Furniture for all primary schools
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 16
The district administration has decided to provide furniture to the students in all government primary schools in the district. The scheme would soon be implemented in 331 villages, where the annual income of the panchayat is more than Rs 50,000 and the schools would be provided with benches.

This was stated by Mr Anurag Aggarwal, Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, while addressing a seminar of the sarpanches on the subject ‘Role of panchayats in rural development’ organised by Zila Parishad at Guru Nanak Bhavan today. The Deputy Commissioner said the district administration would implement all the government schemes for the rural development through the panchayats by giving them entire funds of each project. The Deputy Commissioner informed that to start with, the main emphasis would be given to provide excellent facilities in the primary schools, cleanliness of village ponds and to provide training to the traditional artisans in the villages to work on the latest machines inducted in their respective profession.

Referring to the Sarv Abhiyan Programme, Mr Agarwal informed that the Union Government had sanctioned Rs 130 crore for Punjab to improve the quality of education and ensure the presence of students in the schools. He said the at district level, a District Education Development Committee headed by the Deputy Commissioner has been set up and take the programme to the villages. Seven-member village education development committees from different sections of society have been formed and the funds were being utilised through these committees.

Mr Aggarwal showed two designs of benches for 1st, 2nd and 3rd classes, respectively, and asked the panchayats to prepare such benches at their level as per the requirement of the schools in their villages. He said every teacher in the schools would also be provided with comfortable table and chair. Answering a point raised by some sarpanches regarding the delay in the refund of the money spent for providing mid-day meals to the students by the village level committee, the Deputy Commissioner announced that in future amount would be deposited in the bank accounts of the teacher in advance, so that, he could positively release the payment within a week.

Elaborating the programme to clear the village ponds, the Deputy Commissioner said the development department was having sufficient number of JPG machines, which would be provided at subsidised rates to the panchayat on their requests for cleaning of the ponds. He also asked the sarpanches to immediately file the suits under Village Common Land Act or PP Act to get the illegal encroachments vacated, wherever these exist at the earliest. Regarding the third scheme of providing training of functioning on the modern machines to the artisans, the Deputy Commissioner informed that the sufficient number of such training centres would be set up in the villages, where latest machines and instruments for traditional ventures would be provided to impart training to the artisans working in rural areas. As to enhance the quality of work and their income. He said after the training they would also be a helped to purchase new machines. He asked the sarpanches to shoulder the responsibilities entrusted upon them by the government honestly and earnestly.

Mr Sumeer Gurjar, ADC (Dev.), Ludhiana, while addressing the function asked the sarpanches to efficiently implement the different job-oriented schemes of the government, so that the rural people could avail maximum Benefits.

The district heads of different departments relating to the development and welfare of weaker sections in the rural areas apprised the sarpanches about the schemes of their departments and assured proper and fast implementations of the scheme through sarpanches.

Around 24 sarpanches of different villages raised some practical problems being faced by them in executing the government-sponsored programmes in their villages.

Seminar on corporate leadership
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, November 16
Dr S.B. Singh, Head of Department-Mechanical Engineering, GNE College, Ludhiana was amidst the students at the Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology, Gujarkhan Campus, Model Town, in a seminar on “corporate leadership” today. Dr S.B. Singh addressed the students of MBA-I and BBA-V. The presentation was part of the ongoing orientation week being celebrated at the GNIMET to induct the management students towards corporate business environment. Prominent academicians from diverse fields have addressed the students during this orientation programme.

Speaking on leadership, Dr Singh pointed out that it was the leaders in the organisations who made things happen. They could influence others to perform beyond the actions dictated by the formal authority. Leaders differed from non-leaders in terms of traits like drive, desire to lead, integrity, self-confidence, possess a vision of a better future, have a strong belief in that vision, engage in unconventional behaviour and are perceived as agents of radical change.

Dr Singh emphasised the need for differentiating between leaders and managers. All managers should be leaders, but not all leaders can be managers. The role of a leader is undergoing a transition owing to the dynamic nature of the corporate environment. An effective leader, therefore, was one who adapts himself to the changing situation with perfect agility.

Students ‘not informed’ of change in syllabus
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, November 16
Students of BBA (second year) have alleged that they were not informed about certain changes in their syllabus till last week. They said the information about the changed syllabus reached them only when one of their teachers sought a clarification from the university authorities. According to the students, of the seven subjects, only two remain unchanged.

Resentment prevails among Panjab University BBA second year students, who feel that no information regarding the change in syllabus had left them in the lurch. Students of Khalsa College for Women said they did not know how to cope with the situation.

The students said more than three months after the beginning of their classes, they realised that barring Marketing Management and Business Environment, the study of other five subjects had been irrelevant. “Our teachers are doing their best to help us, but the fact remains that we have been edged out of the competition,” said a student. The students of Kamla Lotia College, too, were sailing in the same boat.

The authorities of both colleges have blamed the university authorities for not intimating them about the changes syllabus. According to Mr B.D. Budhiraja, Principal of Kamla Lotia College, said the university authorities did not inform them about the change in the syllabus.

Dr K.K. Mangla, Chairperson of Punjab University Business School expressed his ignorance about the matter and said he would look into the matter.

COURTS

Dept of Posts pulled up for deficient service
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, November 16
The District Consumers Disputes Redressal Forum has directed the Department of Posts to make payment of the balance of maturity amount of a recurring deposit (RD) account, interest for delayed payment and costs to the account holder.

Dealing with the complaint of Amandeep Panesar, a minor, who pleaded through his father and natural guardian, Mr Gurcharan Singh, the president of the forum, Mr Hardial Singh, along with a member, Mr T.R. Arora, held the department guilty of deficient service and ruled against it.

The complainant, represented by Mr S.S. Sarna, had submitted before the forum that he had opened an RD account of Rs 200 per month for five years in August 1995, with the post office and on maturity he was to get Rs 17,128. Regular deposites were made into the account for three months but thereafter, due to adverse family circumstances, no deposit was made for 14 months. However, the amount of default, along with a surcharge of Rs 364 was deposited in the account on December 31, 1996, and regular instalments were deposited after that till the maturity of the account.

The department refused to pay the full maturity amount to the account holder who was paid only Rs 12,248, that too almost six months after the date of maturity. In its rejoinder before the forum, the department took the plea that with a default in payment for 14 months, the account had been rendered inoperative and the account holder was not entitled to receive the full maturity amount.

Disagreeing with the contention of the department, the forum ruled that in accepting the lump sum payment of 14 instalments along with surcharge, the department had virtually condoned the default and the account holder was never told that his RD account had become inoperational. "If the account was made operational after receipt of 14 instalments in lump sum with surcharge through a lapse or mistake of certain officials, the complainant cannot be penalised for that."

The forum directed the respondent department to pay of Rs 4,480 being the difference of sum paid to the complainant and the maturity amount with 9 per cent interest from September 28, 2000, till the actual date of payment and another 9 per cent interest on Rs 12,248 for the period between September 28, 2000 and February 17, 2001. A cost of Rs 500 was also awarded to the complainant and the department was asked to ensure compliance within one month of the receipt of the order.