According to figures provided by minister of state for communications Kabindra Purkayastha in the House, there has been a steady rise in this field. The revenue had risen to Rs 164.67 crore in 1997-98, from Rs 140.42 crore in 1996-97 and Rs 107.58 crore in 1995-96, the minister said. As many as 9,302 STD PCOs are functioning in Delhi. A few complaints of overcharging by some PCOs were received and action wherever necessary was taken after investigation, the minister informed the House.

MTNL: The government has not taken any decision to hand over telephone facilities in all metropolitan cities to Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, Purkayastha said in reply to another question.

Link: Representations have been received from the National Capital Region (NCR) board, Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and Members of Parliament (MPs) seeking direct link between the areas falling under the NCR with local call facility with specific reference to Khurja (UP).

Local call facility is provided within Short Distance Charging Area (SDCA) and since Khurja and Delhi are separate non-adjacent SDCAs more than 20 km apart, the facility has not been provided, Purkayastha said.

The facility is not available between Faridabad and Ghaziabad for the same reason, he added.

Traffic: Delhi Traffic Police has formulated an action plan for better traffic management to ensure smooth flow of traffic, Home Minister L.K. Advani told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

He said normal flow of traffic in the city is adversely affected whenever there are religious processions or political rallies.

Crime: Crimes reported under Indian penal code in the city during October last showed a decline of 3.31 per cent over September. There was also a decline of about 16 per cent in the robbery cases reported during October in the south district, the home minister said.

Piped gas supply: A joint venture to supply piped gas in Delhi areas has been approved by the government, Rajya sabha was told today. The joint venture will be between Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), minister of state for petroleum and natural gas Santosh Kumar Gangwar told the House in a written reply. As a pilot project, GAIL is already supplying piped gas in Kaka Nagar, Bapa Nagar and Pandara Park areas of the city.

Dropsy: Six manufacturers of mustard oil have so far been chargesheeted by the CBI for allegedly entering into criminal conspiracy with the object of adulterating mustard oil with argemone.

IB reports: No intelligence bureau report on Delhi Assembly elections was leaked as reported by some newspapers. According to the IB, no such report was submitted to the government, Advani told the house.