Will Anandgarh be against the Chandigarh Master Plan?
By Prabhjot Singh
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 18 — Is the new town of Anandgarh, proposed to be developed between Siswan river and Patiali ki Rao cho, against the provisions and concepts of the Chandigarh Master Plan ?

The architects and planners of Chandigarh may answer in the affirmative but not those from the Urban Planning and Development in Punjab.

Dedicated to the tercentenary celebrations of the birth of the Khalsa, the Punjab Government wants this new town to be an ultra-modern, futuristic city with global vision to reaffirm to the world the Punjabi spirit of enterprise, hard work, innovation and risk-taking attitude.

Both the Rebeiro Committee and an independent study commissioned by PUDA for the development of a city projected a population of two million plus for the greater Chandigarh region by the end of 2020. Of this, the planners feel, SAS Nagar can take another 3.5 lakh while Panchkula and Chandigarh combined would not be able to take more than 5 lakh, thus leaving a big gap of almost six to seven lakh, which has to be accommodated somewhere. The population of the region, according to the 1991 census, was a mere 7.90 lakh. It has already recorded 40 per cent growth to cross 1.1 million mark.

The Punjab Government maintains that because of growing pressure on availability of land, the Chandigarh Master Plan and the Periphery Control Order have already become irrelevant. There are legal provisions under the Punjab New Capital Periphery Control Act, 1952, under which 16 km of the periphery of Chandigarh was declared as controlled area with agriculture and forestry as land use. Inspite of restrictions under the Act, thousands of violations have taken place in pockets closer to boundaries with Chandigarh, including at Kansal, Naya Gaon, Karoran, Mullanpur Garibdass and Nada. The main reason for this haphazard and unplanned growth has been the failure of Chandigarh Administration, PUDA and HUDA to offer sufficient land for housing at affordable prices in reasonable time frame.

The Punjab Government also claims that a majority of its employees and workers, besides offices, have been fighting a losing battle all these years to get land. The Government is now keen that the new town would not only be a place to accommodate NRIs but will also be modern, safe, eco-friendly with excellent recreational facilities.

The new town is also expected to be a convention centre, a town for information technology, a university and education centre, besides a pharmaceutical research place.

Le Corbusier was engaged by the Punjab Government in November,1950. He prepared the Master Plan of Chandigarh by February,1951, and this was accepted by the Government in March same year. The Chandigarh Master Plan, maintains the Punjab Government, has no official statue behind it. The plan was never discussed outside the group that worked with the French architect.

At various meetings at various levels, including at the level of the Union Government, both Punjab and Haryana have been consistent in their stand that unchangeable nature of Chandigarh Master Plan and size of Chandigarh city must be discarded as future development of this area cannot be stopped. Further, it has been maintained that the best way to protect the periphery of Chandigarh is to take note of the natural growth factors and plan accordingly. Regulated planned development by the Government cannot be equated with private colonisation and construction by individuals.

The coordination committee, at its eighth meeting held on October 23,1984, approved a draft plan called Chandigarh Interstate Capital Region Plan-2001, which said that out of the area to the north and northwest of capital complex, only 300 acres should be developed as institutional zone, and the rest of the area be reserved for afforestation. To meet the demand of land in and around Chandigarh and to check unauthorised growth, a new city be developed in the Siswan-Mullanpur belt with a population of 40,000, and the new city should be self sufficient with regard to economic activities, housing and basic services.

The Punjab Government maintains that there is nothing more than a piece of paper about this regional plan as the recommendations do not hold any good any more. Ruling out any further development of SAS Nagar, the Punjab Government maintains that it cannot consider under foothills of the Shivaliks, which are covered and protected under the Land Preservation Act

A UK-based company, Mac-Donald Associates of Oxford, has already undertaken a survey on quality of life and mobility in rural Punjab by including four small, four medium and six large villages. The villages surveyed were Siswan, Raihamanpur, Ratwara, Mehranpur, Manakpurtaparia, Boothgarh, Salamatpur, Fatehgarh, Manikpur Sharif, Bharaunji, Sainimajra, Mullanpur, Tira and Bhajauli.

These arguments of the Punjab Government apart, there is a strong feeling that a new town in the periphery of Chandigarh would deprive this planned city, an experiment in urban planning of its grandeur and exclusiveness.

Sources in the Administration maintain that the periphery of Chandigarh should be developed as a centre for low economic activity by developing farmhouses with minimum constructed area and limited economic activity be allowed from these farmhouses.

