C H A N D I G A R H & V I C I N I T Y |
Wednesday, December 23, 1998 |
weather n
spotlight today's calendar |
Give UT's share of power,
says Jain
New
order to banks on recruitment |
Fog delays trains |
UT
panchayat poll on January 16 Construction
of MIG flats begins
|
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Give UT's
share of power: Jain NEW DELHI, Dec 22 Mr Satya Pal Jain, BJP MP from Chandigarh today urged the Centre to give the Union Territory its share of 3.5 per cent of energy being generated by Bhakra Beas Management Board. Raising the issue under rule 377 in Lok Sabha today, Mr Jain said the Union Territory of Chandigarh came into existence after the partition of Punjab in 1966. Hence it is a "succeeding state" as per the Punjab Reorganisation Act, he said. Mr Jain said that though every "succeeding state", as per law was entitled to its share in power produced by the BBMB, yet Chandigarh was denied its share, causing injustice to the city for the past 30 years. Mr Jain said there was an acute shortage of power in Chandigarh and the Administration had to purchase power from outside because the city had no power plant of its own. It raised the cost of power which ultimately adversely affected the industry and employment. The government, he said, should take steps to remove this injustice and make suitable arrangements for proper power supply to Chandigarh. He also urged the government to compensate the Union Territory for the losses suffered by it for the past three decades because of the denial of its legitimate claim by the Central Government. He demanded that the
Centre should accord approval to the setting up of a
power plant in Chandigarh so that power shortage could be
sorted out and demands of residents could be fulfilled at
reasonable rates. |
Anticipatory
bail plea of lawyer fails CHANDIGARH, Dec 22 The Additional Sessions Judge, Mr S.S. Lamba, today rejected the anticipatory bail plea of Mr A.K. Maleri, a lawyer, who is apprehending arrest in connection with a case registered by the Chandigarh police against him on a charge of forging orders of a Civil Judge. In his order, Mr Lamba observed: "If such activities are conducted by a responsible officer of the Bar Association which tarnish the image of the judicial system as a whole in the eyes of the public, such attempts should be severely dealt with". The judge added: "The police is to probe the nexus between the petitioner and others including officials of the court, if any, so that the truth may be elucidated. The involvement of such persons is yet to be ascertained and that can be revealed only by Mr A.K. Maleri, who had sent the status quo order along with a letter in his own hand. As a result I am constrained to hold that no special circumstances for the grant of anticipatory bail are made out. The application as such fails and is dismissed". The prosecution had stated that a letter had been sent by Mr K.C. Garg, Civil Judge, Chandigarh, to the SSP of Chandigarh on December 8, alleging that on December 6, 1998, an application was given by Brig Charanjit Singh, Additional Chief Engineer, Western Command, Chandimandir, saying that orders of the court of Mr K.C. Garg had been forged. It so happened that Sharma
Construction Company was allotted a contract worth Rs 3
crore. The active partner of the firm was Mr Shanti Amit.
As the work of the firm was not satisfactory, the
allotment of further work to it was stopped. |
Compassionate
cases: New order to banks on recruitment CHANDIGARH, Dec 22 The Central Government has told the public sector banks not to take any decision on appointments of dependents on compassionate grounds in the case of deceased employees facing charges of major financial irregularities. However, in the case of employees who face minor charges or were awarded minor penalty at the time of death, the banks are free to take action in consultation with the board members. It may be recalled that prior to 1991, the managing directors of banks were competent to take decisions in all such cases at their own level without even consulting their board members. It was on February 20,1991, that the Government of India had asked the banks to obtain its approval in respect of proposals for appointments of dependents for deceased employees where disciplinary proceedings were pending or were being contemplated at the time of death of the employee or where the employee was proceeded against before death and punishment was awarded. Banks were advised not decide such cases on their own despite the fact that all the usual conditions for such appointments are satisfied. As a result of this Government of India's directions to the banks the powers of not only the managing directors but also the bank boards stood completely withdrawn and in routine all cases seeking appointments of dependents of deceased employees on compassionate grounds were sent to the government. The procedure became so cumbersome that it took months, and in some cases years to make appointments effective even in very genuine cases. In absence of powers to recruit staff the situation gradually deteriorated and resulted in further shortage of staff. However, some employees with clean records made use of provisions by securing premature retirements to secure jobs for their children at a time when they could draw full retirement benefits of service in the bank. Also, under the GOI's order the majority of proposals referred to the government for approval were cases where deceased employees had been charge-sheeted and/or punishment had been awarded for minor misconduct namely irregular attendance, disobedience and misbehaviour. Having reviewed the situation the government has now decided that in future the banks may consider, with the approval of their board, proposals regarding appointments of dependents of the employees on compassionate grounds in cases where the deceased employees had been awarded minor penalty or disciplinary proceeding against the employee was pending or contemplated at the time of the death of the employee, which would prima facie, have resulted in award of a minor penalty. Thus cases involving minor penalty need not now be referred to the government and may be decided with the approval of the board subject to the condition that all other requirements of the scheme of appointments on compassionate grounds are fulfilled. However, all proposals where the employee was involved in financial irregularities, embezzlement of funds, frauds irrespective of whether a minor or major punishment had been awarded or cases where disciplinary proceedings were pending/contemplated in cases of financial irregularities, embezzlement of funds, frauds etc would also continue to be referred to the Government with the recommendation of the board. The cases already referred
