 regarding a subgroup of Arabs living in the land with their own distinct culture and customs. I am not saying there is a small quantity, there is not one historical mention to be found in any Islamic, Ottoman or Western-based historical references.And it goes deeper than this, when you look at the census taken, not one prior to 1900 mentions a Palestinian, there is not one documented eyewitness account concerning them, in fact there is a total opposite that is shown, and to this date, and this is important, there has never been one Archaeological find found that supports the narrative of a Palestinian as a subgroup of Arabs.Lack of historical evidence.When I have asked for reasons of a lack of any historical mention of the Palestinians, all I got in return was claims of Islamophobia, trying to rewrite their history or outright attacks, but when you press they themselves can’t give you any historical data. Went to Wikipedia, even though this many times has erroneous data in it, you can at least start with the references and go back, yet there say this about the origins of the Palestinians:The timing and causes behind the emergence of a distinctively Palestinian national consciousness among the Arabs of Palestine are matters of scholarly disagreement. Some argue that it can be traced as far back as the 1834 Arab revolt in Palestine (or even as early as the 17th century), while others argue that it did not emerge until after the Mandatory Palestine period. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinians#Palestinian_history_and_nationalism)Turns out even the Arabs themselves can’t agree on the historical data, further, if you look at what many of the leaders have said, you see even the Palestinians themselves are giving mixed claims:-Professor Azmi Bishara(Arabic: عزمي بشارة)– a “Palestinian Arab”“There is no “Palestinian nation”, The word “Palestine” itself is a colonial invention used by the Romans in order to erase the Jewish identity of Judea and Israel!What we basically have in dealing with the historical aspects of a Palestinian a two-pronged attack, to first delegitimize any Jewish or Hebrew claim to the land, then to create a historical account that will aid in this effort, you have to figure out how to separate the two.Many times you find the two are so intertwined that it is near impossible. But to claim the Jews today have no historical connection to the Jews of old ignores the fact that Geneticist in studying ancient remains have extracted DNA from those remains from prior to the fall of Judea to the Romans and the scattering them of most of the Jewish inhabitants. [1]Further, there are historical artifacts from the Arch of Titus, to the coins he printed that bear this fact in mind, to the Stella’s that mention the Hebrews of old. This includes the wealth of historical writings outsides of the Torah or Bible, the historians of old, the census from the Romans, the graveside outside of Jerusalem that has Jews of old and new buried there, it dates back over 3,000 years and has been used continuously since then.There has been an unbroken Jewish presence in the land for over 3,000 years, so to claim they were not there, with the depth of historical writings, first-hand accounts, archaeological claims is just silly, the attack is coming against this evidence is to try to lessen its importance, if you do then you can free up the claims of the Palestinians, the lack of historical proof will not be important.What the Arabs say:So who are the Palestinians? I think we should first hear from them themselves. In an interview during a conflict in Gaza on Egyptian TV they were interviewing a minister of Hamas, he said the Palestinians were Egyptians, Syrians, and Saudi’s:This is not a lone voice, if it was I would question this, but if you look at what many other Arabs have said, you see this as well:Walid Shoebatt, who was a former PLO terrorist, acknowledged the lie he had been fighting for when he asked, “Why is it that on June 4th, 1967, I went to bed as a Jordanian and woke up as a Palestinian? We considered ourselves Jordanian until the Jews returned to Jerusalem. Then, all of a sudden, we were Palestinians.”-Zuheir Mohsen (Arabic: زهير محسن)- top PLO member responsible for Damur massacre.“The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese.Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct “Palestinian people” to oppose Zionism. For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva, and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan.”This was admitted by Professor Philip Hitti, an Arab historian who declared, “There is no such thing as Palestine in history, absolutely not.” This is further confirmed by the Saudi Arabia Representative at the United Nations. “It is common knowledge that Palestine is nothing but Southern Syria.”Syrian dictator Hafez Assad (father of the present dictator) told PLO leader Yasser Arafat, “You do not represent Palestine as much as we do. Never forget this one point: There is no such thing as a Palestinian people, there is no Palestinian entity, there is only Syria.” (And there was a good reason Assad said this, prior to the Treaty of Serves when the Ottomans surrendered their sovereignty over their Middle East Holdings to the League of Nations, what today is Israel and the West Bank, it was part of the Ottoman Syrian territory).What about the Census:As was stated earlier, there is not a historical mention of a “Palestinian” to be found in historical source, be it either Ottoman, Islamic, or Western sourced, that is unless you are speaking of the Jews (i.e. – in 1750 Immanuel Kant referred to the Jews as: “Palestinians living among us”), in fact if you had gone up to any Arab prior to 1960 and called them a Palestinian you may have gotten attacked, you would have insulted them and called them a Jew. In the 1968 revised Palestinian charter they even refer to Jews as Palestinians:Article 6:The Jews who had normally resided in Palestine until the beginning of the Zionist invasion will be considered Palestinians.So what about the census was taken before? Well the first problem comes in that the Ottoman Empire had a Fatwa against taking census, none were taken prior to the 1800’s, and even the ones they took after, they were full of double counts where people were counted across borders more then once, they simply were not proficient in doing this when they first started, and it is understandable, it was their first try at it.And the Census we see in Britannia, and other sites? Well turns out they are educated guesses, (if they aren’t, then please show the actual census), the historians have taken the world of the Arabs there that they have been there for thousands of years, so they have backwards projected the growth taking in normal population growths, but what if this is based on false data? Were they there all this time, or were they migrants?There was one census taken in 1697, the Catholic Church wanted a census taken, they were taking one for most of Europe, so they asked permission to conduct one is what they then called the Holy land, today Israel, Judea, Samaria (Jordan changed the name of Judea and Samaria in 1948 to the West Bank, after they invaded and illegally occupied the area), the census was taken with Ottoman oversight. The arguments that they were not accurate hold no water, if that was the case the Ottomans would have rejected the census, instead, they lifted the ban on their fatwa due to they realized they had no clue of the demographics of their territories. Here is that census:“Palaestina ex monumentis veteribus illustrata” – a detailed geographical survey of Palestine in 1696 written in Latin by Adriaan Reland published by Willem Broedelet, Utrecht, in 1714.Residents of the REGION mainly concentrated in cities: Jerusalem, Acre, Safed, Jaffa, Tiberius, and Gaza.In most cities, the majority of residents are Christians, Jews and others, very few Muslims who generally are Bedouin, who came to serve as Seasonal workers in agriculture or building.Nablus: 120 Muslims, 70 SamaritansNazareth: 700 people – all ChristiansUmm al-Fahm: 50 people-10 families, ALL ChristianGaza: 550 people- 300 Jews,250 Christian(Jews engaged in agriculture Christians deal with the trading and transporting the products)Tiberius: 300 residents, all Jews.Safed: about 200 inhabitants, all JewsJerusalem: 5000 people, most of them (3,500) Jews, the rest- Christian (1000), Muslim (500)What we see is a very sparsely populated area, if this s the case why we were told there were hundreds of thousands of Arabs living in the land? We are shown from backward projections as proof, but this brings up the question, “If there were, where are the archaeological finds, the grave-sites, the historical documentation? Seems all of this is missing?” What is more, there are documented eyewitness accounts of people that visited the land, with hundreds of thousands of people living in the land, I am sure they would have seen them, right? Well not so fast, let’s look at these eyewitness accounts:Eye Witness Accounts:“There is not a solitary village throughout its whole extent (valley of Jezreel, Galilea); not for thirty miles in either direction… One may ride ten miles hereabouts and not see ten human beings. For the sort of solitude to make one dreary, come to Galilee… Nazareth is forlorn… Jericho lies a moldering ruin… Bethlehem and Bethany, in their poverty and humiliation… untenanted by any living creature.”– Mark Twain, “The Innocents Abroad”, 1867 –“There are many proofs, such as ancient ruins, broken aqueducts, and remains of old roads, which show that it has not always been so desolate as it seems now. In the portion of the plain between Mount Carmel and Jaffa, one sees but rarely a village or other sights of human life. There some rude mills here which are turned by the stream. A ride of half an hour more brought us to the ruins …”– B. W. Johnson, in “Young Folks in Bible Lands”: Chapter IV, 1892 –“The land in Palestine is lacking in people to till its fertile soil.” – British archaeologist Thomas Shaw, mid-1700s –“Palestine is a ruined and desolate land.”– Count Constantine François Volney, XVIII century French author and historian –“The country is in a considerable degree empty of inhabitants and therefore its greatest need is of a body of population.”– James Finn, British Consul in 1857 –In 1844, William Thackeray writes about the road from Jaffa to Jerusalem: “Now the district is quite deserted, and you ride among what seem to be so many petrified waterfalls. We saw no animals moving among the stony brakes; scarcely even a dozen little birds in the whole course of the ride.”“In Judea, it is hardly an exaggeration to say that for miles and miles there was no appearance of life or habitation.”-Penrhyn Stanley, British cartographer, 1881-Dome of Rock -1875In 1866, W.M. Thomson writes: “How melancholy is this utter desolation. Not a house, not a trace of inhabitants, not even shepherds, to relieve the dull monotony … Much of the country through which we have been rambling for a week appears never to have been inhabited or even cultivated, and there are other parts, you say, still more barren.”“Outside the city of Jerusalem, we saw no living object, heard no living sound … a complete eternal silence reigns in the town, in the highways, in the country.”-Alphonse de Lamartine, travel book, 1835-In 1874, Reverend Samuel Manning wrote: “But where were the inhabitants? This fertile plain, which might support an immense population, is almost a solitude…. Day by day we were to learn afresh the lesson now forced upon us, that the denunciations of ancient prophecy have been fulfilled to the very letter — “the land is left void and desolate and without inhabitants.” (Jeremiah, ch.44 v.22)So Where Did The Palestinians Come From:We have already shown that there is no Historical Documentation prior to 1900 that mentions a “Palestinian”, there is no Census prior to 1900 that even names them, in fact, the numbers they give and the ones shown, they are not complementing each other.Further, there has to date been not one archaeological find, in an area that is the richest in finds in the world; to have nothing, any archaeologist will tell you is impossible (could be why the Museum of Palestinian History in Gaza still sits empty with historical artifacts), we have from eyewitness accounts, no one saw them, so where did they come from?Turns out the British asked the same question when they sent a royal naval commission over to look at the demographics, they knew if there was another war, this would be a strategic area to seize so as to cut off access to the rest of the Middle East, after studying the area, they sent back to England their findings, this is the opening sentence of that finding:“The area was underpopulated and remained economically stagnant until the arrival of the first Zionist pioneers in the 1880’s, who came to rebuild the Jewish land. The country had remained “The Holy Land” in the religious and historic consciousness of mankind, which associated it with the Bible and the history of the Jewish people. Jewish development of the country also attracted large numbers of other immigrants – both Jewish and Arab.”– The report of the British Royal Commission, 1913 –But there was more, you had massive Arab migration to the land as the British had stated in the 1800’s, that would explain why no one saw them, wrote about them, and there is no record of them, it would be the fact that they weren’t there.When the Mandate was put in place the Arabs to prevent the Jews from controlling the land started to pay their citizens, encouraged others with the employment needs in what then was the British Mandate of Palestine to migrate, that is why there was such a mass of migrants in the early 1900’s, in fact, if you look at what the British were documenting on this you see the same thing stated by them:In 1939, British PM, Winston Churchill, stated: “The Arabs have crowded into the country and multiplied till their population has increased more than even all world Jewry could lift up the Jewish population.