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Admn announces changes in land allotment policy
Chandigarh, March 16 With prices of land touching a new high, the Administration today said that in future there will be no allotment to any agency on administered prices (fixed by the Administration). In future, the price of allotments will be more or less in line with the prevailing auction price, which is the market price, said UT Finance Secretary S.K. Sandhu, adding that land was shrinking in Chandigarh and its optimum utilisation had to be planned. To keep the revenue of the city going sales of land will have to keep bringing in more money. A formal policy announcement in this regard will be made
soon. Highlights
* All residential property, whether built-up or not, be sold on auction on a freehold basis and any schemes or rules providing otherwise be scrapped.
At present, several schemes for allotting land prevail in Chandigarh. The price varies from Rs 1000 per square yard and the range goes up to Rs 70,000 per square yard. Now all this will go and price will be closer to market rates. Till now, the price depends on the location and category of the applicant. The Administration has formulated different schemes for allotment to different categories. In the case of government departments, boards and corporations, the requests are directly entertained and land is allotted after seeking recommendations and earmarking of the site from the Department of Urban Planning. The land for educational institutions is allotted after inviting applications in terms of the provisions of the scheme and recommendations of the screening committee constituted under the said scheme. Similarly, land for religious/ social/ cultural and charitable institutions is allotted on the receipt of recommendations of the screening committee so constituted by the Administration. The Chandigarh Administration has been allotting land/ sites for various purposes to different categories of applicants right from the inception
of the city. These categories include: (I) office buildings, residential accommodation for the employees of the Central Governments/state government/UT Administration, and their Boards/Corporation etc (II) religious/ charitable/ social/ cultural institutions (III) educational institutions (IV) housing schemes of the Chandigarh Housing Board, including rehabilitation schemes (V) dwelling units of cooperative house building societies for its members (now scheme repealed). These schemes were started when Chandigarh was being built and a number of measures were necessary to attract people. These included deferred payments, a 25-year holiday from property tax, which extended to 50 years and administered rates of land and property. These measures, and the mindset produced by them, continued even though the objective economic reality is quite opposite of what was the situation in the early 1950s. Mr S.K. Sandhu, informed that it was necessary, to obtain and retain the highest possible revenue from the sale of property.
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3 Haryana ministers have local connection
Panchkula, March 16 After being left in the cold all through the Chautala regime since the local MLA, Mr Chander Mohan, belonged to the Congress, things, it seems, are looking up for the city. Of the 19 districts in Haryana, Panchkula has 40 per cent of the Cabinet ministers coming from the city while one more has an indirect link to the city. The Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Chander Mohan, who represents the Kalka Assembly segment, has been voted to the Vidhan Sabha four times. His Sector-8 residence has always been a hub of political activity. On his future plans for the city, he says, “I stand committed to my promise of making the city the Paris of India. Now that our government is in power in the state, we will ensure that the injustice meted out to the district is neutralised by greater allocation of funds to complete pending works,” he said. The Transport Minister, Mr Randeep Surjewala, has been in the city since 1988. Ever since he joined politics, even though he has been extensively touring the state, his family, wife and two sons, have been here all the while. The residents are hopeful that this would at least help the city in terms of better infrastructure at the inter-state bus terminus. The President of the Citizens Welfare Association, Mr S. K. Nayar, says, “Now we can hope for better bus service from the bus stand to various places.” Capt Ajay Yadav (retd), who has lived in Sector 21 for eight years now and is in charge of the Irrigation Department, maintains, “Of course, we are there for the people of the city. They are welcome to approach me for whatever problems they have since the city has been a second home to me. In fact, I have refused the house allotted to me in Chandigarh and will stay in the city only when I am in town.” The Industry and Urban Development Minister, Mr L. D. Arora, a resident of Sector 12-A, said he would be around for the local residents to redress their grievances. “We will take up problems of the local industry with the departments concerned,” he added. Meanwhile, though Finance Minister Birender Singh does not have a house of his own in the city, his son Brijinder Singh is the Deputy Commissioner of the district. This would be reason enough for Mr Birender Singh to have a soft corner for city residents.
