Mohali, June 13
The virtually defunct Dasmesh canal project has played spoilsport in the ambitious Aerocity housing project of the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA). The authority has forgone about 150 plots measuring different sizes as the land acquired for the canal crisscrosses the project’s planning area.

Not only the plots, the 100 feet wide strip of land acquired for the canal by the irrigation department also threatens to disturb the proper installation of essential facilities like roads, sewerage and storm water networks. About seven acres of land acquired by the department comes in the area for the Aerocity project.

GMADA chief administrator VP Singh stated no plots were being carved out on the land acquired for the canal by the irrigation Department. The strip was being left as a green belt. He said the basic amenities were being planned keeping in mind the proposed canal’s alignment.

As part of the Satlej-Yamuna Link canal network, several hundred acres had been acquired to irrigate the agricultural land in the belt comprising Ropar, Mohali, and Patiala districts.

Sources close to the irrigation department said the Dasmesh Canal project had become more or less defunct, but officially it was being kept alive by the Punjab government due to “political reasons”.

“Since the project is related to the SYL canal, it becomes an interstate issue and is thus too sensitive for

the government to shelve the project”, said a senior irrigation department official.

Not only Aerocity, planning in around ten acres of land earmarked for Knowledge City, Sector 81, has also been disturbed. About 28 plots in Sector 80 had also come in the way of the canal. GMADA will have to reallot the plots that were carved out inadvertently.

The canal has also disturbed planning in a number of mega projects envisaged in the Mohali master plan in Sectors 82, 85, 86, 97, 106 and 109. The canal’s alignment is also coming in the way of the Chandigarh-Morinda rail track.

The sources in the irrigation department said any government agency undertaking planning in the area acquired for the canal is asked to keep in mind the latter’s alignment. Rather, other government departments are asked to remove encroachments on the canal land.

Chandigarh, June 13
Municipal corporation officials appear to have a poor memory judging by a new proposal they have tabled to set up electronically managed parking lots in the city. A similar plan was turned down almost nine years ago by the then members of the civic body’s finance & contract committee (F&CC).

Interestingly, no one was aware of the proposal when it was tabled again at a recent meeting of the present committee. Its members approved installation of automatic and semiautomatic access systems in four major parking lots in the city - two in Sector 17 and one each in Sectors 22 and 35 - in the next few months.

Surprisingly, a detailed report on the feasibility of automated parking lots submitted to the F&CC did not make any reference to a similar plan it had rejected way back in 2002.

MC records confirm that in October of that year F&CC members saw a presentation by an Australian firm on installing electronic parking lots. On that occasion the company had informed the members that most of the city’s parking lots were not designed for having such automated systems as they had one entry and exit point.

The Australian firm also clarified that as the cost of installing fully and semiautomatic systems was high the MC would have to bear the cost of their installation in every parking lot. Later the F&CC rejected the proposal and asked MC officials to modify the existing system of parking lots and make them “people friendly”.

Ironically, the present committee has now approved the proposal with similar terms and conditions. The members decided that parking contractors would have to install the system at their own cost in the existing lots allotted to them on build operate & transfer (BOT) basis. However, neither MC officials nor councillors raised the point whether the civic body had floated a proposal earlier.

It may be mentioned here that two years ago the MC had asked parking contractors of Sectors 9, 17 and 22 as well as Sukhna Lake to install CCTV cameras in their respective parking lots at their own cost. However, most of the contractors have yet to do so.

Now the moot question is whether the contractors will agree to shell out about Rs 3 lakh for installing a semiautomatic electronic parking system and Rs 10 lakh for a fully automatic one.

Meanwhile, nominated councillor Amrit Bolaria said he was not aware about any new proposal for automated parking lots tabled at the F&CC meeting. “I became a member of this committee only this year. There is no reference in the detailed report tabled by MC officials about a similar plan being rejected earlier.”

Chandigarh, June 13
The Chandigarh Administration has initiated work on the constitution of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for the implementation of its ambitious metro rail project.