by banks to the government and on which no decision has
been conveyed by the government so far may be reviewed by
banks in the light of the new guidelines and if necessary
fresh reference can be made after obtaining board's
approval in deserving and fit cases. |
UT panchayat
poll on January 16 CHANDIGARH, Dec 22 Elections to 17 panchayats of Chandigarh will be held on January 16. This was announced by the UT Election Commissioner, Mr B. Prasad, here today. The filing of nominations will start from January 1 and the last date will be January 6. The scrutiny of documents will take place on January 7 and January 9 will be the last date for withdrawals. Polling will take place on January 16 between 8 a.m and 4 p.m. The commissioner had earlier appointed returning officers(RO) and assistant returning officers(AROs) for the panchayat elections. According to sources, he met senior officers of the Chandigarh Administration and discussed matters relating to the poll. He also met deputations of villagers and listened to their complaints and grievances. Elections are due to 17 panchayats of 18 villages. Makhan Majra and Raipur Kalan villages have a common panchayat. Meanwhile, a deputation of residents of Kajheri village accompanied by Mr Kuldip Singh, sarpanch, met the commissioner and urged him to dereserve their village which has been notified as a seat for Scheduled Castes. They said that as per the latest survey by the administration the Scheduled Castes' percentage was lower than the other general seats. The residents urged that
the 1998 and not the 1991 census should be taken into
consideration. |
Historic
fort needs healing touch CHANDIGARH, Dec 22 The only major archaeological and historic monument in the City Beautiful the Mani Majra Fort is in a state of neglect thanks to the continued administrative apathy. The fort was built by a local chieftain Garib Dass and his son Gopal Singh in the second half of the 18th century. Several portions of the fort, including the wall enclosing the huge compound, have decayed at many points thus rendering the fort area vulnerable. In the absence of any conservation work the magnificent fort is dying a slow death. The walls and wooden balconies have decayed and developed cracks over the years. Of the five bastions supporting its four corners and the centre, one weather-beaten bastion caved in during the rains recently thus posing a serious threat to the fort as a whole as these bastions are the main pillars supporting the structure. Meanwhile, alarmed at the dilapidated condition of the fort, the Chandigarh Circle of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), has written to the Deputy Commissioner, Mr R.K. Rao, urging him to provide the revenue records of the fort so that the conservation work could be undertaken. According to Mr C. Dorjee, Superintending Archaeologist, a team of the ASI had visited the fort twice for an on-the-spot study of the damage to the fort. The administration, it is learnt, has asked for revenue records from the "patwari" of Mani Majra for determining the ownership rights. Mr Dorjee said that after the receipt of the records, a detailed proposal would be sent to the ASI headquarters at Delhi for the inclusion of the fort in the list of the monuments of national importance and once the fort was included in the list under the Ancient Monuments Act, its conservation would become the responsibility of the ASI. The fort would be first
monument in the city to be put on the list of monuments
of national importance. |
College
teachers hold rally CHANDIGARH, Dec 22 Teachers from 160 non-government aided and unaided affiliated colleges of Punjab and Chandigarh staged a rally near the housing board roundabout in support of their demands here today. The teachers who belonged to the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union raised slogans against the "failure" of the Punjab Government to implement their demands already, accepted by the government, including implementation of the pension-gratuity scheme. Union leaders condemned the "negative" attitude of the government towards teachers in particular and higher education in general. They said the election manifesto of the ruling alliance had promised to bring all posts in aided and unaided colleges under the grant-in-aid scheme. Hundreds of families, including 1500 retiree were hit as they had not got their gratuity and could not use the GPF while waiting for the scheme to be started. The protesters demanded revision of pay scales, including revision of allowances like DA, CCA, HRA, rural areas and transport allowance. The issue of raising the retirement age to 62 as per the decision of the HRD Ministry was also discussed. The agitators also decided to intensify their agitation by holding rallies in the constituencies of Mr Parkash Singh Badal and Capt Kanwaljit Singh. The first such rally would be held at Banur on January 19. |
Fog delays