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Admn sleeps over HC order
Chandigarh, March 16 Addressing a press conference here today, Mr Satya Pal Jain, national convener of the BJP legal cell, regretted that even after one month of the court order asking the administration to enforce clause 18 of the “Allotment of Land to Educational
Institutions (schools) Etc on Leasehold Basis in Chandigarh Scheme,1996”, the administration was yet make up its mind over the issue. As per clause 18, such educational institutions, which get land at concessional rates from the administration are bound to reserve 25 per cent seats for students belonging the weaker sections of society, follow the instructions issued by the authorities regarding fee structure and pay salary to the staff on the pattern of the unaided UT schools, Mr Jain said. The court had deplored the failure of the administration to enforce clause 18 in its February 14 order, he claimed. In the recent years, there had been a tremendous increase in various funds such as development fund and building fund.
Besides, the charging of the capitation fee ranging between Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000 per student by certain schools, controlled by influential persons, has made education the “prerogative” of the rich, he alleged. He Jain demanded the enactment of law to regulate fee structure in the schools, an end to the capitation fee, and proper pay scales for the staff from the next academic session.
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Sigh of relief for parents of Indian detainees
Mohali, March 16 This was stated by Mrs Lakhwinder Kaur Garcha, OSD to the Punjab Chief Minister, in a press note today. She said the Chief Minister had met Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf for the release of Indian prisoners. The Pakistan President had assured Capt Amarinder Singh that 150 more prisoners would be released soon. A bus service from Amritsar to Nankana Sahib was likely to start with the efforts of the Chief Minister. This would help in building relationship between the two countries apart from encouraging trade. She said that Capt Amarinder Singh had got rare honour of laying the foundation stone of Amritsar-Nankana Sahib highway at Nankana Sahib.
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Former Indian spy approaches judiciary to get his due
Chandigarh, March 16 What has rekindled his hope after all these years is instructions issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs some time ago to deal with these cases. The instructions also mention a lumpsum to be awarded to affected persons and this has already been paid in several cases. Kishori Lal had been arrested by the Pakistani authorities near Lahore while he was on an intelligence gathering mission and was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment by a military court. He was repatriated to India in 1974 in exchange for Pakistani prisoners. Speaking to The Tribune here today, Kishori Lal, diploma holder in automobile engineering, said he had been recruited by the Military Intelligence at Jalandhar in 1966 and had made four crossings into Pakistan. He was tasked to collect information about T-56 tanks supplied to Pakistan by China after reports had indicated that they had problems with their gear boxes. He was also engaged in collecting information about two long-range guns deployed at Kasur and Sialkot, which were known as Rani and Sherni. He was part of a network which was blown when one of the members met with an accident near Multan. The injured person's murmurs in an incoherent state alerted the Pakistani authorities following which they mounted a counter-intelligence operation. He said first he was tried by a civilian court for illegal border crossing and awarded two years' imprisonment and thereafter, a General Field Court Martial, presided over by a major-general tried him on charges of spying. The trial lasted for about a year-and-a-half during which there were just about six or seven hearings. His sentence was later read out to him in prison. Kishori Lal said though no incriminating material was recovered from him, he was convicted on the basis of confessional statements extracted from him under torture. Kishori said he had no regrets for his decision to join the military intelligence, but was dejected over the treatment meted out to him on his return. In fact, his son is now keen to join the Army and will be appearing before a Services Selection Board for a commission. A letter written by the Directorate-General,
Resettlement, Ministry of Defence, to the District Soldier Board, Ludhiana, in 1976 stated that Kishori Lal along with 10 others had been working with the Military Intelligence and that their grievances be redressed suitably. His name also figures in several letters written by Ministry of External Affairs officers post- 1971 Indo-Pak war to various persons, including Parliamentarians, in regard to release of Indian prisoners in Pakistan.
