& V I C I N I T Y
Saturday, October 3, 1998
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C H A N D I G A R H & V I C I N I T Y |
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Saturday, October 3, 1998 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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31% rise in UT Plan outlay PU
to make environment compulsory subject |
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 Issue right shares, Mumbai firm told CHANDIGARH, Oct 2 — The UT Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (II) has ordered a Mumbai-based company to issue right shares to two local clients at the rates prevalent in 1995. |
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Gandhiji's ideals more
relevant today: Sagar
Sharma
remanded in judicial lock-up |
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31% rise in UT Plan outlay CHANDIGARH, Oct 2 — There has been a substantial increase in the revised Plan outlay for the Union Territory of Chandigarh for 1997-98 which has now been fixed at Rs 137.76 crore as against an approved outlay of Rs 105.34 crore for 1996-97. The increase in Plan outlay compared to last year comes to 31.1 per cent. The Plan size for 1998-99 had been initially pegged at Rs 116.87 crore. The revised Plan outlay includes Rs 6.18 crore as additional Central assistance for Basic Minimum Services (BMS) and Rs 1 crore for the Slum Development Programme. The Annual Plan for 1992-93 stood at Rs 68 crore which was increased to Rs 80 crore in 1993-94; Rs 88 crore in 1994-95; Rs 100 crore in 1995-96 and Rs 105.34 crore in 1996-97. The previous highest increase in the Plan outlay was for the year 1993-94 when it witnessed a 17.60 per cent raise as compared to the Plan outlay of 1992-93. According to Dr G. Vajralingam, Finance Secretary, Chandigarh Administration, a major portion of the Plan outlay will go towards providing basic amenities. An outlay of Rs 112.05 crore has been proposed for social services, including urban development, which comes to 81.3 per cent of the total Plan size of the union territory. Of this, a big chunk—Rs 35.48 crore will go to the health sector. This includes Rs 32.33 crore earmarked for the Sector 32 Government Medical College and Hospital. The medical college hospital is the biggest and most prestigious project which is scheduled to be completed at a cost of Rs 225 crore. Though substantial work has already been completed, the balance outlay of Rs 154.35 crore has been provided for in the Ninth Five Year Plan. The completion of the project, too, has been advanced from 2002 to 1999 in view of the national commitment to provide health for all by the year 2000. During the current financial year, a major portion of allocation for the project will go to the power sector for execution of various works. The amount earmarked for the power projects is Rs 11.93 crore. Another important segment of social services allocation is development of phase III sectors. The Administration proposes to construct roads, bridges, provide domestic water supply and supply for irrigation purposes, sewerage, landscaping, storm water drainage and other civil works. An outlay of Rs 48.34 crore has been earmarked for the phase III sectors. Equally important is land acquisition for the new sectors. The Administration has put aside Rs 21.89 crore for the acquisition of land. This money, under the Land Acquisition Act, has to be deposited with the Land Acquisition Officer. In fact, the Administration needs more funds for land acquisition as it has to acquire more land for the development of phase III sectors. The Administration has also drawn a scheme for upgradation, rehabilitation and resettlement of population already living in areas which are to become phase III sectors. A sum of Rs 40 crore has been earmarked for the scheme. But due to financial constraints, only Rs 3.15 crore have been set aside during the 1998-99 Plan, which includes additional central assistance of Rs 1 crore allowed under the Slum Development Programme. The Administration has also earmarked Rs 26.40 crore as grant-in-aid for the municipal corporation this year. It had been providing Budgetary support to the corporation through grant-in-aid eversince the civic body came into being in December, 1996. Areas like education and health have also been given due weightage. The energy sector is another major area for investment in this Plan period. An allocation of Rs 12.10 crore has been made for the energy sector alone. The Administration has provided Rs 1.85 crore for the welfare and development of Scheduled Caste who constitute 16.5 per cent of the total population of the union territory. With a view to involving the Panchayati Raj system in the development process, an amount of Rs 63.85 lakh has been placed at the disposal of Panchayati Raj institutions for carrying out various development works as envisaged in the 11th Schedule of the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992. Due to a substantial rise
in the population of the villages, a separate scheme to
augment rural drinking supply and sewerage will be taken
up during the Ninth Plan with an outlay of Rs 6.40 crore.
