& V I C I N I T Y
Sunday, October 11, 1998
|
C H A N D I G A R H & V I C I N I T Y |
|
Sunday, October 11, 1998 |
| weather n
spotlight today's calendar |
 |
|
|
New policy on UT's periphery in
offing CHANDIGARH: Blatant violation of three Acts meant to regulate urban development and growth has made the authorities concerned sit up and act to protect the periphery of the Union Territory from getting chaotic as a consequence of unauthorised construction. My writing shocks people, says Shobha De CHANDIGARH, Oct 10 — "Indians are very easily shocked. That explains the response to my books although I never set out to write with that intention," said Shobha De, a celebrity writer, in a conversation here today. |
 |
 Register case against two forest
officials, police told |
|
Jerath
property case adjourned Notice
to Admn for October 12 Deputation
meets PUDA vice-chief Cheque
bounces, gets him one-year RI |
||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
New policy on UT's periphery
in offing CHANDIGARH: Blatant violation of three Acts meant to regulate urban development and growth has made the authorities concerned sit up and act when it comes to "protecting" the periphery of the Chandigarh Union Territory from getting chaotic as a consequence of unauthorised, unregulated construction and colonisation. Although a belated step, the two governments (Punjab and Haryana) and the Chandigarh Administration now in ways more than one are willing to cooperate and coordinate their wherewithal to ensure that "future" development is more planned and civilised. Thanks to the ostrich-like approach of New Delhi and the Chandigarh Administration, while "authorised development in the periphery of Chandigarh was disallowed and discouraged, "unauthorised" construction and colonisation were allowed to be carried on since the same could not be checked because of politco-administrative apathy. Nevertheless having woken up to the crying need to act the three administrations are, individually and jointly, working out plans and proposals to create a semblance of order in what appears to be haphazard, ramshackle development, growth and proliferation with virtually no civic amenities in the periphery. Unauthorised clusters and dwellings have mushroomed sans sanitation, sewerage, drainage, drinking water, roads, parks, street lighting, community institutions like schools and hospitals, etc. All this puts pressure on Chandigarh's infrastructure. Punjab has now come up with a draft policy, awaiting nod from the Chief Minister, to save Chandigarh's periphery from getting choked. The policy has been drawn up by the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) after a series of meetings at various levels. The periphery has been got mapped with the help of aerial photography. At least two consultant firms have made presentations to the Chief Minister on the location of new satellite town(s). Keeping in view the three Acts, which govern urban planning, development and growth, the new policy, basically, revolves around four postulates. The three Acts in vogue are the Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Act, 1995, the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act, 1995, and the Punjab New Capital (Periphery) Control Act. 1952. The four anchors of the proposed policy on periphery are allowing construction in an area beyond the existing "lal lakir" in the villages falling in the periphery to take care of the growth of population; identifying areas for urbanisation in the periphery for which a development plan would be prepared and private development permitted as per the development plan on the payment of external development charges to be calculated specifically for these areas; liberalisation of the guidelines of 1966 in respect of farm houses; and permitting low-density land use such as leisure resorts, academic campuses, etc. In view of the "ecologically fragile" zone, north of Chandigarh Capitol Complex, no agricultural use other than low-density leisure activities are to be permitted. The area under construction will be limited to 2 per cent of the gross area. Only single-storey construction is to be allowed. An area of 10,000 to 12,000 acres would be marked west of Chandigarh on both sides of the Siswan-Kurali road for development of a new township. The planning area for this will also be declared. The planning area for Zirakpur-Bartana is to be notified and out of that a small area, which will include the existing construction, will be taken up for development. There is a proposal for a notified area committee as well for Zirakpur. PUDA will be regulatory authority. It has with it techno-feasibility reports on satellite towns that can came up on west, south and