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DAV management studying autonomy for colleges
Chandigarh, March 16 This was said by Mr G.P.Chopra, president of the DAV College Management Committee, while addressing a press conference here today. He said a committee had been constituted by the management to report "very soon". There are a total of 50 DAV colleges and 13 management institutions all over the country. Mr Chopra clarified that institutions did not need to fear about any cut in the UGC grant as autonomous colleges. The UGC grant would remain the same. The University Grants Commission has said that not all colleges were eligible for grant of autonomy. Certain qualifications needed to be fulfilled. Biggest threat facing education today is the absence of adequate government support in financing, Mr Chopra said. He said colleges were not getting the promised 95 per cent grant-in-aid from the government. Industries could provide good support to education but there was negligent help on this account in our country. Mr Chopra expressed "utter dismay" at the quality of education in the normal graduation degrees for arts and science streams. "A BA offers nothing specific in the job market. Degrees were mere embellishments in majority of the cases. Degrees in job specific areas like banking, insurance, crafting, office works and related areas made a better sense", he said. Autonomy should be seen as an opportunity of defining new areas for study. Mr Chopra said strict action should be taken against erring officials in academic institutions. As many as 52 officials have been punished during my tenure as the president in the past about eight years. Setting examples in such cases can be good deterrents for wrong doers. Girls have made "astounding" progress in different fields of education. A general perusal of the results at the national level will show that majority of toppers are girls. In selection of teachers in a college recently, 16 out of the total 19 selected were girls. DAV institutions are making big effort towards afforestation. The forest wealth is depleting massively. Tsunami, according to him, was not a natural disaster. It has occurred due to the heavy deforestation. "We are making all efforts for greening of our institutions in first place and will take the movement to the masses", he added. An eminent educationist, Mr Chopra was awarded Padma Shree in 1999 for "his total involvement with education". He has a long association with Hans Raj College, Delhi. He was a lecturer, principal and later chairman of the governing body.
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High court
Chandigarh, March 16 The petitioners, Mr Jasbir Singh, who is vice chairman of the Zila Parishad, Chandigarh, and others have also sought directions to the respondents, including the UT Administration, from interfering in the lives of the petitioners who have been residing in the controlled areas for the past many decades. Saying that the purpose of declaring large tracts of areas on the periphery of Chandigarh as controlled areas was to regulate the development of the periphery, the petitioners have stated that the same virtually ended in 1966 when Chandigarh was declared a Union Territory. The petitioners have also claimed that the Periphery Act provides unbridled powers to the Administration without any guidelines. They have also pointed out that with the passage of time, lot of relaxations have been allowed in the Act, including coming up of Panchkula and Mohali townships. Similarly, the ‘lal dora’, which has to be extended periodically keeping in view the population growth, has not been extended for the past over half a century. The petitioners have also stated while those residing in the controlled areas have been deprived of their rights in the name of the Act, the powers-that-be in the UT Administration have been using the controlled areas for setting up motor markets, industrial areas, mandis, etc. The case will now come up on April 8.
Farewell given to Judge
The Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association today bid warm farewell to Mr Justice Nirmal Singh who has been transferred to the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. Chief Justice Mr Justice D.K. Jain, Judges, senior advocates, office-bearers of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association were present. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Justice Jain noted that he had not had ample opportunity to interact with Mr Justice Nirmal Singh but was sure he would enrich the proceedings of the J&K High Court. Mr Anmol Rattan Sidhu, President of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association, said with the transfer of Mr Justice Nirmal Singh the Punjab and Haryana High Court would be bereft of a good
Judge.