“In 1934, the Governor of the Syrian district of Hauran admitted that within just a few months, more than 30,000 Arabs left Hauran for Palestine.The British governor of the Sinai (1922-1936) reported in the Palestine Royal Commission Report that illegal immigration to Palestine was not only occurring from Sinai, but also from Transjordan and Syria.The 1844 Ottoman Census shows a Jewish majority living in Jerusalem, Hebron, S’fat, and Gaza City. To claim that the Jews were not there prior to Israel’s establishment is simply false.So how then did the split in land happen? Where did the claim to Samaria and Judea or the West Bank come in?Turns out in the war of independence in 1948 the Jordanian army invaded the land, had forced all Jews out where they conquered, then moved in hundreds of thousands of Arabs, these later became the Palestinians.There was also the fact that no quarter was given, Arab League’s Secretary-General Azzam Pasha said: “I personally wish that the Jews do drive us to this war, as this will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the Crusades”[2]Thus you had a foe that while inferior in numbers, where many had just experienced a genocidal act against them was willing to fight to the death to prevent this from happening to their families. It was in this environment that the Jews fought the Arabs to a standstill, it was after this that the Jordanian government under leadership of Abdullah I bin al-Hussein, the royal family placed in leadership of Jordan by the British from Saudi Arabia, seized the West Bank, then in 1950 proceeded to annex it, Jordan’s annexation was widely regarded as illegal and void by the Arab League and others. Elihu Lauterpacht described it as a move that “entirely lacked legal justification [3]. The annexation formed part of Jordan’s “Greater Syria Plan” expansionist policy,[4] and in response, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Syria joined Egypt in demanding Jordan’s expulsion from the Arab League.[5][6] A motion to expel Jordan from the League was prevented by the dissenting votes of Yemen and Iraq.What is most interesting about this, is while Egypt never tried to annex Gaza, Jordan annex the then-named West Bank (due to it being West of the Jordan River), during the whole time Egypt and Jordan controlled the land neither made any move to push for independence, in fact, Jordan gave citizenship to the people in their holdings. And that Palestinian Authorities reaction to this?How about we let them tell you about their first charter, the 1964 Palestinian Charter article 24:Article 24. This Organization does not exercise any regional sovereignty over the West Bank in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, on the Gaza Strip or the Himmah Area. Its activities will be on the national popular level in the liberational, organizational, political and financial fields.What you had was in 1964 no claim for the West Bank, then in 1968, the Palestinian Authority, as if by Magic found their heritage included now the West Bank and Gaza, so what happened between 1964 and 1968 to cause this change of mind over historical right? Turns out the 6 Day War, the one that Israel expelled the Jordanians after they attacked her, and they after destroying the Egyptian Airforce in a surprise attack when the IDF destroyed their planes on the grounded, loaded to attack Israel shortly, they then set about destroying Syrian Air Force, the Jordanians were asked to stay out, they attacked after the Egyptians lied to them.In the end they got nothing, have rejected every bid for peace, they have demanded it all, you hear from them in marches, “Free, Free Palestine from the River to the Sea, they have no intent to ever live at peace, it simply is not the Arab way, if you are now living on land the Arabs considered conquered by Arabs as holy land, they will never cease to try to take it back. They may sit back and lick their wounds, but give up, not going to happen. So what is the intent of the Palestinians and why were they created, why not let them tell us:Zuhair Muhsin, a military commander of the PLO and member of the PLO Executive Council, clearly said, “There are no differences between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians, and Lebanese. We are all part of one nation. It is only for political reasons that we carefully underline our Palestinian identity… yes, the existence of a separate Palestinian identity serves only tactical purposes. The founding of a Palestinian state is a new tool in the continuing battle against Israel.”Arafat explained it very well what their long-term goal was, he actually said this on Jordanian radio the very night after he had signed the Oslo 2 peace accords,“Since we cannot defeat Israel in war, we do this in stages. We take any and every territory that we can of Palestine and establish a sovereignty there, and we use it as a springboard to take more. When the time comes, we can get the Arab nations to join us for the final blow against Israel.”Yasser Arafat 1993.The Palestinian Claim to JerusalemDid Israel Steal the Ancestral Home of the Palestinians? Part 1Likhovski, Assaf (2006). Law and identity in mandate Palestine. The University of North Carolina Press. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-8078-3017-8.“Azzam’s Genocidal Threat”. The Middle East Quarterly. Fall 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2012.Gerson, Allan (1978-01-01). Israel, the West Bank, and International Law. Psychology Press. ISBN 9780714630915.Naseer Hasan Aruri (1972). Jordan: a study in political development (1921-1965). Springer. p. 90. ISBN 978-90-247-1217-5. Retrieved 22 December 2010. For Abdullah, the annexation of Palestine was the first step in the implementation of his Greater Syria Plan. His expansionist policy placed him at odds with Egypt and Saudi Arabic. Syria and Lebanon, which would be included in the Plan were uneasy. The annexation of Palestine was, therefore, condemned by the Arab League’s Political Committee on May 15, 1950.American Jewish Committee; Jewish Publication Society of America (1951). American Jewish year book. American Jewish Committee. pp. 405–06. Retrieved 21 December 2010. On April 13, 1950, the council of the League resolved that Jordan’s annexation of Arab Palestine was illegal, and at a meeting of the League’s political committee on May 15, 1950, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Syria joined Egypt in demanding Jordan’s expulsion from the Arab League.Council for Middle Eastern Affairs (1950). Middle Eastern affairs. Council for Middle Eastern Affairs. p. 206. Retrieved 21 December 2010. May 12: Jordan’s Foreign Minister walks out of the Political Committee during the discussion of Jordan’s annexation of Arab Palestine. May 15: The Political Committee agrees that Jordan’s annexation of Arab Palestine was illegal and violated the Arab League resolution of Apr. 12, 1948. A meeting is called for June 12 to decide whether to expel Jordan or take punitive action against her.Harkaby, Y, The Palestinian Covenant and Its Meaning. London: Vallentine, Mitchell, 1979.

The Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi has completed one year in office even as the city stinks with garbage littered across its streets due to the strike by MCD workers over non-payment of their salaries.Though the chief minister offered a Rs 551-crore loan to the civic bodies, the agitating workers refused to end the stir. And if a solution is not devised soon, the agitation will end up spoiling the Aam Aadmi Party’s anniversary party — the party had stormed to power with a phenomenal victory of 67 seats in the 70-member Assembly, halting the Modi wave.But the one-year journey has been a roller coaster ride for Kejriwal government.Free water, power:Much was at stake for Kejriwal when he stormed to power as despite a resounding victory most were apprehensive about the survival of the government owing to his image of a ‘man in a hurry’ who broke his party’s alliance with Congress after 49 days of governance during the previous stint. However, Kejriwal started by delivering on the promises of freebies, ordering a 50 per cent subsidy on monthly power consumption of up to 400 units and 20,000 litres of free water per month to all households, winning the confidence of Delhiites.Yadav, Bhushan kicked out:But soon after this a major drama unfolded with the internal rift within party coming out in open. Once considered close to Kejriwal, Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan were kicked out of the party after they claimed the party was being run in a undemocratic manner. Kejriwal accused the two leaders of working against the party, even claiming the duo had tried to defeat AAP in the Delhi polls. Both leaders were mishandled and thrown out of the AAP’s national council meeting. The party drew flak for the in fight and a question mark was put on its functioning.Farmer suicide in AAP rally:Before things settled down, a farmer’s suicide at the party’s rally put the government in the dock. As party leader Ashutosh burst into tears on television over the tragic death of the farmer, Gajendra Singh, he was slammed on social media for his party’s insensitivity. Kejriwal later expressed remorse and said that it was a mistake on his part to continue the rally after Singh’s suicide.Kejriwal 100 days event and Tomar’s arrest:In May, Kejriwal organised a mega event at Central Park to present the highlight his government’s achievements in 100 days before the public, including free power and water, initiating process of regularising unauthorised colonies, banning demolition of jhuggis, launching anti-corruption helpline, providing licences to e-rickshaws and others. However, weeks later fake degree row involving law minister Delhi Jitender Singh Tomar put the government again on the back foot. Embarrassed, the AAP government sacked Tomar after he was arrested by the Delhi Police.Jung vs Kejriwal:Meanwhile, an ugly war between the Delhi government and LG Najeeb Jung broke out over appointment of an acting chief secretary. Kejriwal accused the LG of trying to render an elected government ineffective and asked him to work “within the confines” of Constitution. From appointment of chief secretary to the chief of Delhi Commission of Women to the chief of the Anti-Corruption Branch, Kejriwal and Jung were at loggerheads, leaving most of Delhi confused.Kejriwal vs Bassi:Also involved in an ugly spat with Kejriwal was Delhi police chief B S Bassi. While Kejriwal maintained that the city is not in safe hands, Bassi kept saying he is ‘competent enough’ to ensure the safety of the people. But the relation between Delhi government and Police touched a new low after police raided AAP MLA and former Delhi law minister Somnath Bharti’s house following a complaint of domestic violence by his wife. As many as 50 officers and eight police teams were part of a manhunt for Bharti.CBI raids Kejriwal’s office:However, the CBI raids at Kejriwal’s principal secretary’s office gave the Delhi CM an opportunity to embarrass the Modi government. He not only accused the prime minister of using the probe agency to “intimidate” him and his government, but also put the Centre in dock with allegation of massive corruption against Arun Jaitley in DDCA. Very soon he found a supporter in BJP MP Kirti azad who echoed Kejriwal’s view and presented numerous proof to back Kejriwal’s allegation of corruption in DDCA. As a result Azad was suspended by his party.Odd-Even:One of the major highlights of Kejriwal government remained the implementation of the Odd-Even scheme for 15 days to check pollution in the city. The scheme though drew criticsm but certainly relived the city of traffic congestion, if not pollution. And when Kejriwal organised a success rally for the Odd-even scheme, he was thrown ink at by a woman activist of the Aam Aadmi Sena, triggering another blame game between the AAP and the BJP.The government is currently under sharp criticism over the strike by MCD workers. But the current crisis is also seen as an opportunity for the Kejriwal government to build a case to bring the MCD under Delhi government control.Below are the 78 points on which the AAP government promised to work on with the current status:First Year Report Card:After a year, where does AAP stand?On February 14, 2015, following the historic electoral win, grabbing 67 of the total 70 seats in Delhi Assembly Elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) - which called for 'alternative politics' and spoke of its commitment towards the common man - formed government in Delhi. Today, as the party completes one full year in office, The Hindu has developed AAP Meter, where we have tracked the status of all the pre-poll promises made by AAP to people of Delhi in its election manifesto.AAP's manifesto - formed as a result of the Delhi Dialogue - itself states: "Over time, party manifestos have been reduced to insincere pledges promising everything to everybody, with very little follow-up or delivery after attainment of power. However, this is where AAP crucially differs from other parties because for us politics is an interactive process, a constant dialogue." And indeed, for a democratic system to foster, the government must be held accountable for the pre-poll promises.PROMISE TRACKERMETHODOLOGY/ANALYSIS#1 Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill FULFILLEDPromise: Aam Aadmi Party resolves to legislate the Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill after coming to power. This will ensure a time-bound investigation in matters of corruption. The Delhi Lokpal will have the power to initiate investigations and prosecution against those charged with corruption. Whistle-blowers will be provided protection and awarded for their contribution toward creating a just systemStatus: AAP promised to "legislate" the Jan Lokpal Bill, and indeed, the bill was cleared in the Delhi Legislative Assembly on 4th December, 2015. The Jan Lokpal can issue necessary orders for full protection for whistle-blowers, protect confidentiality, provide security, and initiate criminal action against the person involved in the harassment of whistle-blower. However, the legislation's fate remains unclear as it is yet to get the approval of Lieutenant Governor and Centre.#2 Citizens' Charter FULFILLEDPromise: A Citizens' Charter shall be introduced in all government offices in Delhi.Status: The Delhi legislative assembly passed the Delhi (Right of Citizen to Time Bound Delivery of Services) Amendment Bill. Among other provisions, the Bill prioritizes each government department to put out a "comprehensive citizens charter" within 30 days of its notification, and that responsibility lies with the Heads of Department.#3 Swaraj Bill BROKENPromise: Aam Aadmi Party will legislate the Swaraj Act to devolve power directly to the people.Status: The Swaraj Bill was prepared during the AAP's 49 day government in 2014, but is yet to be tabled in the assembly. In the manifesto, it was mentioned: "One of the first things that AAP will do after forming the government is to legislate the Swaraj Bill that will devolve power directly to people and contain provisions for the formation of Mohalla Sabhas". The government has certainly missed their deadline, but on the other hand, attempts have been made to incorporate the spirit of Swaraj by setting up Mohalla Sabhas in 11 constituencies.#4 Local Governance FULFILLEDPromise: Decisions affecting the local community will be taken by citizens and implemented by their Secretariat.Status: The concept of Mohalla Sabhas has been piloted in 11 constituencies. In the next financial year, the concept will be scaled to all 70 constituencies of Delhi.