east of Chandigarh. A development plan for the Nawan Gaon-Karsan cluster to take care of the unauthorised constructions that have come up will be prepared. The existence of 2500-strong "Janata Colony" beyond the PGI is a living example of haphazard colonisation. The government knows Kansal village falls in the "ecologically fragile" zone and that many "influential persons" have started construction of "large" houses and some "unauthorised colonies" have also started development works. Keeping in view the nature of the area even the existing constructions in the area will not be protected as per the new policy on anvil. No future construction will be permitted there. The government is of the firm view that "human aspect" has to be kept in mind when it comes to either stopping construction or demolitions. Neither of the two can be done. Individuals are not at fault. Colonisers are, who made money, sold plots and did not provide amenities. PUDA has decided on an "humane approach" in the policy. In the free enterprise zone (Dera Bassi side), change of land use to industries is freely permitted. To ensure proper development of infrastructure, an infrastructure plan is being mooted. Only institutions as per the policy will be encouraged to come up in the area around Chandigarh and Mohali. The charges for external development being "low" are to be revised upward. The proposed rates are residential Rs 40 per sq. yard; recreational Rs 60; educational Rs 20 and industrial Rs 30 (free enterprise zone). Punjab has an "open mind" on the periphery. Activity cannot be frozen. Services will have to be provided where men make houses and put up workplaces. Taken together, Chandigarh, Mohali (SAS Nagar), and Panchkula as a "single urban unit" its present 10.5 lakh population will go up to 30-40 lakh in the course of time. Therefore, emphasis now is on sharing projects and cost there-upon to make the same "cost-effective", better run and quick to execute. These projects include "shared" water supply, sewerage treatment, mass rapid transit system, metro rail, key roads, etc. There is a coordination committee working for the "integrated development" of this single urban area. From the presentations made to the Punjab Chief Minister and what is on the boards in PUDA head office or for that matter in the Chandigarh Administration and Haryana, it is clear that "self-financing'' schemes will get credit. In future colonisers will be held responsible for haphazard development. The new policy is expected shortly to give a breather to those who have grown roots in the Chandigarh's periphery, extending up to 16 km. It is ironic that given
the human dimension, the progress is slow. For instance
even decisions taken at a meeting of the Cabinet
subcommittee way back in September, 1997, remain to be
finally approved and implemented, thus adding to the
existing problem. |
"People are shocked more because they expect a woman to write a "certain type" of book. I try to keep reminding people that we are not living in the Victorian England. We should acknowledge ethos of the 90's. The standards and yardsticks that people adopt for judging others are no longer relevant to contemporary times", Shobha De said. The model-turned-journalist-turned-author while explaining the title said it contained areas of her life which "I chose to share". A writer need not do a "literary striptease" by sharing everything. Replying to a question of a possible rebel within her she said: "I write provocatively but not with a sense of rebellion. At 50 a lot of things start to fall in place. The intensity decreases and one starts to sift," she said. Commenting on the contemporary writings Shobha De said: "There is an enormous amount of energy in contemporary Indian writings. This energy has always been present in the regional languages. We still are not confident about our English. We still look towards the West for a pat on our back. English is no longer a borrowed language. Seeking endorsement from the West only reflects our insecurity". Shobha De said she did not agree in the "so-called euphoria" about Indo- English writers having come of age. The process has just begun. However, works of writers like R.K. Narayan will figure among classics. It is because of sheer simplicity of his style . The glamour queen said she could not adapt herself to the computer and preferred writing with the pen. "Computer has a de-humanising element. I tried to learn and failed. It was like failing to learn to drive. Dr Shelly Walia from the English Department at Panjab University introduced the author and made a strong case for why popular literature of Shobha De be studied as part of contemporary literature in universities. He said when she was being read in London, America and other countries there was every reason she should be exposed to students in India. Shobha De said she felt honoured to have found her way into academic circles but did not "preoccupy herself with the idea of writing text books". She also went to a