Admission blues surround parents
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 18 — It is that time of the year once again when admission blues surround parents — a time to hunt for good and prestigious schools, a time for registrations and a time also for preparing the children for their interviews.

Though some of the schools of the city have already finished their registration processes and are already on with their interviews, the others are still registering the children for nursery or kindergarten (KG) classes, and also have announced that the admissions for the senior classes would be on the basis of the availability of seats.

Carmel Convent, Sector 9, which finished the process of registration for the KG classes last week, would be starting interviews from February 1 onwards, “with both the parents and the children”. Without divulging much on the issue of interviews, Sr M. Lucetta, the principal, said: “There would be a ‘general round’ of questions and both the management of the school and the sisters would be involved in the same”.

Another all-girls school, Sacred Heart Convent, Sector 26, has also closed its registrations and the interviews are already on for KG classes. “We have just a chat with the parents, and with the children the interview is more of a play-way activity in an interactive manner. No knowledge of colours or numbers is tested of these small children, but what we look at is their play with blocks and other such things or even their response to just general questions”, said the Principal of the school, Sr Gloria. The result of the admissions for Sacred Heart would be put up on February 2 at 4 pm.

Meanwhile, the parents are busy preparing their kids for the D-Day, and some even take them to the school days in advance in order to “familiarise them with the school premises” and sometimes “even the faces of the teachers”!

Registrations are also already over and interviews have started in Strawberry Fields, Sector 24, a preparatory school. The results of the interviews would be out on February 1 at 3 pm. Interestingly, this is also one of the few schools which is refunding the registration fee, that of Rs 1,000, in case of non-admission. There are 45 seats available in the play class and 50 for class nursery.

Said Mr Atul Khanna, the Director-Principal of the school: “The interview is just an interaction with the parents, and we do not even once look at the child, who is left to himself to play around”.

Meanwhile, admission forms for St Xavier’s High School, Sector 44, for classes nursery and KG are still available. The registration forms, for a fee of Rs 100, would be available till all the seats are filled, everyday from 9 am to 12 noon. Mr Andrew Gosain, the Principal, informed that there are 110 seats available for nursery and 40 seats for KG.

The admissions to this school are on the first-come-first-served basis. A screening test being conducted includes a “general awareness” for the nursery class and alphabets and counting for the KG students.

Another school for which registration forms are still available is the Ajit Karam Singh International Public School, Sector 41, where the forms for nursery and class I

would be available for a fee of Rs 250, till the second week of February, everyday from 9 am to 12 noon.

Children appearing for nursery, in between the age group of three-and-a-half years to four-and-a-half years, will face a “general interview along with parents”. For Class I the test would include an oral test on their “general knowledge” in English and mathematics. About 60 seats are available for nursery class and 20 for Class I.

Meanwhile, the school has also opened its new branch in Phase V, Mohali, which has admissions open for classes pre-nursery to III, with the availability of 25 seats each. The registration forms would be available at the Sector 41 school.

The registration for the nursery and KG classes at Hansraj Public School, Sector 6, Panchkula, would be available on Janaury 24, between 9 am and 1 pm, followed by an “informal interaction” with the parents and the children in the first week of February. The number of seats available for nursery classes is 75.

The school would also start registerations for other classes in the first week of March, with the entrance test being held in mid-March. Meanwhile, the school would also hand out CD-ROMS, having details about the school, along with the prospectus.

For Bhavan Vidyalaya, Sector 27, the registration forms would be available till January 31, everyday from 9 am to 12 noon, at a fee of Rs 200. According to the Principal, Mrs M. Mahindra, there are 60 seats available for pre-nursery class and there are also 30 seats available for class VII. The interview for both the classes would take place on February 5 at 9.30 am.

And the test syllabus? “Basic knowledge about colours, fruit names etc for the pre-nursery class and the CBSE sixth class syllabus in English, Mathematics and Hindi for entrance to Class VII”.

Other schools where the registration is already over are St Anne’s Covent School, Sector 32, St John’s High School, Sector 26, and Vivek High School, Sector 38.

St Anne’s is one of the few schools to have a draw of lots and also to give preferance to girl students over boy students.

Shivalik Public School, Sector 41, would start making their forms available for KG classes around March 10 for a fee of Rs 50. About 100 seats are available, for which the kids would be tested on their speaking skills and observation skills.

Cops fail to get to pulse of robberies
By Geetanjali Gayatri
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, Jan 18 — Dec 31:Maj Anil Kumar, a resident of Sector 4, returned from his holiday to find cash and goods worth Rs 2 lakh stolen after miscreants managed to break into his house without attracting attention.