During the current financial year, a sum of Rs 1 crore
has been earmarked for this scheme. |
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PU to make environment
compulsory subject CHANDIGARH, Oct 2 — Panjab University has taken steps to introduce environmental education as a compulsory subject at the undergraduate level in all affiliated colleges. The scope of the subject and course outline has been prescribed by a committee constituted by the university. It had Justice Kuldip Singh, a former Judge of the Supreme Court, as chairman. While a new, compact textbook has been published by the university, setting up of an environment education centre or a department is still under consideration of the university, as recommended by the committee. In fact the university was the first to implement the Supreme Court directive to the University Grants Commission that subject of environmental education should be introduced in colleges to create awareness among students. In the very first academic session (1996-97), the university came out with a 450 page thick book with as many as 47 chapters divided into four sections with nearly 26 different authors contributing to its compilation and editing by Mr H.M. Dani. It is ironic that in the absence of any careful planning, the examination that B.A., B.Sc., B.Com, and B.Sc. (Hons) students appeared for in 1996-97 academic year, went waste. The result was just scrapped. The environmental education subject in the next academic year was reduced to just attending seven lectures on topics the university had shortlisted for the course. These pertained to the "status of India's environment, various types of pollution, energy, forest and wild life and global issues." Consequently, the committee under Justice Kuldip Singh framed certain detailed guidelines as a consequence of which now the colleges are expected to arrange experts or resource persons to have the prescribed seven lectures delivered to students. For those seven lectures each student has to pay Rs 35 as fee. For 1998-99, now that a full-fledged course is available on environment education, an environment funds of Rs 10 per student, per month, has been permitted to be charged by the colleges, which complain of non-availability of qualified staff. To overcome that hurdle, the university has despatched a list of 96 "resource" persons, who could be invited for the prescribed lectures and paid the same at the rate of Rs 200 per lecture (for internal faculty) and Rs 250 per lecture (for outstation experts) in addition to the payment of usual allowances. These rates are subject to review after two years. It is now expected that nearly 80,000 students at the undergraduate level would appear for the annual examination. Though the committee has completed its job, Justice Kuldip Singh, who had made it compulsory to study environment in his judgement in the writ petition (civil) no. 860 of 1991, has made his services available to the university. The practical course includes planting of saplings and establishing of "eco-societies" in mohallas. The new "elementary" book on environmental education is a slim volume of 128 pages, excluding glossary, index and syllabus. It has been prepared by Dr J.S. Yadav (Department of Zoology, Kurukshetra University), Dr R.C. Sobti (Department of Biotechnology, Panjab University) and Dr R. K. Kohli (Department of Botany, Panjab University). It conforms to the recommendations of the committee. The book was published after the university bodies concerned had approved of it. The book is divided into 10 units covering elementary essential topics which give initial knowledge on "encompassing" issues like land, forests, wild life, water, environment, atmosphere, people, habitat and health, energy and the environment. Against the previous book (price at Rs 94), the new book is priced Rs 50 and is published in Punjabi and Hindi as well. The editors of the book admit that in respect of environment they were, unfortunately, "very late in our damage control exercise". The primary aim is to "sensitise and educate" young students on the basic environmental issues and enable them to grow with the realisation that "protection, preservation of environment for posterity as well as for present is imperative." Though the attempt has
been to keep the chapters "non-technical",
wherever certain technical words have been used, there is
an explanatory glossary to enable students have better
understanding |
Issue right shares, Mumbai firm