#5 Citizen Local Area Development Fund FULFILLEDPromise: A Citizen Local Area Development (C-LAD) Fund will be given to every Mohalla Sabha and Resident Welfare Association, ensuring funds and functions in the hands of the community.Status: "Swaraj Fund" was announced in the budget to enable the citizens in selection and implementation of programmes prioritized by them for the development of their area. Rs. 253 crore under the Swaraj Fund Scheme was provisioned. In the first year, this is being implemented in 11 constituencies, where Mohalla Sabhas were organized to know the requirements of the citizens. To meet these requirements, Rs. 20 crore has been allocated to these 11 constituencies while for the remaining 59 constituencies, Rs. 50 lakh was allocated.#6 Full Statehood for Delhi WISHLISTPromise: Acting within the constitutional framework, our government will use its moral and political authority to push for full statehood for Delhi. This will ensure that institutions such as the DDA, MCD and Delhi Police will be accountable to the elected government of Delhi. This way land will be made available for the common man, there will be greater synchronization and shared purpose among civic services with regard to service delivery and the law and order machinery will be accountable to the citizens.Status: Though the Delhi government has constantly demanded for full statehood, the decision lies with the Central government.#7 Electricity Bills to be reduced by half FULFILLEDPromise: An Aam Aadmi Party government will keep its promise of reducing electricity bills by half. A more efficient, transparent and accountable system to regulate and audit the power generation and distribution companies is the need of the hour and AAP will do everything within its command to achieve that. Discoms should purchase power from economical sources and wriggle out of expensive and unsustainable Power Purchase Agreements. AAP will take measures to provide relief from rising power bills, namely generating cheaper electricity, improving transmission efficiency, fixing billing defects and correcting meter defectsStatus: Within days of coming to office, the Aam Aadmi Party government slashed power tariff by 50 per cent for households which consume up to 400 units per month, with effect from March 1, 2015. However, if the power consumption crosses 400 units, a consumer will have to pay for the entire number of units used and no subsidy would apply. The government had set aside Rs.1,477 crore annually for the power subsidy.#8 CAG Audit of Power Discoms STALLEDPromise: We will conduct a comprehensive performance audit of discoms by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Discoms shall also be brought within the ambit of the RTI act. We will ensure that the citizens of Delhi do not have to bear the burden of soaring power tariffs. Initially we will provide subsidy that would go not to the power discoms but to Delhi Transco, a state-owned transmission company which has unpaid bills of Rs 3,500 crore to be paid by the discoms. This money will help Delhi Transco upgrade and augment its transmission capacity, which is in a bad state at present. The lack of funds at Transco's disposal is one of the main reasons for the frequent power outages in the state. After the audit results are tabled in the assembly, power tariffs will be restructured.Status: In January 2014, AAP government (before resigning from the previous term), announced audit of discoms by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India starting from 2002. In August, a leaked report in Times of India claimed that discoms inflated dues by Rs. 8000 crore. Discoms have been revolting this order from the very beginning, terming it as unconstitutional and moved to the High Court back in January 2014 itself. In October 2015, the High Court gave a verdict that CAG can't audit discoms, because they are outside the purview of a CAG audit as they come under the jurisdiction of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC). Following this, the Delhi Government moved to the Supreme Court. Very recently, in January 2016, the Supreme Court has seeked explanation from all three discoms as to why they can't be audited by CAG. The case has been posted for hearing on March 2.#9 Introduce Competition amongst Discoms STALLEDPromise: AAP reiterates the promise made in its December 2013 Delhi manifesto of providing consumers the right to choose between electricity providers. We will introduce competitive distribution, which will provide better services and lead to lower tariffs.Status: The promise can be fulfilled only if CAG audit of power discoms is permitted.#10 Delhi's Own Power Station YET TO STARTPromise: We will put up Delhi's own power station at the pithead and comprehensively solve Delhi's electricity problem in the long run by being able to meet peak power consumption of 6200 MW. We will also ensure that the Rajghat and Bawana plant are efficiently utilized.Status: A new power station is not the main focus of the government at the moment. However, Delhi would bid in Center's coal block allocation.#11 Water as A Right YET TO STARTPromise: AAP will provide Water as a Right. It will provide universal access to clean drinking water to all citizens of Delhi at an affordable price. The Delhi Jal Board Act will be amended to make clean drinking water a right of the people.Status: Work on expanding access is ongoing, but there has been no amendment in the act.#12 Piped Water Availability For All UNDER PROGRESSPromise: AAP will make a time bound plan of action for covering all residents of Delhi with piped water and sewage network in all parts irrespective of their legal status. There will be no discrimination between planned/non-planned; authorized/ non-authorized; regularized/ non-regularized; city or village. Within five years piped water connections will be made available to as many as 14 lakh households (50 lakh people) in Delhi that do not have a piped water connection at present.Status: Action plan has been drawn up. Delhi Jal Board expects to cover the entire city by December 2017. Currently, 82% of households are covered by piped network. This year, 120 km of new water supply pipelines were laid (taking the total to 14,000 km) and another 70 kms of pipeline were replaced. 205 of 1105 unauthorised colonies have piped water connection; eight of them were added recently.#13 Free Lifeline Water FULFILLEDPromise: AAP will ensure free lifeline water of up to 20 kiloliters (20,000 liters) to every household per month through a Delhi Jal Board's (DJB) metered water connection. This scheme will be extended to group-housing societies.Status: Within days of coming to office, the Aam Aadmi Party government decided to provide 20,000 litres of free water to every household, with effect from March 1, 2015. However, no subsidy would apply for metered consumers using over 20,000 litres of water per month. The government had set aside Rs.250 crore annually for the water subsidy. In January 2016, government conveyed that despite the subsidy, the DJB earned Rs.178 crore more in 2015 compared to the previous year.#14 Abolishment of mandatory 10 percent hike in water tariffs YET TO STARTPromise: AAP will provide universal access to potable water to all citizens of Delhi at a sustainable and affordable price. The mandatory annual 10 percent hike in water tariffs will be abolished and any further hike will be made only after due consideration.Status: The mandatory annual hike of 10% was introduced in 2009 by the then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. Apart from 2013 and 2015, water tariffs had automatically gone up on January 1 every year. For 2015, the hike had been deferred by the DJB till an elected government could take a call on it. Though AAP was against the automatic hike, as mentioned in the manifesto, the financial reality of the water utility necessitated the hike and therefore, water tariffs in Delhi went up by 10%.#15 Abolishment of Mixed Use Water Category FULFILLEDPromise: The AAP government will abolish the C-1A (B) category to provide relief to households that run small shops from their residence (less than 100 square feet) for their livelihood for which they are charged commercial rates in spite of the fact that they are not using water for commercial purposes.Status: In September 2015, the Delhi Jal Board abolished the Mixed-Use Category: C-1A(B) As per the revised policy, if mixed-land use involves activities which do not use water in its process undertaken, such as Atta Chakki, Stationary Shop, Kiryana Shop, Shoes Shop, Grocery Shop, Mobile Shop, Cloth Shop, Tailor Shop, S.T.D. Booth, Property Dealer Office, Cyber Cafe, etc. and other similar activities, it will now be placed in the Domestic Category. Other properties having mixed-use in which water is used as input either in processing or in manufacturing like Food Corner, Juice Shop, Snacks Counter, Tea Shop, Barber, Beauty Parlor, Dentist Clinic, Coaching Centers, Play School, Offices and such other similar activities with high footfall will now come under the Commercial Category. Consumers can apply for separate water connections for domestic and commercial use if such activities co-exist in a premise. However, in such a situation, the consumer is also bound to maintain separate storage and supply system for both activities.#16 Water from Munak Canal FULFILLEDPromise: AAP will ensure the firm implementation of the High Court order that says Delhi is entitled to extra raw water from Haryana in the Munak canal, an issue on which the BJP government in Haryana and the Centre have been dithering.Status: Delhi's supply has been at the highest level in history, with additional water from Munak Canal.#17 Crackdowns on Water Mafia UNDER PROGRESSPromise: AAP is committed to clamping down on Delhi's powerful water mafia working under the patronage of political leaders. AAP will put in place a transparent tanker water distribution system by implementing state-of-the-art techniques. The schedule of tankers operating in different localities would be made available online and on mobile phone. Private tankers will be allowed to operate under the guidelines framed by our government. This will protect the consumers from exorbitant pricing and illegal practices of private tanker operators.Status: Schedule of water tankers has been made available online (Department of Delhi Jal Board) 414 water tankers are now equipped with GPS. Of the 380 tankers that have been hired by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), 250 have GPS devices while the rest 130 will be phased out if not equipped with GPS devices by this summer. Further, issues concerning water tankers are now handled by the Chief Engineer (total four posts in Delhi), while earlier it was attended to by junior officials. Delhi government, including the previous terms led by Sheila Dixit - has always aspired to eliminate the need of water tankers by covering the entire city with piped water connections. As more colonies have been added to the piped network, DJB says that the reliance on tanker mafia has decreased. However, the mafia is still present in areas that lack adequate water supply.#18 Revive the Yamuna UNDER PROGRESSPromise: The Yamuna River has been part of the collective memory of Delhi for a long time but this lifeline is dying. We will ensure 100 percent collection and treatment of Delhi's sewage through an extensive sewer network and construction of new functional sewage treatment plants. Discharge of untreated water and industrial effluents into the river Yamuna will be strictly prohibited.Status: In the budget, it was announced that a project costing Rs. 3,656 crore has been prepared to provide sewerage services in uncovered areas and to prevent flow of wastewater in Najafgarh and Supplementary drains. The project will involve setting up of 15 new Sewage Treatment Plants, 3 new Sewage Pumping Stations and peripheral sewer network. According to the govt, these drains contribute to nearly 70% pollution load of river Yamuna and therefore, the project is expected to significantly reduce pollution in river Yamuna. A two year deadline has been set up for this project. Further, diagnosing the problem with previous Yamuna cleaning projects, DJB has planned to divide the river into smaller channels, each of which will be floated as separate projects. The contractor would be free to use any technique and would be considered success if the desired output parameters are met. Also, DJB has written to National Green Tribunal to allow removal of sewage from river Yamuna, to which it owes the black color. Currently, NGT doesn't allow desilting of Yamuna and therefore even sewage removal is not permitted.#19 Setting up A Network Of Water Kiosks YET TO STARTPromise: Public hydrants to ensure availability of safe drinking water free-of-charge in Jhonpri/Jhuggi (JJ) colonies as well as other underdeveloped areas of the city facing scarcity of water.Status: The project has been delayed. The e-piaos were supposed to come up last year. Now, the DJB has tweaked the project and expects the work at 105 locations to start by March.#20 Dual Water Distribution System UNDER PROGRESSPromise: Programme to reduce demand for potable water and promote conservation by reclaiming wastewater for reuse after recycling.Status: The pilot project will start in six locations soon.#21 Build 2,00,000 Public Toilets YET TO STARTPromise: AAP will build two lakh toilets across Delhi: about 1.5 lakh toilets in slums and JJ clusters and 50,000 toilets in public spaces, of which 1 lakh toilets will be for women. These toilets will be concentrated in public spaces and slum areas. We will construct eco-toilets to save water.Status: As of November 2015, only 2031 new toilet seats were added since the AAP government took over. The number is insignificant compared to the set target of 2 lakh toilets. No major plan has been declared by the government as of now.#22 Fine On Disposal Of Construction Debris FULFILLEDPromise: Littering or disposal of construction debris in public places will attract a heavy fine.Status: For controlling dust - major contributor of particulate matter in Delhi - 1,367 challans were issued for disposal of construction debris.#23 Plastic Bags Ban YET TO STARTPromise: We will enforce the ban on plastic bags in the city.Status: Plastic bags have not been banned in Delhi.#24 Five Hundred New Government Schools UNDER PROGRESSPromise: AAP will build 500 new schools with a special focus on secondary and senior secondary schools to ensure that every Delhi child has easy access to quality education.Status: Construction work is in full swing for 20 school buildings. While earlier, the government had planned to add another shift to existing schools in lieu of opening new schools, they later realised that an additional shift lacks quality. Now, as part of expansion plan, construction of 8,000 new classrooms is underway in existing schools, which according to government officials is effectively equivalent to 100 new schools.