Jan 3: Mrs Brij Bala of Sector 12 A reported a loss of seven tolas of gold and cash of Rs 5,000 from her residence after she came back from her break out of town.

Jan 13: A housewife, Mrs Anju Manocha of Sector 16, was harassed by two unidentified youth when she was alone at home. Two boys rang the doorbell around noon and enquired if a Mr Bhardwaj was residing there. Later, three youths returned to find out the telephone number of Mr Bhardwaj.

Jan 16: Three persons assaulted Surinder Kumar Malhotra at his residence. They rang his doorbell and barged into the house after a pistol was put at his head. A scuffle followed and the three left when he raised the alarm.

These are some of the half-a-dozen incidents reported at police stations in the township in a fortnight and have brought into sharp focus the inadequacy of the force required to maintain law and order.

In spite of the incidents of heinous crime going down considerably, the police is yet to get the to pulse of incidents like these. Seen by the department as "minor irritants'', these incidents are snowballing into a controversy and the various resident welfare organisations are taking serious note of the miscreants having the last laugh and getting away with impunity.

The General Secretary of the Panchkula Residents Welfare Federation, Mr Subhash Papneja, sees the whole thing as a complete collapse of law and order in the township. "Incidents like these, happening every other day, reflect a complete failure of the beat system. The police has been unable to establish any rapport with the public despite repeated claims of intending to do so. In fact, the cops tend to shift the burden of their responsibilities on our shoulders and find fault with us whenever an incident happens.''

After the incident in Sector 16, he contends that a meeting of residents in the pocket of the affected area was held and the Police Control Room made an extra effort to go round the place for a couple of days. "The rest of the residents of the sector were neither informed of the meeting nor attended it in the absence of information. In fact, responding to our demand of increased patrolling, the police asked us to volunteer for the same,'' he said.

Mr S. K. Nayar, President of the Citizens Welfare Association, says, "The miscreants have found an easy target in housewives who are alone during daytime since police patrolling is completely absent. However, the police must always be ready for prompt action while residents must take precautions to bring down the incidence of crime.''

He is critical of the repeated claims of the police department to establish a rapport with the public. "Various residents' welfare organisations were called for meetings by the former Superintendent of Police. Sadly, that is not the case any more. In fact, I on behalf of my organisation had given a 10-point programme to the department for increasing public-police interaction. Later, somebody pointed out that my ideas were scoffed upon with the `Now-the-residents-will-give us-ideas-on-how-to-bring-down-crime' attitude which only reflects their high-handedness.''

The residents feel that the Police Control Rooms (PCRs), stationed at crossings, are merely an eyewash and most miscreants know that. "These eight-odd PCRs with the department should be out and about instead of keeping vigil at a crossing. Any thief will know which route to avoid to escape the eyes of the police personnel in the stationary PCR,'' Mr V. K. Kapoor, President of a residents' welfare organisation, explains.

However, the police department is satisfied with its performance in bring down heinous crime and is sure that gradually miscreants causing these "irritants'' will come in its fold. The Superintendent of Police, Mr Sudhir Chaudhary, says, "We have increased patrolling and the department has augmented the force at our disposal. Moreover, people going out of town have been asked to inform neighbours and patrolling parties so that special attention can be given to these houses.'' He says that there are enough men on duty to take care of the township.

However, some other policemen say that the increasing number of VIP duties is showing on the performance of the personnel. Also, out of the eight PCRs for the township, two are invariably on VIP duty. Again, they contend that the networking system of nabbing miscreants is not without loopholes. In spite of this, they claim to have quite a few achievements to their credit and maintain that their efficiency is bound to increase manifold once they are provided with more facilities.

Fresh snow in Kashmir, HP

CHANDIGARH, Jan 18 (UNI) — The high-altitude areas in Jammu and Kashmir, including its summer capital Srinagar and adjoining areas in the valley, and the tribal belt in Himachal Pradesh had renewed spells of snowfall after four days of sunny weather.

The night temperatures in the lower reaches of both the states, Punjab, Haryana and the entire capital region rose as skies turned overcast under the influence of appearance of westerly disturbances over north Pakistan adjoining Jammu and Kashmir.

Reports available here said that Srinagar was having yet another spell of snowfall in the evening after snow and rain earlier during the day. People shivered under the sub-zero temperature of 4.3° Celsius, two degrees below normal this morning.

The cold wave intensified in the higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh following fresh snowfall earlier in the day. The entire tribal belt comprising Lahaul-Spiti and Bharmour in Chamba district adjoining Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir experienced light snowfall this afternoon.

