Chandigarh, April 26
Liquor cartel has staged a comeback in the city after a gap of six years, courtesy the amended excise policy of inviting tenders for the allotment of liquor vends by the UT Administration.

With liquor barons from neighbouring states, including Ponty Chadha group (Punjab and western UP), Amrik Singh group (Punjab), DP Yadav (western UP) and Pawan Singla group (Punjab), together controlling over 50 per cent of liquor trade (100 vends out of 190) in Chandigarh, the return of the liquor syndicate haunts small liquor traders and Bacchus lovers.

“The lopsided tendering process for the allotment of the liquor vends which replaced the licence system under the 2011-12 excise policy has laid the foundation for the operation of the liquor syndicate in the city,” said Satpal, a wine merchant.

Chandigarh, April 26
The Chandigarh traffic police is set to join an exclusive group of cities in the country within the next fortnight when it formally launches its page on Facebook, joining the social networking site on the lines of the Delhi traffic police.

The move is an effort to discipline traffic violators. The page will invite photographs of traffic violations and feedback on the functioning of traffic cops, including any evidence of bribe-taking.

A team of six police personnel left for Delhi on Tuesday to get training from traffic cops of that city on how to operate the Facebook page. Once it is launched, city residents will be invited to upload videos and photos of vehicles violating traffic regulations, including instances where policemen are found demanding a bribe. Senior police officials will then mark an inquiry into the reported offence and action will be taken accordingly.

“We launched a dummy page of the traffic police last February but it has not been operational. The page on Facebook will be formally launched at the Chandigarh Traffic Park in Sector 23. We expect it to evoke a huge response among residents who can upload photos if they come across any traffic violation,” said UT deputy inspector general of police Alok Kumar.

A number of city residents have already joined the dummy page and uploaded photographs of vehicles breaking traffic rules including those of policemen. At present only the traffic police of Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata have their respective pages on Facebook.

Though the Chandigarh traffic police’s website already exists and invites complaints from the public, few people log on to it. Besides, it has failed to evoke the desired response.

“It’s is a very good step and the police will network better with the public this way. While it will deter traffic offenders on the one hand, it will also be instrumental in checking corruption within the department,” said Harman Sidhu, chairman of Arrive Safe, an NGO working for better road safety.

Chandigarh, April 26
After a week city residents had a respite from the rising heat as the day temperature fell by 4 degrees to 34.0 degrees Celsius as compared to 38.6° recorded on Monday. The sudden dip in the mercury was due to easterly winds.

However, the night temperature rose marginally by a degree from 23° to 24.8°.

According to the local meteorological office, the relief from the heat is going to be short as temperatures are expected to rise once again from Wednesday.

The evening was indeed a pleasure for evening walkers at Sukhna Lake as the environs around the water body were much cooler than other areas of the city.

Chandigarh, April 26
The Punjab Government seems to be dictating the excise policy of the Chandigarh administration over the years.Close on the heels of increasing the value added tax (VAT) to 12 per cent during the 2009-10 excise policy from the existing four per cent on the persistent demand of the Punjab Government to check large-scale liquor smuggling, the introduction of tender system in the excise policy (2011-12) is a step towards full-fledged auction system in the years to come.

And in the open auction, cartel from the Punjab and other neighbouring states will stand to benefit.

Early last year, the then Punjab finance minister Manpreet Badal had met the then Punjab Governor-cum-UT Administrator Gen SF Rodrigues (retd) to rationalise the structure on liquor and petrol to end disparity in the prices of Chandigarh and Punjab.

Since a majority of the beneficiaries of yesterday’s allotment of liquor vends are big liquor traders from Punjab, the allegations of the Punjab Governemnt “indirectly” influencing the excise policy of the UT administration are flying thick and fast.

It is being alleged that the tender system had been introducted by the UT administration to benefit the liquor cartel from adjoining states, including Punjab. However, offcials sources deny this, saying the excise policy 2011-12 has been formulated to provide a level playing field to all players and net maximum revenue for the state exchequer.

But the politician-bureaucrat nexus in the liquor trade is well-known. Since the liquor business in Chandigarh is very lucrative with the city having one of the highest per capita liquor consumption in the region, high stakes are involved in the liquor trade.

In fact, in yesterday’s auction, a number of politicians and businessmen close to prominent politicians placed successful bids.

An official said since liquor business was a money-spinner for the UT administration, the new excise policy seemed to have unwittingly benefited the liquor lobby from Punjab.

Ultimately, it is the UT administration that has gained from the new policy with an amount of Rs 127.67 crore coming to the UT coffers, he added.

Amarjit Singh Sidhu, a Mohali contractor, will also run certain liquor vends in the city. In fact, he is one of the few local liquor contractors who successfully bade for liquor vends in the city.

The highest bidder in the pre-fabricated temporary structure on MC land is Arvind Singla, who offered a highest bid of Rs 2.11 crore in Sector 54. Though the MC had decided not to renew the licence for the site, Singla is hopeful that the Chandigarh administration will come to his rescue.