#25 Higher Education Guarantee Scheme FULFILLEDPromise: Students who wish to pursue any diploma or degree course after finishing Class 12 from any school in Delhi will be given bank loans with the government standing as a guarantor. Students will not be required to furnish any collateral and the scheme will be universal in nature regardless of a student's financial background. The loan will cover both tuition fees and living expenses. The loan repayment schedule will carry a moratorium period covering the years required to finish the course and one year thereafter to find a job. Under this scheme no loan request will be rejected.Status: The Delhi government has launched the Higher Education and Skill Guarantee Scheme. Under the scheme, loans upto Rs. 10 lakh are to be provided without any collateral. The loan would cover tuition and other fee, books, equipments, hostel/boarding and lodging, insurance premium etc. Students pursuing any skill development course or diploma or degree course after finishing qualifying examination from any School/Educational Institution in Delhi are eligible under this scheme. The scheme will also be applicable for ITIs and polytechnic colleges.#26 Twenty New Degree Colleges YET TO STARTPromise: AAP will open 20 new colleges under Delhi administration on the outskirts of the city in partnership with the villages of Delhi. Further we will double the existing seat capacity of the Delhi government administered colleges including Delhi's flagship university, the Ambedkar University.Status: The Delhi government focussed on school education in its first year. Work for new colleges is yet to begin.#27 Regulate Private School Fees UNDER PROGRESSPromise: We will regulate private school fees by publishing the fee structures and accounts online. Capitation fee will be abolished.Status: The Delhi government passed a bill to ammend the School Education Act, 1973. The Bill, which has been passed by the State Assembly but is yet to be passed by the Centre, includes provisions to regulate fee at private schools.#28 Transparency in School Admissions FULFILLEDPromise: AAP will bring in complete transparency in Nursery and KG admissions. To streamline the admission process, we will use a centralized online system for nursery admissions, removing avenues for corruption.Status: To bring more transparency into nursery admissions, the Delhi government has asked all private schools to upload their admission criteria and details about selected students online.#29 Ramp Up Government Schools to Provide Quality Education UNDER PROGRESSPromise: AAP is committed to improving the standard of government schools so that all citizens of Delhi have access to high quality of education. Every school will have sufficient functional toilets built, especially for girls. A sufficient budget will be given at the discretion of the principal for lights, fans, blackboards and other essential infrastructure. Teaching and learning infrastructure including computers and high-speed Internet connectivity will be made fully functional in every school. Number of DTC buses will be increased in order to service private schools so that it cuts down on the wait times at regular DTC bus stops. Seventeen thousand new teachers will be hired to maintain full staff strength at government schoolsStatus: Ramping up government schools has been a major focus of the government. The government has identified 54 pilot schools that were to be developed as model schools. The ultimate plan is to develop all government schools on the lines of these model schools. Trainings for principals and teachers were organized. In all 1011 government schools, a 1.5 month long learning enhancement programme was conducted for students of Grade 9. With the goal to achieve the desired 1:40 teacher-student ratio - as per the Right to Education Act - in the capital, 9000 additional teaching posts have been created. Teachers will now be recruited online by the Educational Consultant India Limited (EdCIL) on behalf of the Directorate of Education. An exam will take place to ensure quality and experience will fetch extra points. The budget for the additional posts has been fixed at Rs. 540 crore.#30 Increased Spending on Education and Healthcare FULFILLEDPromise: Education and Health will be AAP's top priority. The total budgetary allocation will be increased accordingly.Status: The AAP government's first budget saw a 106 per cent rise in allocation to education sector and 45 per cent rise in healthcare sector.#31 Expand Healthcare Infrastructure UNDER PROGRESSPromise: We will create 900 new Primary Health Centers (PHCs) and 30,000 more beds in Delhi hospitals, out of which 4,000 will be in maternity wards. We will ensure that Delhi conforms to the international norm of five beds for every 1000 people.Status: One model Mohalla Clinic has been set up in Peeragarhi, though in the budget, 209 crore has been set aside for building 1000 Mohalla clinics across the city. The clinic will attend to people living within one kilometer distance and the government hopes that people will not have to walk for more than 10-14 minutes to have access to primary health care. The usual timing will be from 8 AM to 2 PM and it is also proposed that some Mohalla Clinics may be run in evening shifts also. The government had announced its plan to buy new beds in the budget. Target of 20,000 more ward beds and 3,000 new ICU beds has been set for December 2017. The Hospital-cum-Medical College at Dwarka, planned for 700 beds, is now proposed to be of 1500 beds capacity. The new hospital complex at Burari, planned for 200 beds, will now have the capacity of 800 hospital beds. Similarly, the new hospital complex under construction at Ambedkar Nagar, originally planned for 200 beds, will now have 600 beds.#32 Quality Drugs For All At Affordable Price UNDER PROGRESSPromise: Pharmaceutical drug and equipment procurement will be centralized to ensure zero corruption. Generic, affordable and high quality drugs will be made available to the publicStatus: The government has promised to provide drugs to patients free of cost at government pharmacies from February 1, 2016. "We will ensure 100 per cent availability of medicines and consumables as mentioned in the Essential Drug List (EDL) at the city hospitals." said the CM. But doctors at government hospitals say it will take a few weeks before all drugs are available. Also, note that the aim for centralization of drug and equipment procurement has been there even in the past. Time will tell how successful this ambitious scheme will turn out to be.#33 Adequate Street Lighting YET TO STARTPromise: Seventy percent of Delhi's streetlights do not work. Unlit streets become scenes of crimes particularly against women. AAP will ensure a 100 percent lighting of streets across the city so that no miscreant or anti-social activity goes unnoticedStatus: No installations yet. As per the data provided by officials, PWD (under Delhi government) has jurisdiction over just 1,600km of the total 33,000km of road length in Delhi i.e. 5% of total, which is a major roadblock in fulfilling this promise.#34 Effective Last Mile Connectivity UNDER PROGRESSPromise: AAP will provide effective last mile connectivity in Delhi's public transit system, which will play a role in reducing the number of crimes against women. An effective combination of shared autos, metro feeder services and e-rickshaws will be used to provide efficient last mile connectivity by fixing and delimiting routes. This will be synced with metro and bus timings so that there is a working connection to each neighborhood from nodal points.Status: To provide last mile connectivity, e-Rickshaws were promoted in Delhi. Further, the Delhi government announced a radio taxi service of its own called 'City Taxi Scheme', though the registrations have not begun yet. Bike on rent scheme is now available at some metro stations. Global Expression of Interest tender floated for procuring feeder buses.#35 CCTVs in Public Spaces and Buses YET TO STARTPromise: AAP plans to install CCTV cameras in DTC buses, bus stands and in crowded places as a deterrent against crime. AAP will ensure that women can go about their jobs in the city free of stress while travelling by public transport.Status: A pilot scheme for installation of CCTV cameras in 200 DTC buses has been launched. Note that Mr. Kejriwal had promised to install 10-15 lakh CCTV cameras across the city. CCTVs are yet to be installed. The government is in the homework phase to formulate a city-wide policy for acceptable certifications and getting security clearances. By end of February, request for proposals are expected to be floated, for 4 lakh CCTVs: 3 lakh in residential and 1 lakh on PWD roads.#36 Speedy Justice through 47 Fast-Track Courts YET TO STARTPromise: AAP will strongly push for the creation and completion of fast-track courts, which are dedicated to handling cases of sexual assault and other crimes against women. AAP will operationalize 47 new courts that it had commissioned in January 2014 to ensure speedy justice. If required, the courts will be run in two shifts so that the cases involving crimes against women are heard and trials completed within six monthsStatus: Only five fast track courts are functional in Delhi as of now. They are situated in Tis Hazari, Dwarka, Rohini, Karkardooma and Saket district courts. They are headed by judicial officers of the rank of Additional District & Sessions Judge and all of them deal with the cases of rape, sexual violence and molestation of women. They were set up by the Sheila Dixit government in the aftermath of the December 2012 gang rape case. AAP has seemingly not played any role in their establishment.#37 Empower Delhi Lawyers and Judiciary YET TO STARTPromise: New judges will be appointed. We will make provisions for affordable housing for government counsels and lawyers practising in lower courts. The government will streamline existing government medical schemes to ensure maximum coverage of legal functionaries.Status: Nothing yet.#38 Suraksha Button YET TO STARTPromise: Our government will provide a Suraksha/SOS button on every mobile phone. We will work towards its connectivity to the police, nearest PCR van, relatives and volunteer community.Status: Nothing yet.#39 Governance On The Mobile Phone UNDER PROGRESSPromise: All government services and forms will be made available online and on the phone.Status: In December 2015, Delhi government launched the e-district project. The initiative, accessible via Department of Revenue, Govt. of NCT of Delhi , enables citizens to apply online or through any mobile device for certificates issued by the Revenue Department. The application status can also be tracked online. If the documents are in order, the digitally signed certificate is made available in the citizen's account which can then be downloaded and printed from any internet-enabled computer. This makes Delhi the first State in the county to allow online applications, online status verification and digitizing the entire legacy data related to such services. Apart, various mobile applications have been launched by the government: eg mSeva app to pay water bills.#40 Open Government Projects YET TO STARTPromise: Data on government projects, performance, accounts and personnel will be posted online. This will bring transparency and accountability in governance.Status: Nothing yet.#41 Delhi's Villages To Receive Special Attention UNDER PROGRESSPromise: Decisions regarding the development of Delhi's villages will be taken by Gram Sabhas, which will be granted special untied Village Development Funds to be utilized according to their priorities. Those engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry will receive incentives and infrastructural support as is done in neighbouring states. We will provide sports facilities in villages to encourage young adults to pursue sports. Connectivity to rural Delhi will be enhanced through increased bus and metro services.Status: The government has decided to provide a compensation of Rs 50,000 per hectare (Rs 20,000 per acre) to every affected farmer, which is highest ever by any government in the country. Plans to improve rural connectivity have also been discussed. The first phase of Wi-Fi services, which is expected to be launched in the summer of 2016, includes rural areas along with educational institutions.#42 Pro-Farmer Land Reform WISHLISTPromise: Section 33 and 81 of the Delhi Land Reform Act, which put unjust restrictions on farmers' rights over their land, will be removed. No land will be acquired in Delhi's villages without the consent of the Gram Sabha. Strong pressure would be exerted on the Central government to remove unnecessary restrictions regarding land use in villages.Status: No change yet in both sections. Government is preparing a draft. But as Land is a Union subject, Delhi government doesn't have powers to amend the law.#43 Wi-Fi Delhi YET TO STARTPromise: We will make Wi-Fi freely available in public spaces across Delhi. Citywide Wi-Fi can help in bridging the digital divide. It will also provide an impetus to education, entrepreneurship, business, employment, and also tie in with women's safety initiatives.Status: As of now, Delhi doesn't have freely available WiFi. The government has conducted a study with PWC on various technologies and role out models. The first phase of services - that includes educational institutions and rural areas - is expected to be launched in the summer of 2016.#44 Single Window Clearance UNDER PROGRESSPromise: We will simplify compliance and licensing for traders and put in place a system of single window clearanceStatus: Single-window clearance was introduced for ticketed events in Delhi. Entertainment tax, fire and electricity clearances are under the purview of the single-window system. Police clearance is separate as it is under central government.#45 Starting business In One Week UNDER PROGRESSPromise: We will also ensure that starting a trade or business in Delhi takes a maximum time of one weekStatus: Working towards the goal, shop registration is now done in a day via Delhi State Industrial And Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited. VAT registration and TIN number registration is now also done on same-day basis.#46 No FDI In Retail FULFILLEDPromise: Our government will continue with its decision of not allowing FDI in retail in Delhi.Status: FDI in retail is not allowed in Delhi.