trains CHANDIGARH, Dec 22 After the damaged rail tracks between Delhi and Ambala stirred trouble for two weeks, fog is the latest problem for the Railways. Due to fog almost all trains running through Punjab and Haryana were delayed by several hours, while the Shan-e-Punjab running between Delhi and Amritsar, had to be cancelled for the day as its rake did not reach Delhi in time last night. The train was to leave Delhi this morning. The late running resulted in the harassment of the public. Schedules of those wanting to catch connecting trains or flights from Delhi went hay- wire. Even the prestigious Shatabdis have been forced to a virtual crawl, compared to their peak speeds that are in excess of 100 kmph. All Shatabdis running in the morning were delayed. This includes one of the fastest trains in the country, Swarn Shatabdi between Delhi and Amritsar that was delayed by 3 hours and 10 minutes by the time it had reached Ambala on its upward journey today. Fog along the tracks in Punjab and Haryana has also delayed long-distance trains originating at Amritsar or Jammu bound for South. A similar story is being repeated for trains that are running northwards from Delhi. All trains running southwards are delayed by the time they reach Delhi. This is creating a problem for bunching of trains outside Delhi. The New Delhi station is crowded and when a train arrives late it cannot be berthed at a platform as by that time, another train is to arrive or scheduled to depart. This causes further delay. Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Ambala Division, Ashwani Kapoor said fog was a major contributory factor in the delay. The tracks are alright now, he added. However, sources added that a section of track near Panipat was still under speed restriction of 80 kmph and this is also a cause of delay. The Shatabdi that leaves Chandigarh for Delhi in the morning was late by two hours by the time it had reached Ambala. The Himalayan Queen, running between Delhi and Kalka, was delayed by three hours and thirty minutes by the time it reached Chandigarh. The Shatabdi Express between Delhi and Chandigarh arrived more than two hours behind schedule at Chandigarh this morning. The Amritsar-Delhi Shatabdi had been delayed by 35 minutes by the time it reached Ambala. The story of the Himachal Express between Delhi and Una was worse. It was delayed by eight hours and 15 minutes by the time it reached Ambala. The Howrah-Kalka mail reached Chandigarh almost five hours behind schedule this morning. The Sealdah Express, Jhelum Express and Pooja Express were late by 10 hours, 7 hours and 9 hours late, respectively, on their upward journeys. The Samjhauta Express,
running between India and Pakistan, was late by more than
seven hours on its downward journey from Wagah border to
Delhi. |
French
cyclists arrive in city CHANDIGARH, Dec 22 Mrs Combes Christine and Mr Lagnion Yves, two French cyclists on a world tour, arrived in the city today. According to Mr Yves, before entering India through Pakistan, he and his wife cycled across a number of countries including France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Iran. The two cyclists also
visited the Golden Temple in Amritsar a couple of days
ago.. |
Water supply
disrupted CHANDIGARH, Dec 22 Water supply to the Modern Housing Complex, Manimajra, was disrupted in the afternoon following a rupture in a water supply line from a tubewell near the complex. Residents said the pressure of water was low in the morning itself but no water was available on the top floors of the four-storeyed complex. People had to queue up to get water from a water valve of a pipeline. Officials said while
stop-gap arrangements had been made, the supply would be
normalised by tomorrow evening. |
Air Marshal
V. Patney CHANDIGARH, Dec 22 Air Marshal V. Patney, Air Officer Commanding in Chief, Western Air Command, arrived at the local Air Force station on a two-day visit. He was received by Air
Commodore A.V. Kumar, Air Officer Commanding, Air Force
Station. The Air Marshal will be inspecting various air
force operational, training and maintenance installations
during his stay |
ESIC to
launch drive CHANDIGARH, Dec 22 The Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) will launch a special drive for the recovery of outstanding dues from defaulting employers of factories and establishments from January 1 to March 31. A press note today urged
the defaulting employers to deposit the outstanding dues
to avoid penal action. |
Rally by
Karamchari Union CHANDIGARH, Dec 22 Members of the Punjab Market Committee Karamchari Union held a rally near the Housing Board roundabout in support of their demands here today. The agitators were demanding immediate release of the bonus amount. The role of the Chairman of the Mandi Board was decried. The issue of a common cadre for employees was also discussed. The issue of keeping
employees on a contract basis was condemned. A memorandum
was later submitted to the authorities.
|
Construction
of MIG flats begins SAS NAGAR, Dec 22 Construction work on 434 MIG flats of PUDA has begun in Sector 66 here. Stating this here yesterday, Ms Seema Jain, Additional Chief Administrator, PUDA, said the two-bedroom flats would be of two storeys to start with, but expandable units. Each plot measured 160 sq yd, with a covered area of 650 sq ft. The construction work had been allotted to three groups. Ms Jain said 696 LIG dwelling units would also come up in the same sector. In this case, work had been allotted to four groups, but construction was yet to begin. She said a survey was undertaken in Phase XI here to determine why flat owners had indulged in building rule violations. Designs for the new dwelling units had been modified in the light of the survey to make these more comfortable.
|
JAG
celebrates Corps Day CHANDIGARH, Dec 22 The Judge Advocates-General Department (JAG), the judicial wing of the Army, celebrated its 15th Corps Day in Chandimandir. A get-together was organised at which Lt Gen H. B. Kala, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, was the chief guest. Justice Kuldip Singh and a large number of serving and retired officers were present. In a message, the Chief
Justice of India stressed the need for objectivity and
impartiality in the opinions of the department. The
opinions were indispensible in the administration of
justice to the Army. |
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