told CHANDIGARH, Oct 2 — The UT Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (II) has ordered a Mumbai-based company to issue right shares to two local clients at the rates prevalent in 1995. The company will also have to pay Rs 1100 as costs of the proceedings . Mr Tilak Raj Bakshi and Ms Mamta Bakshi , both residents of Sector 19, in a written complaint, said they had applied for right shares of Lyka Labs, Mumbai, by sending a draft for Rs 1500 through post in January 17, 1994. Their application was sent back by the company in March saying their application had been received on January 28 which was after the date of the closure of the issue. The Bakshis maintained that either the postal department or the agents of the company based in Delhi were at fault by giving wrong information regarding the exact date of delivery of the post . The forum rejected the complaint against the postal authorities on presentation of relevant records .The forum pointed out that it had emerged from the discussion that the application had reached the agents of the company in Delhi a day before the closure of the issue .The agent had, therefore, wrongly showed the date of receipt of the draft as January 28. The company has been asked
to issue the right shares after obtaining payment of Rs
1500 from the Bakshis along with Rs 1100 as costs within
a month of the receipt of the copy of the order. |
Sharma remanded in judicial
lock-up CHANDIGARH, Oct 2 — The Duty Magistrate, Mr Jasbir Singh, today remanded K.B. Sharma, Superintending Engineer with the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, in judicial lock-up after the expiry of his six days’ police remand. Sharma had surrendered in the court of Mr Jasbir Singh on September 2 following the rejection of his bail plea both by the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Supreme Court. Mr Jasbir Singh had remanded him in judicial lock-up for 14 days. The Chandigarh Administration had, however, moved an application in the court of Mr Jasbir Singh, urging him to prepone the next date of hearing and give the custody of Sharma to the Vigilance department for custodial interrogation. The judicial magistrate had issued notice to the advocate of Sharma for Sunday last. The Duty Magistrate, Mr B.C. Gupta, had heard detailed arguments for and against the request of the Administration and gave custody to the prosecution of Sharma for one day. The Vigilance department had produced Sharma before Mr Jasbir Singh the next day and he had remanded him in police custody for three more days. The police remand was again extended by a day twice. Sharma is facing trial in connection with the kickbacks case registered by the Administration against certain officials of the Engineering department. Until now the Vigilance
department has arrested a dozen of officials and three
alleged middlemen — Sunil Kalia, Suresh Sharma and
Dinesh Sharma. All but three — Sadhu Singh. K.K.
Silgohtra and Sharma — have been enlarged on bail.
While some were ordered to be released by the Punjab and
Haryana High Court, others were released by the Special
Judge following the failure of the prosecution to file
challan within the statutory period of 90 days. |
Gandhiji's ideals more relevant
today: Sagar CHANDIGARH, Oct 2 — Floral tributes were paid to the Father of the Nation on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti which was celebrated in different parts of city here today. Speaking at a function at Sector 16 Gandhi Samarak Bhavan, the Adviser to the UT Administrator, Mr Jagdish Sagar, called upon the people to follow the ideals and principles propagated by Mahatma Gandhi. "These principles especially the one advocating that people should respect each other's religion hold utmost importance in modern times". Mr Sagar also complimented the Gandhi Bhavan authorities for their efforts in keeping the Gandhian values alive through activities and programmes. He announced a grant of Rs 25,000 for the Bhavan. A function was also organised by the Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee at Rajiv Gandhi Congress Bhavan in Sector 35.Tributes were also paid to Lal Bahadur Shastri. On the occasion a number of Congressmen led by the president of the CTCC(I), Mr Venod Sharma, offered flowers to the portraits of the great leaders. Mr Sharma asked the participants to air their views openly regarding the eight-point programme adopted by the Congress Working Committee during Pachmarhi session. Gandhi Jayanti was also celebrated in Sector 37 Nehru colony. "Prabhat pheris" and "Bhajan mandlis" were organised on the occasion. Addressing the colony residents, the joint secretary of the All India Mahila Congress, Mrs Manjit Kaur, said