#47 Lowest VAT Regime UNDER PROGRESSPromise: Delhi will have the lowest VAT regime in India. We will simplify VAT and other tax structures. One portion of the VAT collected from every locality and market will be used for the maintenance and upgradation of that market to foster business and tradeStatus: In August 2015, VAT was reduced from 12.5% to 5% for items falling under three categories: utensils or cutlery items made of metal (including pressure cookers/pans) except those made of precious metals, wax of all kinds and wood and timber. However, the Delhi government on June 30 introduced a VAT Amendment Bill that will allow the government to hike the tax on 11 goods by up to 30 per cent in future. In January 2016, the state government raised VAT on petrol to 27 per cent from 25 per cent and VAT on diesel was increased from 16.6 per cent to 18 per cent. Though the VAT was increased, it is in line with tax in neighboring states, not higher. More initiatives need to be taken to achieve the stated promise.#48 Simplifying VAT Rules UNDER PROGRESSPromise: AAP will simplify VAT rules, processes and forms. The 30 page long VAT form will be crunched into one page for traders. All communication with the concerned department will be online. Licenses will be applied for and received at home.Status: To facilitate business in Delhi and prevent evasion of taxes, in September, the Delhi Government introduced a new online form: Delhi Sugam-2 (DS2), replacing the earlier T-2 form. Form is to be filed in a non-interactive mode through online/SMS to end dealer’s queues. The new form is much more simplified. The dealer is now required to fill only 17 fields whereas in the earlier T-2 form, a dealer had to fill 33 fields.#49 Delhi Skill Mission UNDER PROGRESSPromise: AAP will promote vocational education and skill development of Delhi's youth in schools and colleges, to bridge the real skill gap in Delhi. We will create the first ever Delhi Skill Mission to train and enable one lakh youth per year for the first 2 years, ramping up to five lakh youth per year for the next 3 years.Status: The Delhi government has launched the Higher Education and Skill Guarantee Scheme. Under the scheme, loans up to Rs. 10 lakh are to be provided without any collateral. Students pursuing any skill development course or diploma or degree course after finishing qualifying examination from any School/Educational Institution in Delhi are eligible under this scheme. The scheme will also be applicable for ITIs and polytechnic colleges. Further, vocational training in 200 schools was piloted.#50 Create 8 Lakh Jobs YET TO STARTPromise: AAP will create eight lakh new jobs in the next five years. AAP will facilitate innovative and private start up accelerators to provide support to entrepreneurs. We will create an ecosystem that enables private industry to create more jobs.Status: In the two job fairs organized by Delhi government at Thyagaraj stadiums, around 14,000 people got jobs in private sector.#51 Delhi To Be Startup Hub YET TO STARTPromise: The government will encourage startups by setting up business and technology incubators in universities and colleges. As a pilot project, we will also create three million square feet of affordable business incubation space.Status: Nothing yet.#52 Contractual Posts To Be Regularized YET TO STARTPromise: AAP will fill 55,000 vacancies in the Delhi government and autonomous bodies of the Delhi Government on an immediate basis. 4,000 doctors and 15,000 nurses and paramedics will be made permanent.Status: No policy in place yet. Officials conveyed that government is in process of finalising the policies of regularisation. Each department has been asked to submit its own scheme.#53 Reducing Pollution UNDER PROGRESSPromise: Delhi Ridge, the lung of the city, will be protected from encroachment and deforestation. Environmentally appropriate afforestation would be carried out in all parts of Delhi in collaboration with the local Mohalla Sabhas. We will acquire mechanized vacuum cleaning vehicles to clean the city. Public transport will be improved to reduce the number of cars on the road. Additionally, incentives will be provided for low emission fuels like CNG and electricity. Government will encourage car-pooling and will crackdown on fuel adulteration to reduce pollution.Status: Major initiatives were taken to curb pollution. Odd-even scheme was one of the most talked about campaigns in the first year. Car-free days were also conducted to spread awareness among people of Delhi. Further, the Delhi government has imposed a penalty of Rs 50,000 on 38 major projects across the city for causing dust pollution. Vacuum cleaning on all PWD roads will begin from April 1, 2016.#54 Unified Transport Authority YET TO STARTPromise: AAP will formulate holistic transport policies for all forms of transport including the metro, buses, auto rickshaws, rickshaws and e-rickshaws. A 'Unified Transport Authority' will be established for this purposeStatus: Nothing yet.#55 Large Scale Expansion in Bus Services UNDER PROGRESSPromise: We will expand bus services in the city on a massive scale, adding at least 5,000 new buses to the city fleet in five years. This will reduce the cost of transportation and pollution in the city.Status: Government plans to add 2,000 new buses, including 1,000 premium buses. Tenders have been floated but no bidders yet.#56 Just And Fair Policy For E-Rickshaws FULFILLEDPromise: E-rickshaw drivers of Delhi spent many months mired in confusion. They lost their livelihood for months due to the BJP's policy paralysis. AAP will formulate a clear policy and standards for the ownership and operation of e-rickshaws, keeping safety aspects in mind.Status: Following a bill passed by the Lok Sabha to regularise e-rickshaws, Delhi government started registration of e-rickshaws, special camps were organized and about 24,000 drivers got enrolled. Subsidy of Rs.15,000 was announced for purchase of e-rickshaws from the Air Ambience Fund.#57 Metro Rail 2.0 YET TO STARTPromise: We will collaborate with the Indian Railways to extend and develop the Ring Rail service in Delhi. AAP will also work towards large-scale expansion of the Delhi metro, especially in rural areas. Senior citizens, students and persons with disability will be provided concessional passes on buses and in the metro.Status: Issue of Ring Railway services was taken by Mr.Kejriwal with Railway minister Suresh Prabhu. Railways will increase frequency of services. Delhi will improve condition of approach roads to railway stations on this rail line. No concrete steps taken yet.#58 Fair Arrangements for Auto Drivers UNDER PROGRESSPromise: The number of auto rickshaw stands will be increased. We will facilitate fast bank loans for the purchase of auto-rickshaws. Special trainings will be conducted for auto drivers to improve their overall conduct. The interests of commuters will be protected by taking strict action against auto drivers in case of violation of laws or misbehaviour. At the same time, we will prevent harassment of auto rickshaw drivers by the police.Status: Plans for stands held up due to unavailability of land. Government plans to issue 5,500 new auto permits, but recently, more than 900 letters of intent were scrapped and three transport department officials were suspended after allegations of corruption. Special training camps have been organized but strict action in cases of violation of laws or misbehaviour is wanting. Special powers of the Traffic Police to impound autos in case of minor traffic violations were curtailed.#59 Freehold Of Resettlement Colonies FULFILLEDPromise: The Aam Aadmi Party proposes a simple solution of conferring freehold rights to resettlement colonies. Original allotted will receive ownership of their plots for just Rs. 10,000. Those who are not original allotted will get the ownership rights of their plots for less than Rs. 50,000 depending on their plot size. The cumbersome multi-page form will be simplified and condensed into a single page form.Status: In the budget speech, Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Manish Sisodia announced: "Residents of the 45 Resettlement Colonies have been waiting for decades for workable and rational rights to their leasehold plots. We will ensure that they are given Freehold Rights to their small plots. We have already resolved in the DUSIB that original allottees and their legal heirs will get freehold rights at the rate of Rs.10,000 per square metre and all others at the rate of Rs.50,000 per square metre. This will give them great support and relief from exploitation."#60 Regularization And Transformation Of Unauthorized Colonies UNDER PROGRESSPromise: We will provide registration rights with regard to property and sales deeds in resettlement colonies. Further, we will provide water and sewer lines, electricity, schools and hospitals in a systematic and phased manner. Multi-pronged action to make available these basic necessities is the only way of empowering unauthorized colonies, which is something that has never been attempted by the BJP or the Congress.Status: The AAP government has relaxed the regularisation policy and has waived off the penalty/regularisation charges from unauthorised colonies of F, G and H category. The waiving off of penalty charges will be major relief as 90 per cent of unauthorised colonies in Delhi fall in these categories. Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has connected eight new unauthorised colonies. Now, 205 of 1105 unauthorised colonies have piped water connection The government has approved a budget of Rs 800 crore for development work such as roads, street lights and storm water drains. In the last six years, Delhi government has spent approximately Rs 4,000 crore on development tasks in unauthorised colonies. Mapping by GeoSpatial Delhi Limited (GSDL) is underway to check unauthorised construction.#61 All unauthorized colonies to be regularized in one year BROKENPromise: Within one year of our government formation, these unauthorized colonies will be regularized and residents will be given ownership rightsStatus:#62 Affordable Housing For All YET TO STARTPromise: We will construct affordable housing for lower income groups. Over 200 acres of land is currently lying vacant with the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board that can be used for affordable housingStatus: Nothing concrete yet. As a first step, a survey of slums is underway.#63 Taking Care Of Our Senior Citizens UNDER PROGRESSPromise: The government will initiate a universal and non-contributory old age pension system immediately. A minimum dignified amount indexed to inflation will be provided. Delays in disbursement and arbitrary decisions regarding pensions will be eliminatedStatus: For the 1,10,000 pension applications that had been stuck, re-verification camps were conducted in the months of April, May and June. 38,000 of them didn't turn up, which perhaps, according to government, are fake. To enhance the process, the government has decided that henceforth, verification would be held at the Mohalla Sabha level with inputs from community members. Further, the government is planning to start 38 new recreational centers for the elderly. (102 are in place already)#64 Controlling Price Rise UNDER PROGRESSPromise: In the retail and wholesale business, stringent measures will be taken to prevent hoarding and profiteering. Our government will use the its full strength to stop black market operations, hoarding and speculative trading to curb the rising prices of vegetables, fruits and other essential commodities. Ration shops and the public distribution system will be corruption-free and shield the Aam Aadmi from rising costs.Status: e-ration card was introduced. 5.5 lakh people availed benefit. With this card, all history of purchases are now logged. Further, 2400 fair price shops will soon be equipped with PoS (Point of Sale) device. Active steps were taken by the Delhi government to curb the onion price rise last year. For instance, to check hoarding and black marketing, monitoring teams were sent on ground, among various other steps.#65 Drug-Free Delhi UNDER PROGRESSPromise: AAP wishes to make Delhi a completely drug-free state. We will prevent drug trafficking by means of tight monitoring and ensuring strict punishment for the guilty. The number of de-addiction centers shall be increased and mental and psychiatric support for rehabilitation purposes will be provided. We will also ensure that effective counseling is easily available in schools for adolescents.Status: A scheme for de-addiction is being worked upon. The focus of the government is on prevention. Concerns like supply of drugs comes under the Delhi Police. To understand the problem in depth, a survey by AIIMS is underway to find out the number of children who are addicted and other related issues. Further, government will be setting up counseling centers at all anganwadis for timely addressal of all queries and to ensure minimum cases of dropouts. A pilot is being planned in collaboration with 5 NGOs. Also, the government approached National Institute of Social Defence to run educational modules in schools to sensitize kids, parents and teachers against drug abuse.#66 Empowering The Disabled UNDER PROGRESSPromise: We are committed to protecting the rights of Persons with Disability (PwD), and hope to make Delhi an exemplar for the rest of India. AAP will ensure implementation of the 3 percent reservation for persons with disability. We will strive to make education truly inclusive by hiring special educators in government schools. AAP will help children with disability get admission into schools and colleges and ensure financial support to institutions working especially for their needsStatus: There was no state policy in Delhi for disabled people. AAP-led Delhi government has initiated the process, and the draft policy - State Policy and Action Plan for People with Disabilities - had been prepared and put up on the govt website inviting suggestions. The 3% reservation would be enforced once the work place buildings are made disabled-friendly, without which, the reservation has no practical meaning. In collaboration with NGO Samarthyam, government is planning out the infrastructure to set up disabled friendly workplaces. 20 hospitals in all districts of Delhi have been notified as Medical Authority for Issuance of Disability Certificate for general disability and another 10 for in case of neurological and intellectual disability.