A report from Shimla said that Kangra valley was again in the grip of severe cold wave following fresh snowfall on the higher reaches of Dhauladhar ranges in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Chamba-Bharmour highway, has been cleared of snow and landslips after four days.

A Chamba report quoting tehsildar Kishori Lal, said that the highway was likely to be thrown open to heavy traffic by tomorrow.

The rest of the state, including capital town of Shimla, saw the minimum temperatures rising appreciably. Shimla reported a low of 7.5°C, five degrees above normal against yesterday’s minus 0.3°C.

Solan, after experiencing the coldest night yesterday with minimum dipping to sub-zero temperature of three degrees Celsius, had the low rising to four degrees Celsius today.

Weathermen have forecast light to moderate rains or snow at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and partly cloudy weather in the rest of the north-west region, including Punjab and Haryana, over the next 24 hours.

Reports available here said that in the plains, Amritsar in Punjab continued to be the coldest place in the region with the low of 2.9°C, two degrees below normal, followed by Patiala (5.6°C, one degree below normal), Ambala in Haryana (4.8°C, two degrees below normal.)

The day temperature in and around Chandigarh stayed put at 18.8°C, and minimum rose to six degrees-Celsius, both one degree below normal.

The night temperature in Delhi rose appreciably with Palam reporting 5.2°C and Safdarjung eight degrees Celsius.

COMMUNITY

Hike will hit domestic budget
By Pradeep Sharma
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 18—With the massive hike in the water tariff by the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) yesterday, the price of the precious commodity in the city has become highest as compared to Panchkula and SAS Nagar. Till now, the city residents were paying one of the lowest water rates in the region.

The highest-ever hike, which was an offshot of the directive of the Ministry of Urban Development to revise water tariff before the fourth phase of the augmentation scheme of the Kajauli water works, near here, was taken up, is likely to upset the budgets of two major categories of consumers — domestic and commercial.

In fact the water tariff revision was inevitable as the last revision was effected on March 31,1995. During the same time, the power tariff has been revised thrice by the Chandigarh Administration and four times by the Punjab Government. This coupled with the ever-increasing operation and maintenance cost of the water supply system had left no alternative with the MCC except going in for major water tariff hike. And there had been about 150 per cent increase in the salaries of the staff, cost of the maintenance and the material used in the water system.

It may be recalled that the as against the anticipated yearly receipts of about Rs 13 crore for the year 1998-99, the power bills of the water works at the Kajauli, seven water works in the city and over 125 tubewells per year was about Rs 19.25 crore.

The current tariff did not even cover the cost of the power bills, not to talk of the cost of the tubewells, manpower and other material which was to the tune of Rs 13 crore. In fact, during in the year 1997-98, the gap between the expenditure and water receipts was about Rs 11 crore which was expected to jump to Rs 17 crore during 1998-99.

The revision of the water tariff may not end the financial difficulties of the civic body as there would still be an anticipated deficit of Rs 9 crore in the year 1999-2000. The proposed revenue receipts were expected to fetch only about Rs 24 crore as against the anticipated expenditure of Rs 33 crore on the operation and maintenance of the water supply system.

Meanwhile, the new proposals had some positive features, which the officials believe were expected to conserve water besides reducing the deficit. For instance, water used by public standposts and lavatories would now be charged at the rate of Rs 400 per stand post per month.

Another salient feature would be that as per practice in SAS Nagar and Panchkula, the meters of all sizes shall be arranged by the consumers themselves. If the consumer fails to get the defective meter replaced within two months, the water charges bill will be raised on the basis of average consumption of water of previous years.

Water tariff hike, phone allowance condemned
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 18 — The decision of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) to effect a massive hike in the water tariff and impose sewerage tax have come in for severe criticism from various quarters.

A meeting of the SAD, under the leadership of Mr GS Palia, was held here today in which the decisions were termed “anti-people” and a clear violation of the BJP’s election manifesto. The meeting also condemned the move to impose charges on the taxi stands and the decision on telephone allowance to councillors at the rate of Rs 1,000 per month.

The president of the Chandigarh Pradesh Samata Party, Mr Ranjeet Singh Dhaliwal, urged the UT Administrator to put on hold the decision on water tariff.

The Samajwadi Party chief, Mr Shivi Jaiswal, while criticising the hike, said despite resource crunch, the BJP-SAD alliance had sanctioned telephone allowance for the councillors. He demanded the dissolution of the civic body as it was pursuing “anti-people” policies.