bookshop in Sector 17 where she signed autographs on her
books for her fans. |
Register case against two forest
officials, PANCHKULA, Oct 10 — The Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Mr Y.S. Rathor, has directed the Chandimandir police to register a case against two officials of the forest department for harassing Mrs Usha Sharma, a resident of Morni. The magistrate gave the directive to the police under Section 156(3) of the Cr PC, to register a case against Mr Jai Kumar, a Ranger and Mr M.S.Malik, another forest employee. The complainant alleged that she and her husband had purchased land at Morni in 1984 and had constructed a building there. Being a social worker, she said she had spoken against the conduct of forest officials at Morni following which the two officials started harassing her. In September last when she was staying at her house in Morni along with her husband, Mr Devi Shankar Prabhakar, the two officials allegedly threatened and warned them to vacate the land. On another occasion they were allegedly detained in a room of their house. She also alleged that
complaint to the Superintendent of Police and the
Principal Chief Conservator of Forest in this regard
elicited no response. |
Awareness on squint ‘low among
doctors’ CHANDIGARH, Oct 10 — Scientists in the USA have already reached the age of "genetic testing". Even before a child is conceived they can now detect a hereditary eye disease like squint by just testing both the would-be parents. Explaining the procedure, Dr Robert D. Reinecke, an international expert on squint management, said that a sample of the saliva would be taken from the mouth using a cotton swab. It would be tested for disorders and then the exact cause predicted. However, the defect, if any, found out, cannot be rectified with the present available knowledge. A breakthrough in the field of correcting the genetic disorder by injecting genetic material was at the moment undergoing animal trials in the USA, he informed. Dr Reinecke is among the other international experts who have come to the two-day biennial conference of the Strabismological Society of India that commenced at the PGI here today. Talking about squint — that causes irreversible visual impairment — he said even in the USA a small numbers of doctors still did not know the long implications of squint. On the other hand, says Prof Amod Gupta of the PGI, in India a vast majority of doctors do not know that squint causes visual impairment. "Even worse is the fact that we do not even have a recognised study course for paediatric ophthalmology that could be followed by the young doctors," he added. Naturally the doctors, especially general practitioners, wouldn’t know that squint had to be corrected before the child attained the age of six, Prof Gupta observed. Dr Prem Prakash, a former Professor and chief of the RP Eye Centre in New Delhi, felt that doctors in India were paying more attention to subjects like cataract and other problems. Even the common man was thinking that squint was only a cosmetic problem. Above all even doctors advised patients to wait for correction of squint and many even held the opinion that squint corrected by itself. Discussing the scene in the UK, Dr Arvind Chandna said a lot of work needed to be done. Though awareness was high as a number of the people know about the squint repercussions, but they would not be knowing the exact details. The government was now pumping in money for public awareness. In the morning, the acting Director, Prof R.C. Mahajan, disclosed that the Government of India had decided to set up an advanced eye care centre costing over Rs 15 crore. Prof I.C. Pathak, a former Director of the PGI while inaugurating the conference lamented lack of any valid data in the country on the incidence and causes of visual impairment in children. Dr Arvind Chandna and Dr Yadvinder P. Dang gave a live demonstration of a highly complicated surgical procedure. Doctors sitting in an auditorium nearly 1 km away posed questions. For the first time in India the complex techniques of squint surgery have been demonstrated live by top international surgeons. According to Dr Amod
Gupta, the beneficiaries of the conference will be
millions of children in our country who suffer from
complicated forms of movement disorders and squint. |
In search of talent among