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55 pc fatal mishaps involve two-wheelers
Chandigarh, March 16 As per the records available with the Accident Cell of Chandigarh Traffic Police, in 2004, out of the total a total number of 148 fatal accidents, 83 were two-wheeler riders (including 14 pillion riders). An analysis of the statistics reveals that motor cycles are safer than scooters, as out of the total number of 83 casualties on two-wheelers, 21 were on motor cycles (including 6 pillion riders), which makes 25.30 per cent of the whole lot. The experts said that motor cycles are safer as they are easy to manoeuvre than the scooters and are more balanced. As many as 27 people lost their lives on city roads in different accidents till the end of February this year. Out of the 10 fatal accidents of two-wheeler riders, 4 occurred with motorcyclists (including one pillion rider). During last year also the two-wheeler riders were the vulnerable lot as they were 54.7 per cent of the total number of persons injured in road accidents. Out of the total number of 351 non-fatal accidents, 192 were two-wheeler riders (including 58 pillion riders). The motorcyclist involved in non-fatal accidents last year were 55 (including 17 pillion riders), which makes the 28.64 per cent of the number of non-fatal accidents involving two-wheelers. Till February-end this year, 77 persons were involved in non-fatal accidents, out of which 31 were two-wheeler riders (including 8 pillion riders). The motorcyclist injured were 8 (including 2 pillion riders). The second most vulnerable victims on the city roads were pedestrians, as out of the total number of 148 fatal accidents, 31 victims were pedestrians followed by cyclists, which were 24, last year. This year out of 27 fatal accidents, 3 were pedestrians and there were 8 cyclists, who lost their lives on the roads. The Traffic Police officers say that crossing the road dividers from unauthorised places causes a majority of the accidents. The pedestrians have the tendency to take short cuts from these dividers and often become victims of unsuspecting motorists. Moreover, the roadside hawkers are also prone to such fatal accidents as last year a child of a roadside hawker was crushed to death by a Punjab police truck. In case of the cyclists, lack of cycle tracks and also non-usage of those which are already there cause accidents. The traffic police officers say that as there are no provisions under the law against the cyclists violating the traffic rules, their attitude is careless on the road. On the other hand rickshaw-pullers are guided under the Estate Office rules for violation. They are challaned for violations.
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Passing Thru
Have you played cricket in your younger days?
No, but I have a passion for this game. I have been watching it since 1969 and I am witness to around 300 Test and one-day matches What are your most cherished moments? It was the famous six hit by Javed Miandad of Chetan Sharma’s last ball in 1986 Australia Asia Cup at Sharjah to win the game for Pakistan. What is your message to the cricket enthusiasts? My only appeal to them is not to bring disgrace to this glamorous game by betting on it. How do you like the City Beautiful and its people? It is an advanced city with modern architecture. I liked specially Rock Garden and Sukhna Lake. Its beauty lies in its calmness. I have no words to describe the hospitality, love and affection showered on us by the city residents.
— G.S. Paul
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Chandigarh museum to have coin section
Chandigarh, March 16 Talking to Chandigarh Tribune, Mr V. N. Singh said his visit to a Paris museum inspired him to set up the section. Following an encouraging response to the recently opened section on dinosaurs and evolution of man, the management is quite enthusiastic about the move. Experts of the Art Purchasing Committee have selected the coins made of gold, silver and copper. The section would include coins from 2000 AD, the Kushana period to the present times. However, the main attraction will be the coins of the Mughal and pre-Mughal periods. Another interesting feature would be coins issued by different Indian states before the Partition. This will include the coins issued by the Britishers also. Coins introduced by the Sikh rulers will be another main highlight. The Director claimed that it would be the second section of rare coins of this kind in the northern region after Delhi.
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Youth electrocuted
Chandigarh, March 16
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LPG cylinders stolen
Chandigarh, March 16 Mr Suresh Kumar of Sector 51 reported to the police that three LPG cylinders and a pair of shoes were stolen from his residence during the night of March 12. In another incident, Mr Gurdial Singh of the same sector filed a complaint that four LPG cylinders were stolen from his residence during the night of February 24. Two separate cases were registered at the Sector 34 police station.
Wallet snatched
Mr Narinder Sobti of Sector 40 reported to the police that a scooter-borne person snatched his wallet containing Rs 2,500, a gold ring, an ATM card, a driving licence and a credit card from near Sectors 14, 15, 24 and 25 roundabout yesterday. A case has been registered at Sector 11 police station.
Mobile phone stolen
Mr G.C. Sharma of Sector 2, Panchkula, reported to the police that his mobile phone was stolen from his car (HP-03-B-5353), which was parked at Electronic Market, Sector 18,
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Bag stolen at railway station
Chandigarh, March 16 Neeraj said he had sold 1.5 acres of his land to raise money for his treatment. The complainant mother and the son told the police that they had come to the city from Durg district in Chhattisgarh. They disembarked from the train at around 6.30 am and hired a coolie to carry their luggage. As soon as they came out of the station, a child came near Resham and told her that something had got stuck on her sari. No sooner, had the woman put her bag on the ground and looked behind than the boy made away with the bag. Neeraj is taking treatment at the PGI, as his left leg got damaged in an accident. The doctors in his home town told him that his leg might be amputated. He is coming to the city for the past one year.