#67 Justice For Victims Of Anti-Sikh 1984 Carnage FULFILLEDPromise: The 1984 anti-Sikh carnage was one of the lowest points in the history of Delhi. Those responsible continue to roam scot-free. The Aam Aadmi Party understands the feeling widespread in the Sikh community that they have been denied justice. Further, the fact that the BJP-led government at the Centre still feels the need to constitute a committee to decide whether an SIT is needed or not on this issue is mystifying. We promise to notify the SIT that we had ordered in January 2014 to reinvestigate the 1984 anti-Sikh killings, particularly the involvement of high profile Congress leaders. Cases where investigations were not carried out properly or witness testimonies not recorded will be reopened.Status: Note that the BJP-led NDA government's move to set up SIT into 1984 anti-Sikh riots was announced in February 2015, immediately before the time when polls to the Delhi Assembly were to be held. In October 2014, a hike in compensation to Rs. five lakh had been announced by the Central government, five months after the BJP had formed its government at the Centre. In August 2015, the Delhi Cabinet decided to distribute enhanced compensation cheques as announced by the Central government to the kin of the 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal along with his Deputy Manish Sisodia distributed the enhanced compensation cheques of Rs. 5 lakh to the kin of each of the 1,300 people killed in the violence and paid homage to the victims on the 31st anniversary of the riots. The Delhi Government has estimated an expenditure of around Rs. 130 crore on compensation for around 2,600 families of anti-Sikh riot victims. The Centre will later refund the compensation amount to the Delhi government.#68 Respecting Our Ex-Servicemen WISHLISTPromise: Delhi is home to a large number of ex-servicemen and women from the Armed Forces. AAP will stand by the nation's ex-servicemen in their fight for "One Rank, One Pension". We will ensure the existing quota in government jobs for ex-servicemen is filled up.Status: OROP comes under the purview of the Union government#69 Development And Equality For All Minorities YET TO STARTPromise: The recent communal tension witnessed in Delhi is totally out of sync with the social fabric of the city. We stand firmly against attacks on places of worship and inflammatory speeches across Delhi. Upholding the spirit of Swaraj, Mohalla Sabhas will set up peace committees to ensure harmony in their respective neighborhoods. We will bring transparency in the functioning of Delhi Waqf Board and ensure that encroachments on Waqf property by private parties as well as the government are removedStatus: In January, The Delhi Waqf Board told the Delhi High Court that it was suffering in getting its 990 properties vacated from illegal and unauthorised encroachers as the Waqf tribunal has not been constituted. AAP government has "superseded" the Delhi Waqf Board, transferring all its powers and duties to the secretary (revenue) in the city administration.#70 Dignity To The Safai Karamchari UNDER PROGRESSPromise: AAP will end contractualisation in "Safai Karamchari" posts and will regularize existing employees. Workers who enter sewers will be provided with protective gear, masks and appropriate equipment. Like fire fighters, they will receive medical insurance. To help in their career advancement, Safai Karamcharis will be provided assistance in education and training.Status: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has started a process to regularise more than 50,000 employees working on contractual basis in its different departments. The services department of the Delhi government has approved a policy to employ 'eligible' candidates on a regular basis, an official said. Officials conveyed that the government has recommended all 3 municipal corporations to start cashless medical facility for Safai Karamcharis. Also, Safai Karamchari has been treated as a Skilled Worker in the Minimum Wages Act.#71 Dignity To The Safai Karamchari YET TO STARTPromise: On the death of a "Safai Karamchari" on duty, Rs. 50 lakh will be given to the bereaved family.Status: No announcement yet.#72 Loans to Scheduled Castes to Start Businesses FULFILLEDPromise: Entrepreneurs from Scheduled Castes will be provided zero or low-interest loans to set up businessesStatus: The Delhi Government revamped the entire working structure of Delhi State Finance Development Corporation (DSFDC). Major changes have been done in the "Dilli Swarojgar Yojna" scheme, which was initiated by the previous government. Now, no guarantors are needed for loans less than Rs. 50,000, which used to be a major roadblock earlier. For loan of Rs. 5 lakh and above, the borrower may arrange two persons as guarantors, who have been paying Income Tax consecutively for the past three financial years and have a net worth of Rs. 25 lakhs each. According to government officials, in the year before AAP government came into power, only 1 loan was santioned. This year, 60 loans were given and 150 applications were disposed (which didn't fulfil the criteria).#73 Caste Certificate Process Simplified UNDER PROGRESSPromise: Procedures for obtaining caste certificates will be simplified.Status: The process has been simplified by doing away with affidavits and now only self-affidavits are required. Also, certificates can now be availed online via e-ditsrict platform.#74 Transgender Community UNDER PROGRESSPromise: The long neglected transgender community will be provided access to health, education and appropriate identity cards that will ease their engagement with institutions.Status: Following the recommendations of expert committee on issues of transgender community, the Delhi government announced setting up district level screening committee that will issue certificate of being a transgender person, among other things.#75 Promote Sports Culture: YET TO STARTPromise: We will create new sports facilities, improve the existing infrastructure and provide coaching assistance to sportspersons.Status: Nothing yet.#76 Promote Sports Culture: FULFILLEDPromise: We will open for the youth Delhi's sports stadiums and complexes that at present are lying underutilized.Status: To promote sports among people of all age groups, Delhi government has decided to launch "Pay & Play Scheme" at the designated stadiums or sports complexes where they can play the game available there after paying a nominal fee of Rs 100.#77 Promote Sports Culture: YET TO STARTPromise: More than 3000 government school playgrounds will also be made available to the local community after school hours.Status: Nothing yet.#78 Public libraries: UNDER PROGRESSPromise: A public library or community-reading space will be created in every constituency of Delhi.Status: In the eleven constituencies where the Mohalla Sabhas are active, people asked for libraries in their communities; especially in low income areas, where there is no place to study. Since land is not easily available, government is renting rooms to create space for libraries and getting the infrastructure in place.References: The Hindu, The Indian Express.

Zimbabwe is faced with widespread hunger because the country lacks the hard currency needed to import basic food, and a new currency introduced in June has provided little relief.“Millions die needlessly every year, from countless diseases of energy and economic poverty.But under a Biden-Harris Administration, with John Kerry at the forefront, there is little hope that these African and other pleas will be heard.”Duggan Flanakin below.“For more than two decades, Zimbabwe has been trying to break ground on a giant coal-power complex near the world’s biggest man-made reservoir. Now, China has agreed to get the $4.2 billion project underway.”This is a most pressing question with implications far beyond coal in my opinion. Is the West being blind sided by China’s expansions of coal fired energy at “insane levels” around the world and at home? Does China privately understand from its scientists that natural forces not minute amounts of CO2 from coal are the driving forces of climate change giving China confidence to go it alone on coal power expansions? There is evidence that they do. See NATURE STUDY below.NOTE: the carbon reduction targets of the PARIS ACCORD sideline everyone else from competing with China coal on the false premise and unfounded science that minute amounts of non polluting fossil fuel CO2 emissions (0.117%) are dangerous to the climate ? The world has been wrongly convinced that not only is coal a dirty fuel but it is harming the climate. China may be seeing more clearly that this view is false.BUT: This just in from the Global Warming Policy Forum GWPF China is not alone as many countries are resuming consumption of coal power.Global coal demand to rebound as economy recoversDate: 19/12/20BloombergGlobal coal demand is poised to rebound next year as the economy recovers and the U.S. and Europe may see the first increase in consumption in several years, the International Energy Agency said.Despite the global shift toward economies based on renewable energy, the dirtiest fossil fuel looks set to keep its role as the world’s biggest power source although its share will slip to 35% in 2021 from 36.5% last year.Coal use in power generation globally is expected to increase by as much as 2.8% next year as electricity demand rebounds particularly in Asia, the IEA said in its 2020 coal report.Global Coal Demand to ReboundDemand for the fuel will return in 2021 but won’t reach 2019 levelsOver the next 5 years, global demand is forecast to “flatten out” at around 7.4 billion tons, as declines in Europe and the U.S. will offset any increased use in Asia. The main drivers of demand for the fuel will continue to be China and India, which both rely heavily on the fuel in their energy mix.While there are few signs that use of the fossil fuel will fade away any time soon, the IEA said that unless there are unforeseen developments that would significantly boost demand, it’s likely that consumption peaked in 2013.EU coal demand is expected to increase marginally for the first time since 2012, rising 3.5%. The U.S. rebound will be the first since 2014, increasing consumption by 11.1% next year.Full storyHere are the relevant points about China and coal.The world is awash in fossil fuels and coal reserves in particular that there is no end in sight. (US alone has more than 357 years waiting to be mined.)China coal production at 3242 tonnes dwarfs all countries by a large factor. (US is only 672 t.)More than 2 billion in the developing world live in the dark off grid and need coal power to see the light.Clean coal power technology is used by China buiding state of the art plants arouond the world and at home.Significant climate studies published by Chinese academics in Beijing debunk the shoddy science of the PARIS ACCORD and may help explain why China ignores the carbon targets.China is single handedly destroying any chance of the world meeting the PARIS ACCORD carbon targets now or in the future because of its massive coal fired expansion.“In one sense, China's push for coal is not surprising: China knows how to build coal plants. It is the world's largest coal consumer, drawing more than 70 percent of its electricity from coal, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.”Why Is China Placing A Global Bet On Coal?WRITTEN BY DUGGAN FLANAKIN, GUEST POST ONDEC 24, 2020. POSTED IN LATEST NEWSHow China Is Conquering Africa One Coal Plant At A Time“Joe Biden has pledged that one of his first acts as President will be rejoining the Paris Climate Treaty – which gives China a complete pass on reducing emissions until at least 2030.Even Biden’s designated “climate envoy,” former Secretary of State John Kerry, says the existing treaty “has to be stronger,” but then claims China will somehow become an active partner, instead of the competitor and adversary it clearly is. His rationale: “Climate is imperative, it’s as imperative for China as it is for us.”As to China employing more Green technology and abiding by (much less strengthening) the Paris agreement, the evidence is at best spotty, at worst completely the opposite.President Trump pulled the United States out of Paris, but between January 2017 and May 2019, the US had shuttered 50 coal-fired power plants, with 51 more shutdowns announced, bringing the total shutdowns to 289 (330 once announced shutdowns also take place) since 2010, soon leaving under 200 still operating.Meanwhile, as of 2019, China had 2,363 active coal-fired power plants and was building another 1,171 in the Middle Kingdom – plus hundreds more in Africa, Asia, and elsewhere.A CO2 Coalition white paper by Kathleen Hartnett White and Caleb Rossiter reveals that China now has modern pollutant-scrubbing technology on over 80% of its coal-fired power plants, but no scrubbers at any Chinese-built coal-fired power plants in Africa (or likely anywhere else) – and none anywhere that remove carbon dioxide.Harvard University China specialist Edward Cunningham says China is building, planning, or financing more than 300 coal plants, in places as widespread as Turkey, Egypt, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and the Philippines.India, South Korea, Japan, South Africa, and even Germany are also building hundreds of coal-fired power plants. No matter how many the USA closes down, it won’t make any global difference.Boston University data indicate that China has invested over $50 billion in building new coal plants overseas in recent years, and over a quarter of new coal plants outside the Middle Kingdom have some commitment or offer of funds from Chinese financial institutions.“Why is China placing a global bet on coal?” NPR wonders. That’s a 40 or even 50-year commitment, the life span of coal-fired units.The NPR authors even quote the Stinson Center think tank’s Southeast Asia analyst, who says “it’s not clear when you look at the actual projects China is funding that they are truly Green.” They’re obviously not green, and more is obviously going on than their poor eyesight can perceive.China knows it and the world will need oil, natural gas, and coal for decades to come. It sees “green” as the color of money and is happy to extend credit under terms very favorable to China.Communist Party leaders seek global military and economic power – and global control of electricity generation, raw materials extraction, and manufacturing of wind turbines, solar panels, and battery modules they will sell to address the West’s obsession with the “manmade climate crisis” and “renewable, sustainable” energy.Party leaders also know its production of “green” technologies is a good smokescreen for all this coal power – and few Western governments will dare to criticize China sharply over this or Covid.A recent Global Warming Policy Foundation report lambasts environmentalists (like John Kerry) as “useful idiots” who “praise the scale of Chinese ambition on climate change while paying lip service in criticizing China’s massive coal expansion.”It notes that China rarely honors its international agreements and has no intention of reducing fossil fuel consumption.But what are Africa and other developing nations to do? The West will not fund even clean coal projects that would eliminate pollution from dung and wood fires, while providing reliable, affordable electricity for lights, refrigerators, schools, shops, hospitals, factories, and much more.China will – and despite the heavy price, their demand for energy requires that they get electricity by any means necessary.With 1.1 billion people, Sub-Saharan Africa remains the world’s poorest region, despite massive mineral resources and a young, energetic population with an affinity for entrepreneurship.Dutch economist Wim Naudé says Africa must industrialize, which means it must have affordable, reliable electricity if it is to overcome poverty and disease, create jobs and discourage terrorism.Unfortunately, outrageously, US, EU, UN, and World Bank policies have stymied African energy resource development.As White and Rossiter note, US policies since the Obama era oppose Africans using the continent’s abundant coal and gas to fuel power plants, on the ground that carbon dioxide from fossil fuels might exacerbate climate change.African Energy Chamber executive chairman NJ Ayuk recently reported that the United Kingdom has also decided it will stop funding new oil, gas, and coal projects as of November 4, 2021, the fifth anniversary of the Paris treaty.The decision kowtows to Green opposition to UK Export Finance support for a Mozambique terminal to export low-CO2 emissions liquefied natural gas.Ayuk had been touting natural gas as an increasing option for African power plants, boasting that Africa is home to four of the world’s top 20 crude oil producers (Nigeria, Angola, Algeria, and Libya); Algeria and Nigeria are among the top 20 natural gas producers, and Mozambique also has huge gas reserves.