students CHANDIGARH, Oct 10 — "Sat suron ka hai yehi milan, geeton se mehka hai sara chaman..."When millions of listeners in over 75 countries hear the title song of the popular musical programme, "Sa Re Ga Ma" on Zee TV every Monday night, they might be wondering about the man behind this and scores of other tunes. He is none other than Anujj Kappu, music director of the programme who is here to spot talent among college students for the "national inter-collegiate competition". Hailing from a "non-musical" family, Anujj said he had a taste for good music from a young age and started learning light classical from Momin Ali Khan of the Lucknow gharana. Classical training from Pt Dhruv Ghosh and Western music training from Sir Bismarck Rodrigues only went to hone the talent of this child prodigy who became a composer at Mumbai Radio Station at the tender age of 16. After that offers poured in from Doordarshan and other private producers. The music for Doordarshan programmes like "Sham-e-ghazal" and "Shagufta" were part of them. Then came the biggest break of his life , Sa Re Ga Ma, which won him accolades from top musicians. Conceptualised by Gajendra Singh, the programme has given platform to budding artistes many of whom are now busy working in telefilms, serials and playback singing with Sanjivani, winner of the first schedule of the programme, bagging all songs of the film "Kareeb". Anujj informed that the
inter-collegiate competition was going to be shot at
Noida from November 4 to 8. |
Jerath property case adjourned CHANDIGARH, Oct 10 — The Judicial Magistrate, Mr Jasbir Singh, today adjourned to October 24 the application moved by the Chandigarh Administration for attaching the property of Mr K.K. Jerath, Chief Engineer of the Chandigarh Administration. Mr Jerath's son, Mr Kapil Dev Jerath, had objected to the move of the Administration on various grounds. First, he had brought to the notice of the court that the house in Sector 15 was in the name of Hindu undivided family. Therefore, the Administration had no right to seek its attachment. The stand of the
Administration, on the other hand, was that the plot was
purchased by Mr Jerath from an open auction. |
Notice to Admn for October 12 CHANDIGARH, Oct 10 — The Judicial Magistrate, Mr Jagnahar Singh, has issued notice to the Chandigarh Administration for October 12 on a civil suit filed by the local Janata Party president, Mr Ajay Jagga, praying for restraining the municipal corporation from organising a Diwali mela in Sector 17. Mr Jagga in his suit stated that during the mela incidents of theft and eve-teasing increased. The possibility of fire breaking out on that day could not be ruled out. In case of any loss, the
Administration would not be able to give compensation to
the victims. |
Deputation meets PUDA vice-chief CHANDIGARH, Oct 10 — A deputation of the Anti Periphery Act Action Committee today met the vice chairman of the Punjab Urban Development Authority and urged him to regularise the structures built in violation of the periphery Act. Dr J. S. Jammu, convener of the committee, said the chairman told them that the file concerned had been sent to the Chief Minister and a decision was expected by October 22. PUDA would charge
development expenses for the colonies for providing
sewerage facilities, he added. |
Cheque bounces, gets him one-year
RI CHANDIGARH, Oct 10 — The Judicial Magistrate, Mr K.C. Garg, today convicted V.P. Garg under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. The magistrate sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year apart from paying a fine of Rs 4,000. In default of the fine, he was ordered to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for two months. According to the prosecution, Garg had issued a cheque for Rs 5,82,920 to the Hindustan Zinc Ltd. The cheque was dishonoured by the bankers for want of sufficient funds. Hindustan Zinc Ltd had
supplied 9.50 metric tonnes of special high grade zinc to
Garg. |
CHANDIGARH, Oct 10 — History is not a master story of the success of the Western world view and its modern culture, Prof G.C. Pande, chairperson of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, said while inaugurating a seminar — "Culture, History and Time" — at the ICSSR Complex at Panjab University here today. The seminar is being organised by the Department of Philosophy. Professor Pande emphasised that the culture within which the pursuit of value (eternal value) was reflected never got completed in historical time. Delivering the key note address, Prof S.R. Bhatt was of the view that in the context of globalisation, any attempt on the part of the culture to project itself as the only valid perspective of human condition runs contrary to the democratic principles. Professor Bhatt underlined the significance of the traditional Indian wisdom that every "darshana" must begin with experience and evolve a methodology for a systematic reflection on the same. Prof B.N. Goswamy, a noted art historian, drew from the Indian sources, epic literature and arts to bring out the richness of reflections on diverse complexities of various dimensions of time. The second session was chaired by Prof J.S. Grewal. Prof Sharad Deshpande from Pune and Prof Rama Kant Agniras presented their papers. In the third session the speakers were Dr Saroj Sunderarajan and Dr Sudhir Kumar. It was chaired by Prof Dharmendra Goel. The seminar’s theme was presented by Prof Bhuvan Chandel. Students and faculty of