Rajinder Kumar Gupta, who bade for a country liquor shop in the Mani Majra market, proved to be the smartest bidder of them all. While the official reserve price for the liquor vend was ` 32 lakh, Gupta placed a bid of ` 101 over and above ` 32 lakh.

It is believed that even the rise in liquor prices from May 1 will not have much impact on the large-scale smuggling from Chandigarh to other states. The liquor prices in neighbouring states are still higher, particularly in Himachal Pradesh, and the presence of liquor syndicate will go a long in facilitating liquor smuggling, sources claim. However, some liquor contractors feel that with the fixed quota in Haryana and Punjab having been increased, smuggling from Chandigarh may not be that lucrative.

While many big players from outside Chandigarh have entered the local liquor trade by making high bids yesterday, many small operators have also managed to remain in the business by outsmarting their “well-entrenched” local rivals. By making “aggressive” bids for certain locations, they ousted the present contractors who were making good business. Even a senior officer of the UT excise and taxation department commented: “They (small operators) amased us with their aggressive bidding and left some ‘shrewd’ traders at their wit’s end by bagging the contracts.

Manjinder Singh, an associate of Arvinder Pal Dhounsi, who bagged the Sector-52 liquor vend (opposite ISBT-43), for a whopping Rs 2.75 crore, claims that this amount was not on the higher side. The bid for this particular liquor vend was part of a rational decision as this was one of the highest revenue-generating liquor vends in the area. Its location opposite the bus terminus and on the national highway makes it a lucrative investment option. In fact, other bidders had also placed similar bids with the second highest bid in the range of Rs 2.5 crore, he claimed.

Chandigarh, April 26
It’s bad news for bacchus lovers as most liquor contractor here are in no mood to offer liquor at discounted rates in the last week of this year’s excise policy.This year’s excise policy is coming to an end on April 30. But unlike previous years, no one is planning to offer liquor at discounted rates so far.

The simple reason is that the prices of liquor are expected to increase by at least 20 to 25 per cent from May 1. The present contractors, who also got licences for the next year through bids yesterday, are said to have started stocking the product so that it can be sold on higher rates after May 1.

“The UT government has already announced a hike of Rs 15 per bottle under the new policy from May 1. And after witnessing the high bids by liquor contractors yesterday, further increase in prices by contractors is inevitable. So who will sell the liquor on discounted rates?” says a city-based contractor, Darshan Singh Kaler.

The only exception will be those players who are out of the trade for this year. “The number of such traders is only between 15 and 20 per cent. In an effort to clear their stocks in the stipulated period, these traders can offer some discount. But surely, the scenario will not be like that in the previous years,” adds Kaler.

Sources in the liquor trade say liquor vendors do not have much stock for the annual sale. As the deadline for the implementation of the new excise has been extended from April 1 to May 1, most liquor vend owners are buying limited stocks in the backdrop of the “confusion” surrounding the allotment of vends.

Sumeet Verma, a consumer, rues the fact there will be no liquor sale this year. “We wait for the annual sale every year to pick our quota of liquor, saving a few hundred rupees per case. However, I will have to shell out more money for my quota of liquor this time around, he adds.

Chandigarh, April 26
Consumers are set to be on the losing end with big players dominating the liquor trade in the city from May 1 onwards.Terming the “unexpected high” stakes as an unhealthy sign, a Chandigarh-based liquor contractor, speaking on the condition of anonymity, says in the coming days, the consumer will be at the receiving end in all aspects.

The consumer will not only be charged heavily but will also be deprived of popular brands or brands of choice. They will be forced to buy those brands that are being manufactured by members of the liquor cartel or the other less-popular ones, in which the margins of profit are higher.

“In the present system, which comes to an end on April 30, healthy competition among the licencees was evident. As a result, the consumer was getting brands of his choice at competitive prices. But the scenario is set change from May 1,” says the trader.

He adds that most of those who made “unexpectedly high” bids to get licences are also into liquor manufacturing and bottling business. The number of such licencees is said to be over 50 per cent.

“As they will be in a ‘commanding position’ (by having over 50 per cent of the licences) this year, obviously they will promote their brands at their vends besides adopting other monopolistic methods to earn profits,”he adds.

Chandigarh, April 26
Advertising its key posts time and again seems to have become a ritual at Panjab University, which has advertised the post of “professor principal” at HSJ Dental College, PU, for the fourth time in the last 18 months.The advertisement has come as a surprise to many, as the university has already screened six applications received after advertising the post last time in September, 2010, and was supposed to conduct interviews.

“We had got six applications from various professors, including one from HSJ Dental College and are done with the screening process. We were planning to conduct interviews, but probably the higher authorities don’t consider applicants competent enough and have thus re-advertised the post,” said a university official.

“We have raised this issue at the Senate meeting several times. The posts are re-advertised not to get competent candidate but a convenient candidate. As per the practice, even after advertising a post for two times, if there is just one candidate, the university still must conduct interviews,” said a Senator.