the people should dedicate themselves to nation building in accordance with the teachings of the Father of the Nation. She said Gandhiji not only liberated the country from foreign yoke but also launched a crusade against evils such as communalism, gender-bias, poverty and illiteracy. A special discourse session on Mahatma's teachings was organised by the Divine Life Society at Raipur Khurd village. The chairman of the Sivananda Divine Mission, Mr Romesh Chander Sharma, regretted that the teachings of Mahatma and his message of simple living, high thinking has been forgotten by the people. A "bhandara" was organised by the mission during which sweets and clothes were distributed among slum dwellers. A "Prabhat pheri" was organised by the Majdoor Sudhar Sabha in remembrance of Gandhiji and the late Lal Bahadur Shastri in Sectors 32 and 33. Later, during a meeting of the sabha in the Tenement Colony, Sector 32, as many as 200 residents vowed not to consume liquor, the sabha president, Mr Ram Avtar, claimed. Sweets were distributed among children. Free spectacles to the needy were also given by the District Leprosy Society at a function in Sector 47 Lepers' Home. Fruit were distributed among the inmates. The Lions Club Chandigarh
Central, and clubs of region IX organised a 'langar' at
Satsang Bhavan at the Sector 26 grain market. |
Representations to no avail Place: Rajiv-Indira Labour Colony in Sector 17, Panchkula. Problem: Unhygienic conditions prevailing in the vicinity of the labour colony. History: An unplanned expansion of the slum area with the authorities turning a blind eye has been creating problems for residents of sectors 16 and 17, living in the vicinity of the colony. Defecating by jhuggi dwellers near their houses is a source of nuisance, complain residents. Adding to their problem, an open area, between the colony and the residential sectors is being used to dump garbage collected by safai workers engaged privately by residents to collect garbage from their doorsteps. The open area is littered with garbage, emanating foul smell apart from attracting stray cattle. The shopkeepers of the Sector 17 market are equally affected by the nuisance. They complain that unhygienic conditions in their vicinity keep the customers at bay and this has resulted in the market had not been able to develop over the years. Unauthorised rearing of milch cattle by certain jhuggi dwellers in the vicinity of houses in Sector 16 is adding to the woes of the residents. Response from public : Residents say a number of representations have been given to HUDA to clear up the unhygienic surroundings in the area but to no avail. On some occasions defecating by slum dwellers had resulted in minor brawls with them. They want that the open
space adjacent to the colony should be fenced by HUDA to
develop it as a green belt. |
CHANDIGARH, Oct 2 — The rift in the local unit of the BJP seems to have reached a point of no return with the eight councillors today demanding the resignation of the Mayor, Mr Gian Chand Gupta, and the leader of the BJP in the Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh (MCC), Mr Des Raj Tandon. In a letter to the party president, Mr Dharam Pal Gupta, seven councillors, owing allegiance to the local MP, Mr Satya Pal Jain — Mr Prem Sagar Jain, Mr R. S. Bedi, Mr Kewal Krishan, Mr Kanhaiya Lal, Mr Bachan Singh, Mr R.L. Arora and Ms Kamla Sharma — besides the expelled party councillor, Mr O.P. Goel, alleged they had no confidence in the leadership of Mr Gian Chand Gupta and Mr Tandon. They further alleged that the working of these leaders had given a fillip to the factionalism in the party. Saying that their working has seriously affected the image of the party, the letter said party workers were a demoralised lot. To save the party from further damage the councillors demanded the resignation of the two leaders. The councillors also sought an early meeting of the party councillors so that a new leader could be elected and party's image, which had taken a beating, could be salvaged. It may be recalled that yesterday the party president had issued show cause notices to these seven councillors for ignoring the party whip for attending the meeting of the MCC on September 30. The party had given five days' time to the councillors to file reply to the notices. The letter is being seen
as pressure tactics by the Jain group, demanding the
revocation of the expulsion of Mr Goel. The plea to call
a meeting of councillors is also seen as a shrewd move as
the Jain group is in a majority with seven councillors,
excluding Mr Goel. Before the expulsion of Mr Goel, the