the department honoured Prof R.P. Bambah, a former
Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University and a Tribune
trustee, and Prof B.N. Goswamy. Professor Bambah and Prof
Goswamy are recipients of the Aryabhatta and the Padma
Shree awards. |
CHANDIGARH, Oct 10 — A newly-married woman was found hanging from a fan in her house in Sector 40-B this evening. The victim, Anita, alias Pinky, was married to Deepak, a trader, around three months ago, according to sources. The couple and Deepak’s mother had moved into the first floor recently. The first and second floors of the house were with the couple. The victim had spent around one month in her parents house and had returned only 20 days ago. She may have died around 4 p.m., however, the police reached the spot around 6 p.m. Senior police officials rushed to the scene. Booked: A case has been registered against the husband and in-laws of Nitu Kohli of Sector 46 for allegedly harassing her for more dowry. Case registered: Rajpal,
a resident of Sector 55, was nabbed red-handed while
stealing iron sheets from the house of the Balwinder
Singh. A case of theft has been registered. |
CHANDIGARH: Gods and goddesses in different hues and postures adorn the hall at a hotel in Sector 22. They all have been brought down to earth by Anuradha Kalia. A resident of the city, she has been into painting since childhood. An alumnus of St Mary's Convent, Allahabad, she achieved the distinction of clearing her honours from the Royal Academy of Arts, London, at the adolescent age of 13. In spite of her rare and refined discipline Anuradha holds the German nun at the convent as her "guru". It was she who taught her the basics of colouring. After taking professional training she became the first woman in Punjab in 1963 to do fabric painting. Besides this she also earned the distinction of making Machiwada Guru Gobind Singh's painting at the age of 18. For this she was awarded by Sobha Singh himself. Since 1975 she has been doing portraits of Sai Baba. So much so her two products have found place in the only religious museum in the world at Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh. The current exhibition, open till October 12, is a clear indication of her calibre. Here she has crafted images of gods from plaster of Paris. The end-product is a result of long procedure full of immense hard work. The whole process entails drawing of the background pattern and image, photocopying of the pattern, developing the form and its colouring, framing the coloured pattern and finally fixing the idol on to it. The frames in different shapes and sizes have been brought from Kerala. After putting everything together, what one gets is just exquisite. Looking at them one feels, body and mind have participated together and drawn out a lot from the artist. Apart from these frames the other section has designer suits, luring everyone. They have been designed by Rita Kathuria and Kiran Gulati, both from Delhi. While Rita specialises in traditional work like Kantha, Zardosi, Kutch, Aari, Kiran does both traditional and modern work. But the stuff she exports to Canada and the USA is mostly sequin and bead work. * * * * Three friends Rachna, Priya and Nidhi have got together for some good creativity. All of them did their three-year diploma course in interior designing from Government Polytechnic for Women in addition to a few hobby courses. Thus braced with skills, they set to work. Now they are having an exhibition of sorts at their residence H. No. 3067, Sector 21-D where they have displayed lamps, pottery, foil paintings, stain glass paintings and spray painting. These girls have cane baskets decorated with perfumed dry flowers serving as containers for Divali gifts. This is their third exhibition. It will be open till October 11. — Priti Verma |
 |
 |
 |
| Nation
| Punjab | Haryana | Himachal Pradesh | Jammu & Kashmir | | Editorial | | Business | Stocks | Sport | | Mailbag | Spotlight | World | 50 years of Independence | Weather | | Search | Subscribe | Archive | Suggestion | Home | E-mail | |