Panchkula, April 26
The police here today released the sketches of the two unidentified accused who took away Maruti SX4 test drive car of the Berkeley Automobiles three days ago.The police had prepared the sketches of the accused with the help of an employee of the showroom, Umesh, who was forcibly taken away in the car by the accused on a gunpoint.

One of the accused, who had identified himself as Amit to the staff, had taken away the Maruti SX4 car on the pretext of test drive and after arriving on the Panchkula-Zirakpur national highway 22 the two accused told Umesh to move to the back seat and covered his face with a sheet. They also took out the SIM card from his mobile phone and threatened him not to raise voice. The accused later dropped Umesh near the Namaste Chowk at Nilokheri near Karnal and fled with the vehicle.

According to sources, the police was now working on various theories including the involvement of some of the staff members of the showroom in the case as the staff had not demanded the driving license of the accused, which was mandatory for allowing a test drive.

Why the staff members failed to take notice of the two accused, who must have done recce of the showroom twice or thrice to get information about the functioning of the CCTVs installed in the showroom? Secondly, why the staff failed to notice the missing vehicle, costing around Rs 8 lakh, and their colleague who remained missing from the showroom for about 4 hours?

Meanwhile, sources said the police teams that had been dispatched to Panipat, Karnal, Meerut road in Uttar Pradesh and Shambhu Barrier in Patiala in search of the accused have return empty handed.

Mohali, April 26
Even as 767 notices have been issued to consumers for misuse of water by the department of water supply and sanitation, maximum cases of misuse have been reported from Phase XI.

Twelve teams, each headed by a junior engineer, set up by the department to check the misuse of water, found that many residents washed their cars during the morning supply hours in violation of the ban orders. Some were also found washing their courtyards. However, cases of water leakage from overhead tanks were very few.

As many as 142 notices have been issued for the misuse of water in Phase XI followed by 119 in Sectors 57, 58 and Shahimajra village. Violation of the ban order was on the higher side even in Phase X where 94 notices have been issued so far. Notices have also been issued in other parts of the town as well, but the number was comparatively low.

The consumers were told that a fine of Rs 500 would be imposed if they were again found violating ban orders and finally connections would be cut.

HPS Dhillon, executive engineer, said violations were more in small sized houses where water was given for free by the government. No bills were issued to residents living in houses measuring up to five marlas.

The department had imposed a ban on watering of lawns, plants, washing of cars, two wheelers and courtyards till 9 am. The ban was imposed on April 5 and would remain enforced till June 30.

Panchkula, April 26
Irked over the indifferent attitude of the police in arresting seven youths of Bataud village, members of the Dalit community threatened to launch state-wide agitation if those accused of assault and making derogatory remarks about their caste were not arrested within 48 hours.

Sanjeev Gharu and advocate RS Sathi, state president of the Haryana Valmiki Yuva Mahasabha and coordinator of Nyaya Manch, Panchkula, respectively, while jointly addressing the media here today said that the seven accused were moving freely in the village and the police had failed to arrest them even after 40 days of the registration of the case. They have also threatened to gherao the DGP office on May 4.

Gharu alleged that the district administration had turned a blind eye towards the problems being faced by them. He said the illegal cutting of the elephant grass in about 400 acres of panchayat land was a big blow for the district administration as it had caused a loss of about Rs 15 lakh to the state exchequer.

He warned that the Dalit community would be forced to migrate to some other place as they had been rendered jobless in view of the social boycott by the majority community of the village. He said it was an irony that even the MLAs from Panchkula and Kalka, DK Bansal and Pardeep Chaudhary, respectively, were indulging in vote bank politics and were siding with the members of the upper caste.

He further said if the district administration failed to arrest the accused, protests would also be held in different districts of the state by the Valmiki community on the Labour Day falling on May 1. 

Chandigarh, April 26
The Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has ruled that the revised pay scales and consequent pensionary benefits fixed by the Fifth Pay Commission to the personnel below officer rank (PBOR) should be applicable with effect from January 1, 1996, instead of October 10, 1997.

Directing the Ministry of Defence to comply these orders within three months, the Tribunal also ruled that the ministry would be liable to deposit Rs 10,000 with the tribunal as penalty in case of non-compliance.

These orders would benefit thousands of ex-servicemen who retired between January 1, 1996, and October 10, 1997, as they would now be eligible for higher pay and pensionary benefits.

The Bench comprising Justice NP Gupta and Lt Gen NS Brar of the AFT has passed these orders while allowing several petitions filed by ex-servicemen hailing from various districts of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. They were receiving lesser pension than those who retired on or after October 10, 997, because the Ajit Kumar Committee recommendations were made applicable with effect from October 10, 1997, onwards. The committee had been set up to resolve anomalies arising out of recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission.

The grievance of the petitioners was that the cut-off date of October 10, 1997, was not only illegal but arbitrary too.