BJP had 13 councillors in the 29-member MCC. |
CHANDIGARH, Oct 2 — In a real life soap opera situation, a member of the family of a prominent local industrialist has been booked by the police for allegedly cheating his elder brother of his share in the company. Mr Naresh Batra, Chairman-cum- Managing Director of the Batra Group Industries, which owns Batra Theatre among other assets, was today booked by the Sector 17 police for allegedly cheating and committing fraud with his brother, Dr Mahesh Batra. However, Mr Naresh Batra has denied the allegation, saying there is no question of fraud as the shares were transferred with the consent of his brother. Dr Mahesh Batra has alleged that Naresh, by using some old signed blank papers, had fraudulently transferred the shares owned by him, his wife, Manju, and two sons, Mr Vikram Batra and Mr Vineet Batra. The loss to him, Dr Batra says , is close to Rs 20 crore. The shares, says Dr Mahesh Batra, were transferred without his knowledge and none of his family members had ever applied for the transfer. "The blank papers used by Mr Naresh Batra were actually those which I had given to my father, the late Mr B.L. Batra for smooth business operation and in the interest of the family," the doctor added. The founder of the Batra group, Mr B.L. Batra, had died in August, 1993. Dr Batra says he had around 25 per cent share in the business. However his brother says it was not more than 2 per cent. On the other hand, Mr Naresh Batra when contacted said that there is no question of forgery. The shares were transferred with the consent of Dr Mahesh Batra." He had signed for transfer in the presence of the people who received the shares, " Mr Naresh Batra claimed. The shares in the name of Dr Mahesh Batra and his family members were worth no more than Rs 13 lakh. The transfer of the shares was like an inter-exchange. Dr Naresh Batra was given some shares in the Batra Films Private Ltd in lieu of the transfer. Dr Batra says the blank papers signed by him had been kept by his father in a safe. "After the death of my father I asked my brother to return the blank forms and papers, however, he avoided it every time." It was only this year, Dr Batra claimed, that he came to know of the fraudulent transfer through the Registrar of Companies , Jalandhar. Both brothers are living in Chandigarh and the group has assets running into at least a couple of hundred crores. Principal booked: The Principal and Director of Raja Ram Mohan Roy Educational Institute, respectively, have been booked by the police for allegedly cheating and fraud. A former student of institute, Ms Anita Kapoor has alleged that she was given the impression that the institute was recognised by Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Rajasthan . However, last month she learnt that the institute was not a recognised one. The police has booked Surjit Wariach and S. Prabhakar on the basis of the students' complaint. Rs 43,000 lost: The wife of an official of the Excise and Octroi department has lost a sum of Rs 43,000 as someone opened a fake account and withdrew the money. Mrs Kalpana Mishra was to receive LIC certificates worth Rs 43,000 on maturity. The certificates were to come from Mumbai and get encashed at the General Post Office. However, someone has siphoned off the sum through a fake account. The police has registered a case. PANCHKULA Boys beaten up: Two boys of jhuggi dwellers, aged around 10, were mercilessly beaten up by at least 10 persons on the suspicion of stealing cash and jewellery from a member of a marriage family at a private hotel in Sector 5 here on Wednesday. The members of the marriage party in a complaint lodged with the police said the boys, Rajbir and Upendar had stolen Rs 80,000 and some jewellery while the marriage was being solemnised at the hotel. The police registered a case of theft yesterday against the boys. A medical examination of the boys conducted at the local General Hospital revealed burn marks on them, allegedly inflicted with iron rods by the members of marriage party. The father of one of the boys, Raj Mangal, alleged that the police had registered a case against his son though no recovery had been made. No case had been registered against the persons responsible for inflicting injuries on the boys. Meanwhile, the boys who were produced before the duty Magistrate here have been granted bail. The S.P., Mr Alok Mittal,
when contacted said a case could be registered against
the persons responsible for manhandling the boys if a
written complaint was made by the parents of the victims.