“It is troubling,” Ayuk said, “that an aggressive foreign-funded anti-African energy campaign continues to undermine the potential of making Mozambique an oasis for gas monetization and meeting our increasing energy demands.”Despite this setback, he continued: “We must continue to be unwavering in our commitment to stand up for Africa’s energy sector, its workers, reducing energy poverty, and those free-market values that will make our continent attractive to committed energy investors.”In much of Africa, electricity demand far outstrips supply. “In factories, businesses, government buildings, and wealthy neighborhoods in every African country,” White and Rossiter observe, “a cacophonous symphony of soot-spewing backup diesel engines erupts when the grid goes down, which is usually every day.”In fact, says the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, many African countries spend more on dirty backup power than on electricity for the grid itself; in West Africa, backup kilowatts equal 40% of total grid kilowatts.In Sudan, which gets 30% of its energy from dams on the Nile River, diesel-based pumps run constantly to lift river water for irrigation, even at the confluence of the Blue and White Niles.In Nigeria, hotels ban guests from jogging because of health dangers from breathing soot from their diesel backup generators, which kick in repeatedly as neighborhoods go dark.In Southern Africa, construction sites simply run generators all day, filling nearby streets with noxious clouds. Universities rely on diesel to run old, inefficient air conditioning units.White and Rossiter note that American clean coal technology, exemplified by the Turk power plant in Arkansas, virtually eliminates health hazards from sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulates.They urge the U.S. to support proposals by African governments to import this technology, noting that electricity is “the central nervous system of a modern economy and modern life expectancy. Africa’s electricity deficit translates directly into its life-expectancy deficit of 15 years per person.”Millions die needlessly every year, from countless diseases of energy and economic poverty.But under a Biden-Harris Administration, with John Kerry at the forefront, there is little hope that these African and other pleas will be heard.With European allies in myopic puritanical lockstep, China will continue to get a total pass on complying with Green demands – and will have free rein to turn sub-Saharan Africa into a giant Chinese colony, despite the environmental damage, monstrous debt, slave and child labor under horrific workplace conditions, and likely modest benefits to Africans.It is eco-imperialism and eco-manslaughter at its worst. Where are the vaunted guardians of climate and environmental justice?”Duggan Flanakin is Director of Policy Research at the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (www.CFACT.org)How China Is Conquering Africa One Coal Plant At A TimeCHINA INDUSTRY DEMANDS INCREASED COAL POWERThe industry group for China’s power sector giants, China Electricity Council, has argued that coal-power capacity “will” reach 1,300GW by 2030, up from 1,050GW today. This target is based on its projections for annual electricity demand and the need for capacity to meet peak loads.A cap of 1,300GW in 2030 would imply the addition of well over 300GW of new coal-fired capacity this decade, after accounting for the retirement of older plants.China Electric Power Planning and Engineering Institute (EPPEI), the authoritative consultancy that has designed most of China’s coal power units and grid infrastructure, warned in June 2019 that 16 provinces in the country should increase new capacity and start working on a new batch of thermal power plants to avoid the possibility of shortages in the next two to three years.The thinktank affiliated with China’s giant grid utility company, State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), stressed the need to maintain coal-power capacity in a July 2019 intervention:“[China] should not close coal power plants at a large scale too soon or too fast and, by around 2030, we should maintain around 1,200GW of coal power to ensure the reliability of the power system, and key power generating regions should retain some backup and reserve capacity.”Analysis: Will China build hundreds of new coal plants in the 2020s?“For awhile it looked like China was moving away from coal toward clean energy, but coal is still a pretty big part of the country’s economy,” says Christine Shearer, the coal program director at the Global Energy Monitor. “We don’t have a lot of time in terms of emission reduction, but clean energy development is happening alongside coal plant construction rather than displacing it.”BUTDANIEL OBERHAUSSCIENCE11.27.2019 07:00 AMChina Is Still Building an Insane Number of New Coal PlantsWhile the rest of the world turns away from the fossil fuel, China is investing big in coal-powered electricity.China Building Hundreds Of Coal-Fired Power Plants Abroad ...www.npr.org › why-is-china-placing-a-global-bet-on-coalApr 29, 2019 — But now it plans to build hundreds of coal plants abroad. ... Forum in Beijing over the weekend, promoting his signature foreign policy of building massive ... But within the past four years, all four stopped burning coal. ... China has made more than $244 billion in energy investments abroad since 2000, much ...Hassyan Clean Coal Project, DubaiThe 2,400MW Hassyan clean coal power station is an ultra-supercritical (USC) power plant being developed in Saih Shuaib, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.Plant TypeCoal-fired power plant Location DubaiCapacity 2,400MWEstimated Investment $3.4bnHassyan Energy Company is developing the 2,400MW ultra-supercritical Hassyan clean coal power plant in Dubai. Credit: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA).Construction of the Hassyan clean coal project began in November 2016 and is expected to be fully completed by 2023. Credit: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA).The Hassyan power plant will be equipped with Alstom’s (now GE) ultra-supercritical boiler and steam turbine generators. Credit: Alstom.The 2,400MW Hassyan clean coal power station is an ultra-supercritical (USC) power plant being developed in Saih Shuaib, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Upon completion, the project is set to be the first coal-based power plant in the region.Construction of the $3.4bn power plant commenced in November 2016. It will comprise four units of 600MW each, which are expected to start operations in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 respectively, in March of those years.Hassyan Energy Company, which is a joint-venture (JV) between Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA, 51%) and the consortium of ACWA Power, Harbin Electric, and the Silk Road Fund (49%), is the project developer.The project supports the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, which is aimed at producing environment-friendly energy. The programme aims to produce 25% of energy from solar power, 7% from nuclear power, 7% from clean coal, and the remaining 61% from gas by 2030.The power plant is expected to produce sufficient electricity to power approximately 250,000 households.https://www.power-technology.com/projects/hassyan-clean-coal-project-dubai/Dubai has also set the lofty goal of having the world's lowest carbon footprint in the world by 2050 - something that would be impacted by burning coal.Read more at:Dubai, oil-rich UAE sees a new wonder: A coal power plantLast Updated: Oct 22, 2020, 11:59 AM ISTCarbon dioxide emitted by coal power plants is clean without any pollution.COAL24 March 2020 8:00Analysis: Will China build hundreds of new coal plants in the 2020s?Signs of stimulusMany experts and industry bodies argue for a move away from top-down targets and controls, to investment driven by market forces. However, the spending needed to fuel a new stimulus program can only be mobilized if investment is directed at the behest of the state, rather than the market – as a rule, China does not fund stimulus with on-budget spending, but by directing state-owned enterprises and commercial banks to spend more. In these circumstances, lack of controls on capacity additions runs a high risk of over-investment.For example, efforts to control overcapacity might be vulnerable to the political priority of boosting investment spending to reach economic targets. An indication of this was the loosening of “traffic lights” for new coal-plant approvals, published by the National Energy Administration in February.The traffic light policy was first introduced in January 2017 to prevent provinces with overcapacity from permitting new projects. A year ago, however, 21 of China’s 31 provincial grids included in the policy were given a “green light”. Last month this increased to 25, as the figure below shows.Locations and sizes (megawatts, shown by the size of each circle) of new coal-fired power capacity in the pipeline in China. The maps are colour coded according to the “traffic light” status of the relevant provincial grid, with red meaning new capacity cannot receive permits to move ahead towards construction. Source: Global Energy Monitor and NEA. Figure: Authors.The change is significant, as the four additional greenlighted grid regions have a total of 34GW of coal-fired capacity in the pipeline.According to data from Global Energy Monitor, the traffic light loosening is already apparent in new project activity in 2019, with construction started or restarted on another 18GW of capacity, while 37GW of previously inactive projects have been revived.Furthermore, the past weeks have seen the announcement of major infrastructure programmes and other stimulus to offset the economic impacts from the coronavirus, but so far no mention of initiatives prioritising clean energy or other green investment.The focus on stimulating the economy with major investment – and a recent shift of emphasis towards energy security (below) – appear to cast aside concerns about overcapacity and financial viability.Some have interpreted Chinese premier Li Keqiang’s remarks at an October 2019 event as a signal of support for coal-power expansion. At the conference a “new energy security strategy” was formulated, in which the core role of coal was emphasised more strongly than renewable energy.This was widely interpreted as a retreat to coal in the face of energy security concerns, following the trade war with the US. However, China’s energy security fears mainly relate to oil – and, to a lesser degree, gas.Analysis: Will China build hundreds of new coal plants in the 2020s?China virtually alone in backing Africa’s dirty coal projectsWorkers unload imported coal at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China, in December. A retreat from financial institutions in developed countries has paved the way for Chinese companies to invest in the coal industry in Africa. | VIA REUTERSBLOOMBERGSHAREMay 7, 2020For more than two decades, Zimbabwe has been trying to break ground on a giant coal-power complex near the world’s biggest man-made reservoir. Now, China has agreed to get the $4.2 billion project underway.The development, near the southern shore of Lake Kariba, is good news for Zimbabwe, where a collapsing economy and erratic policies have deterred foreign investment for the past 20 years.But it flies in the face of a growing global consensus that has seen financial institutions from Japan to the U.S. and Europe shun investments in coal projects. That retreat leaves the way open for Chinese companies — many with state backing — even at the risk of undermining the spirit of China’s international commitments to fight climate change.“We are very pleased that the project is going ahead, especially as major banks in the world are forced to stop financing coal-fired power stations,” Caleb Dengu, chairman of RioZim Energy, the company that owns the project, said in a response to questions. “This is testimony of Chinese commitment to development projects in Africa. The Chinese are interested in joining hands.”China is certainly in need of friends: A global backlash is building over Beijing’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak first identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan — evidence of a deficit of trust that was compounded by incidents of racism toward Africans in the southern city of Guangzhou last month.RELATED STORIESSumitomo Mitsui and Mizuho to end lending for new coal-fired plantsNearly half of global coal plants will be unprofitable this year, study showsYet pumping money into coal just underlines China’s creeping isolation in backing plants that generate large quantities of greenhouse gases and other pollutants.For financial institutions, “the ever-increasing reputational risk of funding a project like this, and the high likelihood that it would end up as a stranded asset, should make them very wary of getting involved,” said Tracey Davies, director of Cape Town-based shareholder activist organization, Just Share.In fact, the Chinese government promised back in 2017 to green its Belt and Road Initiative overseas construction plan, to promote environment-friendly development in line with United Nations goals. President Xi Jinping pledged last year that the program must be green and sustainable.Nonetheless, Chinese companies and banks are involved in financing at least 13 coal projects across the continent with another nine in the pipeline, according to data compiled by Greenpeace. Since 2000, the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China alone have supplied $51.8 billion of finance for coal projects globally, according to the Boston University Global Development Policy Center.