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Two held in Lake Club corruption case
Chandigarh, March 16 On Sunday, the police had arrested former Lake Club General Manager, Lt-Colonel Madhu Berri (retd). The police has not arrested another accused Supria, as she has taken anticipatory bail. A case was registered in this regard on December 16, 2003, by the UT police after a UT Administration team conducted a special audit of the club and found irregularities. The report had pointed out that the financial transactions undertaken by the club were not recorded. Berri had reportedly resigned from his job in September 2003. Sources said during the raid, the authorities found misappropriation of funds to the tune of Rs 80,000. The said amount taken for the swimming pool was not deposited with the bank account of the club. The accused were using duplicate receipts to embezzle the funds, said the police.
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Illegal sand mining accused evades arrest
Chandigarh, March 16 The police has registered a case and impounded six trucks used in transporting the sand, yesterday. The SHO of Sector 3 police station said the police was conducting raids at the Sector 44 and Panchkula residences of the accused to arrest him. The police had impounded the trucks from Nepali and Kansal choe after it received complaints from residents of Kaimbwala
village and the Forest Department officials. The police arrested the employees of the contractor, yesterday.
But, they were released after the interrogation. The police said the main accused was
contractor Verma. A case under Sections 379 and 411 of the IPC was registered in the Sector 3 police
station. It may be recalled that on March 12, the police had arrested four persons involved in illegal mining from the same forest covers. The police had then impounded the tractor trailers used in transporting the sand.
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Engineer looted
Dera Bassi, March 16 According to the police, the motorcyclists accosted Mr Sandeep, a resident of Panchkula, and told him to hand over his mobile set. One of them threatened Mr Sandeep with a knife while the other took out his mobile phone. The duo sped off on their motor cycle (black Pulsur without registration number). A case has been registered.
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Chandigarh Division of LIC achieves annual target
Chandigarh, March 16 According to Mr N.P. Chawla, Senior Divisional Manager, Chandigarh Division earned premium income of Rs 96 crore as on February 28 against its annual budget of Rs 94 crore for the financial year and showed 89 per cent growth on this count over the corresponding period last year. The division completed Rs 1208 crore sum assured on 148873 new policies for the above period and further resolved to attain premium income of Rs 40 crore during March 2005 and thus generate surplus for north zone. Career agents’ branch at Chandigarh, Nangal and Morinda achieved 236 per cent, 220 per cent and 227 per cent of their annual target on premium income basis and showed a growth rate of 326 per cent, 309 per cent and 311 per cent as compared to last year. Other branches at Rajpura, Nabha, Dera Bassi, Malerkotla, Ropar and Samana also achieved their annual target on premium income basis. The LIC introduced a unit-linked pension plan ‘’Future Plus’ on March 4 which is a combination of unit-linked benefits and pension benefits. The plan envisages higher returns with initial offer of units@ Rs 10 per unit only. The units can be encashed any time for quick liquidity. ‘Future Plus’ made handsome selling and so far Rs 3 crore has been collected. As regards death claim, the division settled 2858 death claims amounting to Rs 24 crore and settled 94076 maturity claims by paying 174 crore as on February 28.
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Insurance cover for CITCO staff
Chandigarh, March 16 All employees will be treated at par for compensation in case of tragedy which means the amount for compensation in either of the two cases will be same for all. CITCO will pay the annual premium between Rs 13 and Rs 14 lakh to the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC).
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Plea to redress hotel industry’s grievances
Chandigarh, March 16 He appealed the Chandigarh Administration today to assist the hotel industry by taking some positive steps towards it and it should look into the genuine grievances of the industry. He also requested that administration to have a proper and practical control sheet for the hotel industry in consultation with the local hoteliers, tourism and other related departments.
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Kisan Club launched
Dera Bassi, March 16
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