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CHANDIGARH, Oct 2 — A meeting of principals of colleges affiliated to Panjab University will be organised in the last week of October. A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the steering committee of the College Development Council held recently . The steering committee has made new initiatives with a view to reforming academic atmosphere in the colleges. Unlike the practice in the past where all issues were discussed on the floor of the house, the meeting of the principals will be preceded by workshops on certain key issues relating to vocational education, new courses , examination reforms and environment studies . Reports of the workshops will be tabled at the meeting of the principals to facilitate a debate. Conveners of the workshops will be appointed by the Dean College Development Council shortly. One of the workshops will focus on the fate of vocational education courses. It has been felt largely that the courses have not been able to deliver what was expected of them. The utilisation of these courses for the benefit of students as well as society and interaction between different agencies will be part of the agenda , a member of the steering committee said. Another workshop will be organised to update teachers regarding new courses that have been offered by the university. Orientation in changes that have been made in the syllabi for various classes will be an important constituent of the agenda. The steering committee felt that there should be greater interaction between university teachers and colleges. Steps would also be taken to have intellectuals from other walks of life and social scientists to deliver lectures in colleges. A workshop will be organised to discuss examination reforms recommended by the UGC. The steering committee also discussed proposals to create funds for the College Development Council. Another important workshop will dwell on modes that should be applied for the implementation of the course in environment studies which has been introduced by the university as a compulsory subject at the undergraduate level. Each delegate is expected to pay Rs 200 as delegate fee. There are approximately 104 colleges affiliated to Panjab University. Usually the conference is of one day duration. There are indications of it being extended to two days. The meeting of the
steering committee was chaired by Dr I.B.S.Passi, Dean
University Instructions. Other members included Dr Deepak
Manmohan Singh, Dean College Development Council, Prof
Charanjit Chawla, Prof Rabinder Nath, Mr Tarsem Bahia ,
Mr Amrik Arora , Mr B.D.Budhiraja and Mrs Harmit Kaur. |
Village
committee threatens stir CHANDIGARH, Oct 2 — The Action Committee for the Development of Villages will undertake a 17-day-long relay fast near the Sector 17 Bridge Market to register its protest against the non-acceptance of the long pending demands of the villages. Mr Chaman Lal, general secretary of the committee, said as all other means to redress their grievances had failed they had been forced to start the fast. Members from all the villages will take part. The main demands of the
villages are regularisation of constructions outside the
lal dora, allowing water, power and sewerage connections,
withdrawal of notices to the residents of the areas,
withdrawal of the notification acquiring the Deep Complex
in Hallomajra, giving plots for dairy farmers besides
enhancing the price of acquiring land in villages by the
administration and giving plots to the people whose land
had or would be acquired in due course. |
Rafi
Memorial Nite on Sunday CHANDIGARH, Oct 2 — Rafi Memorial Nite will be organised in the city at Tagore Theatre on Sunday, a spokesperson of the Yaadgar-e-Rafi Society said here today. Noted lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri will be the chief guest. Mr Madan Mohan Mittal, Food Minister of Punjab, will preside. As many as 38 singers will pay tribute to the legendary singer of yesteryear. Awards will be given away
to winners of a contest organised by the society on July
31, the spokesperson added. |
MCI team to
visit GMCH on October 6 CHANDIGARH, Oct 2 — A team of the Medical Council of India (MCI) will inspect the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32 on October 6 and 7, according to sources. This will be the sixth inspection by a team of the MCI in the past few years. The matter of permanent recognition of the GMCH is to come in the Executive Committee on October 14. The general body of the MCI is to meet on October 28. The case of the GMCH is strong this time as the only objection of the MCI last year has been removed. The MCI had objected to
deputationists working in the GMCH. This problem has
since been removed and doctors appointed through the
Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). |
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