“Despite promises to shift support to green and low-carbon energy, Chinese banks have continued to bankroll coal power projects,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst for the Centre for Energy Research and Clean Air, an independent research body. “China has enormous state-owned thermal-power manufacturing and engineering firms that rely on overseas deals to stay in business.”President Xi regularly mentions China’s commitment to multilateralism through fighting climate change as a signatory of the Paris Agreement. China, however, is unlikely to divest from coal anytime soon. Despite hefty investment in renewable energy over the past decade, China still mines and burns about half the world’s coal.China has undoubtedly made progress domestically. By 2018, China had exceeded its target for reducing CO2 emissions, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the U.N. climate action summit in New York in September. He touted increases in non-fossil fuel use and in forestation along with sales of some 1.25 million electric cars that year. But now, as it claws its way out of the pandemic-induced slump, Beijing has started to roll back restrictions on industrial pollution and slash subsidies for cleaner energy.There shouldn’t be a “one-size-fits-all approach” for green development in poorer nations, but rather the decision should be based on a host country’s natural resources, according to Yu Zirong, a vice director at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, a think tank affiliated with the Ministry of Commerce.“For countries with rich coal resources, it is impossible to completely forbid them using coal,” said Yu, who spoke at a forum on sustainable Belt and Road Initiative in October in Beijing. “The key is how to use them more reasonably.”China’s agreement to invest is a rare win for Zimbabwe, which is currently subject to power cuts of as long as 18 hours a day as it doesn’t produce enough electricity to meet demand and can’t afford to pay for adequate imports.The project was initially owned by London-based miner Rio Tinto Group, the one-time parent of RioZim Ltd, which in turn owns Riozim Energy. It was set aside as Zimbabwe’s relations with the U.K., its former colonizer, deteriorated. After the project was revived in 2016, General Electric Co. and a unit of Blackstone Group LP didn’t pursue initial inquiries, according to Dengu, the company’s chairman.Power Construction Corp. of China, the state-owned company known as PowerChina, has been contracted to build the first phase of the plant known as Sengwa, which includes a 700 megawatt generation unit, as well as a pipeline from Kariba Dam to bring the water needed and power lines at a total cost of $1.2 billion. Funding is likely to come from Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, while China Export and Credit Insurance Corp., or Sinosure, may provide the country risk cover needed, according to Dengu. Both are owned by the Chinese government.Repeated calls to ICBC and Sinosure went unanswered. PowerChina said it didn’t have information on the Zimbabwe project at the moment. It had no comment on the possible climate impact of its involvement in overseas coal-related projects.Last month a deal was signed for the rest of the project, which will add a further 2,100 megawatts at a cost of $3 billion. China Gezhouba Group, which is partly state-owned, will develop the project and lead fund raising, Dengu said. The company didn’t respond to calls or an email request for comment.“The Chinese are looking at the business opportunity,” said Dengu. “We bring the market knowledge and management capacity, they bring the finance and the technology.”Rio Energy had few other options. European banks no longer fund coal projects and over the last year the biggest banks in South Africa have committed to reducing their coal funding under pressure from shareholders. Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc. are also among those looking to curb or halt project financing for coal-related projects.While the Zimbabwean project is sizable among those being considered by Chinese companies, it is not the biggest. PowerChina has signed a memorandum of agreement with South Africa’s Limpopo provincial government to build a power plant of at least 3,000 megawatts at a cost of $4.5 billion.Not all are welcomed by local communities.Sengwa would draw water from Kariba, a reservoir already so depleted by recurrent droughts attributed to climate change that its hydropower turbines operate at a fraction of their capacity. The South African government is facing a lawsuit because coal-fired power plants there cause some of the world’s worst air pollution.“It’s a fading industry,” said Han Chen, who manages the international energy policy program at the New York-based National Resources Defense Council. “So they are going places where the environmental standards are low so they can use more polluting equipment that is cheaper to operate.”Of 11 coal projects in Africa she tracks that are likely to get foreign support, 10 involve Chinese state-owned entities.As banks in other countries, including Japan and South Korea, snub coal, those projects will increasingly rely on China.“Chinese banks will find themselves increasingly alone in funding new coal plants, both at home and around the world,” said Christine Shearer, director of the coal program at Global Energy Monitor.China virtually alone in backing Africa’s dirty coal projectsIdentification of the driving forces of climate change using the longest instrumental temperature record.Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, China 中国气象科学研究院New research confirms the view of leading climate scientists and scholars that trace amounts of Co2 emissions are not destabilizing the planet. Co2 is essential plant food and therefore green energy.The authors Geli Wang & Peicai Yang and Xiuji Zhou are scientists at the CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE and Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, China 中国气象科学研究院ANTHROPOGENIC (human activity). The driving forces are“the El Niño–Southern Oscillation cycle and the Hale sunspot cycle, respectively.”The title of the study published in the prestigious NATURE Journal is: Identification of the driving forces of climate change using the longest instrumental temperature recordhttps://www.nature.com/articles/...Their study confirms THE DRIVING FORCES OF GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE ARE NATURALThe “driving forces” of climate change are natural and not Co2 plant food emissions. A new Chinese study confirms climate change comes from natural cycles. This research is based on the longest actual temperature data of more than 400 years from 1659 to 2013, including the period of anthropogenic warming.AbstractThe identification of causal effects is a fundamental problem in climate change research. Here, a new perspective on climate change causality is presented using the central England temperature (CET) dataset, the longest instrumental temperature record, and a combination of slow feature analysis and wavelet analysis. The driving forces of climate change were investigated and the results showed two independent degrees of freedom —a 3.36-year cycle and a 22.6-year cycle, which seem to be connected to the El Niño–Southern Oscillation cycle and the Hale sunspot cycle, respectively. [Emphasis added]. Moreover, these driving forces were modulated in amplitude by signals with millennial timescales.James Matkin 
This research is very relevant and should make climate alarmists pause in their crusade against Co2 emissions from fossil fuels. Far too much focus on Co2 like a one trick pony in a big tent circus where solar radiation is a more compelling show. The thrust of recent research has demonstrated that climate changes continually and is determined by natural forces that humans have no significant control over. Many leading scientists have presented research of other "driving forces" and cautioned against the arrogance of many that "the science is settled." See Judith Curry of the Georgia Institute of Technology and blogger at Climate Etc. talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about climate change. Curry argues that climate change is a "wicked problem" with a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the expected damage as well as the political and technical challenges of dealing with the phenomenon. She emphasizes the complexity of the climate and how much of the basic science remains incomplete. The conversation closes with a discussion of how concerned citizens can improve their understanding of climate change and climate change policy.
http://www.econtalk.org/arc...https://www.nature.com/articles/...JAMES MATKIN•2017-08-23 10:03 PMThe great failure of the Paris accord is the failure to accept that the IPCC Al Gore hypothesis of anthropogenic warming is not settled science. Indeed, none of the predictions of doom have occurred. New research confirms the view of leading climate scientists and scholars that trace amounts of Co2 emissions are not destabilizing the planet. Co2 is essential plant food and therefore green energy. The “driving force” of climate change is natural and not Co2 plant food emissions. A new Chinese study confirms climate change comes from natural cycles. This research is based on the longest actual temperature data of more than 400 years from 1659 to 2013, including the period of anthropogenic warming. The authors Geli Wang & Peicai Yang and Xiuji Zhou are scientists at the CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE and Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, China 中国气象科学研究院 Their study confirms THE DRIVING FORCES OF GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE ARE NOT ANTHROPOGENIC (human activity). The driving forces are “the El Niño–Southern Oscillation cycle and the Hale sunspot cycle, respectively.” The title of the study published in the prestigious NATURE Journal is: Identification of the driving forces of climate change using the longest instrumental temperature record Identification of the driving forces of climate change using the longest instrumental temperature record This means that climate change cannot be stopped as Paris attendees believed. Co2 is very beneficial plant food and we need more not less. Why climate change is good for the world | The Spectator It is good news for civilization that the Paris targets are not being met around thttps://www.nature.com/news/prov...29 Apr 2020China to Help Build $3 Billion Coal Plant in ZimbabweCategoryStoriesCountryZimbabweTagsEnergy Access, Finance and Investment, Fossil FuelsSourcehttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-28/riozim-seals-3-billion-zimba…Zimbabwe’s Rio Energy Ltd., a unit of RioZim Ltd., will build a 2,100 megawatt thermal power plant with China Gezhouba Group Corp in northern Zimbabwe at a projected cost of $3 billion, Rio Energy said Monday.“CGGC will develop the project and assist with the fund raising,” Caleb Dengu, chairman of Rio Energy Ltd said last week. The power plant at Sengwa will be constructed in four phases of about 700 megawatts each, bringing total capacity to 2,800 megawatts.“We have coal reserves to support a 10,000 megawatt plant at Sengwa,” Dengu said.A 250 kilometer (155-mile) pipeline will carry water from Lake Kariba to Sengwa. The pipeline, and a 420 kilovolt-ampere power line, will be built by PowerChina, said Dengu. The first phase of the project will cost about $1.2 billion, he added.The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has given a formal expression of interest in the project and is negotiating with Sinosure, also known as the China Export and Credit Insurance Corp, to cover country risk insurance costs, Dengu told Bloomberg.Zimbabwe generates and imports about 1,300 megawatts of electricity, short of its 2,200 megawatt demand. Daily power outages have hampered industrial capacity for almost two decades.A two-year drought blighted the country’s Kariba thermal power plant by draining the reservoir, while aging equipment at its main Hwange thermal plant causes incessant breakdowns and outages that see many consumers receiving only eight hours of power a day.RioZim was spun off from Rio Tinto Plc in 2004. London-based Rio initially retained a stake in diamond mines and Sengwa before selling those to RioZim in 2015.China to Help Build $3 Billion Coal Plant in ZimbabweCHINA HAS BLIND SIDED THE WEST AND THE WEST IS CAUSING DEVASTATING ECONOMIC DAMAGE TO PREVENT A FAKE CLIMATE PROBLEM.I affirm this QUORA answer by Dr. John Walker.John WalkerNovember 28I have written a 500+ page treatise skeptical of CAGWQUORA QUESTION“Is China's carbon neutrality pledge by 2060 nonsense? Are they simply trying to buy decades worth of time to ignore the complaints of the rest of the world during this period, if so, are they in the right since the US also depends on fossil fuels?“Yes, of course.Anyone who believes anything the Communist Chinese pledge is a fool.But I doubt the Chinese have bought into the scam being promoted by climate alarmists using the unproven hypothesis that human emissions of CO2 are leading to catastrophic global warming. So, indeed, they are taking the logical approach to energy, continuing to increase their wealth and prosperity by utilizing cheap fossil fuels to power their enormous growth. They no doubt laugh at Western nations which are wasting $trillions on unproven dangers of future climate change while they build up their massive military, buy up mineral rights and mines around the world, infiltrate Western nations to steal crucial industrial and military secrets, etc.it’s also likely that the Chinese superficially and deceitfully promote CAGW and renewables to help ensure that Western nations continue to waste their wealth on this scam.Unfortunately, if the Democrats gain control of both Houses of Congress and the White House, then the US will join these other ignorant nations, wasting even more limited resources on an unproven future problem while watching numerous known current existential problems (hunger, violence, pollution and over-fishing of our oceans, infectious and other diseases, inadequate housing, sanitation and clean water, decaying infrastructure, etc.) go unsolved.You may want to learn to speak Chinese.”