The Congress leaders — Mr Devinder Singh Babla, Dr OP Verma, Mr KS Panchhi and Mr Sandeep Singh — alleged that by imposing various taxes the alliance had lost the confidence of the people.

The president of the Janata Party, Mr Ajay Jagga, demanded the immediate withdrawal of the water hike and the telephone allowance to councillors.

The secretary of the CPI, Mr Sohan Lal Bansal, while terming the decision as anti-people, said it would add to the difficulties of the common man.

Decision on Uphaar tragedy hero flayed
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 18 — The All-India Ex Servicemen Welfare Association has flayed the decision of the government for rejecting the plea of the parents of Captain Manjinder Singh Bhinder, who sacrificed his life while saving many persons in the Uphaar cinema tragedy in Delhi on June 13, 1997, for special family pension.

According to Mr Bhim Sen Sehgal, Chairman of the association, the organisation has filed a public interest litigation in the matter as the Ministry of Defence has rejected the claim for the pension on the ground that the death could not be attributed to military service.

It may be recalled that the media had highlighted the courage of the young captain who saved many lives unmindful of his own safety. His wife and a four-year-old son also perished in the devastating fire.

Road in poor condition
From Our Correspondent

ZIRAKPUR, Jan 18 — A section of the Zirakpur-Bartana link road has been a nightmare for residents and road users for the past one year.

This link road has developed deep potholes, which are filled with mud and slush. The bitumen has vanished and its place has been taken by ditches.

The problem is aggravated in the monsoon due to absence of a drainage system. Water from the village also flows on to the road.

A teenager, Ram Kumar, says a number of accidents have taken place on the road. "I have seen many road users fall and scooterists getting stuck in the mud. Vehicles smear the clothes of pedestrains with mud. The problem is compounded at night in the absence of streetlights."

Residents of Bartana village complain that trucks loaded with bricks remain parked along this road for days. Unloading of bricks from trucks on the road is one of the reasons of its present condition, they add. They allege that besides collecting octroi and imposing house tax, the Zirakpur Nagar Panchayat has done nothing to solve their civic problems.

CRIME

Two succumb to injuries
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 18 — In separate incidents, a cyclist and a pedestrian succumbed to their injuries after being hit by a mini truck and a bus, respectively, in the city.

According to the police, the unidentified cyclist was hit by the truck and was rushed to the PGI in a serious condition where he later succumbed to his injuries. The truck (CH-01-J-7985) has been impounded, while the driver fled from the scene of the crime. A case has been registered and further investigations are on.

In the second incident, pedestrian Jagir Singh, a resident of Amritsar, was hit by a bus (PAB-9073) on Madhya Marg. He died on the spot. The driver fled from the scene of the crime. A case under Sections 279 and 304-A of the IPC has been registered.

Pickpocket caught: An SAS Nagar resident, Madanjeet Singh, was arrested by the police on the charges of pickpocketing from the bus stand, following a complaint by a Karnal resident, Om Parkash Bansal. A case under Sections 379 and 411 of the IPC has been registered.

Trespasser held: The police has arrested a Colony Number 5 resident, Sunil, on the charges of trespassing the house of a Sector 27 resident, Sanjeev Kalra. He was caught on the spot. A case under Sections 457 and 451 of the IPC has been registered.

Bag snatched: Mr Saurav Mahajan, a resident of Sector 11, reported that a Ropar resident, Gursharan Singh, snatched his bag and fled, after his scooter and the car of the accused were involved in an accident. The accused was caught after a chase and the bag was recovered from him. A case under Sections 356, 379 and 411 of the IPC has been registered.

Cars stolen: Mr Govind Ram, a resident of Sector 32, reported that his car (HR-02-C-1623) has been stolen from his residence.

Mr Jarnail Singh Pannu, a resident of Sector 34, reported that his car (CH-01-X-8650) has been stolen from his residence.

Cases have been registered.

PANCHKULA

Man dead: Arun Mann Chand, a resident of Pinjore, died when a speeding truck, HR-46-0655, collided head-on with another truck, HR-37-2428, and a Haryana Roadways bus, HR-37-1272, at Pinjore.

A case has been registered under Sections 279, 337 and 304-A of the IPC on the complaint of a person named Mattu Ram.

Scooterist hit: In a complaint lodged with the Chandi Mandir police, Dev Raj, a resident of Madana village, alleged that a speeding Maruti car, CH-01-V-2519, driven by Anil Sharma, hit his scooter from behind while he was on his way to his village. In the accident, Ram Chander, a resident of the same village, was injured.

A case has been registered under Sections 279 and 337 of the IPC.