Now entering the last phase, before a formal nod by the Ministry of Urban Development, New Delhi, the administration will be required to constitute a special autonomous body to oversee the project implementation.

The SPV will be in line with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). The SPV is a subsidiary company with an asset/liability structure and legal status. The job involves acquisition and financing of specific assets. The SPVs work independently of the set-up they are affiliated to without putting the set-up to any risk, mainly financial.

The SPVs usually refer to a single asset. These can be owned by one or more entitites in specific percentages. The SPVs are worked out at as autonomous structures to ease the procedural wranglings in executing a mega project like the metro. The work will involve the state governments of Punjab, Haryana, Centre and the UT.

Confirming the development, UT Finance Secretary Sanjay Kumar said, “We have got the project report from the DMRC. The terms of reference (TOR) in the project report have been forwarded to our consultancy, RITES, for vetting. The vetting includes fine tuning the project by cutting unnecessary details.”

The project has entered its last phase before implementation as after vetting, the report will go straight to the Ministry of Urban Development for approval.

Going at the current rate of progress, it is felt that the project will see the light of the day in less than 10 years.

The rush of candidates, who appeared in the written test for the post of constable in the ITBP, resulted in traffic chaos in front of the ITBP complex in Chandigarh on Sunday. Tribune photo: Nittin Mittal

Gurdwaras play host to candidates
Anil Jerath
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 13
In a rare amalgamation of religion and nationalism, gurdwaras are playing host to hundreds of youths who have come here to participate in the ITBP recruitment written test.

As the defence force is selecting people to serve the nation, gurdwaras here are helping in the entire process by sheltering the candidates, irrespective of their caste or religion.

Since most of them are coming from humble backgrounds, they cannot afford to stay in hotels or where they have to pay more. Gurdwaras here are playing a perfect host by offering them langar and free stay.

Gurdwaras in Behlana, Raipur Khurd, Makhan Majra and Hallo Majra villages helped nearly 2,000 candidates yesterday night. They were served with langar and hundreds of them were provided space to rest during the night. Also, langar was prepared for at least 800 youths yesterday. ‘‘Since we cannot provide space to all the candidates, we are asking them to stay in other gurdwaras,” Pritam Singh, sevadar of Raipur Khurd gurdwara said.

“If the nation is looking for soldiers, it is our duty to help the country. This is the only place where they can get free food and stay. This way even the poor can stand a chance,” he added.

Youths said they were glad to be treated well by these gurdwaras. Ajay Kumar, a resident of Solan said he has been staying in a gurdwara since Saturday afternoon.

However, some of the candidates and their near ones who accompanied them had to spend their night on the road side footpaths just in front of the ITBP complex and the nearby bus shelters.

Some of the youths, who could not find place to live in, rued that as they were asked to report for test at 5 am, we could manage just bread and tea in the morning. However, some villagers came to their help and were seen providing them with ‘namkeen puris’ and biscuits. 

Chandigarh, June 13
Government employees residing in a part of Sector 7 are facing law and order problem and public nuisance due to the subletting of around 30 per cent of houses by the original allottees to private persons.

According to a press note, the Kendriya Sarkarth Karamchari Awasiya Kalyan Sudhar Sabha, Sector 7, had brought the matter to the notice of assistant estate manager, Directorate of Estates, Kendriya Sadan, Sector 9-A, Chandigarh, with copies to the higher authorities a number of times, but to no avail. 

Chandigarh, June 13
In the absence of any set standards, the measures taken by the municipal corporation to check speeding by installing rumble strips and speed breakers on the city’s V-6 roads are putting road users in danger.

This ‘unplanned’ move by the civic officials concerned, ostensibly to make the roads safer, has instead become a bane for road users, especially at night.

Coupled with nonfunctional streetlights and absence of any proper warning signs, unsuspecting two-wheeler riders, cyclists, rickshaw pullers and pedestrians are now face a far greater risk of getting hurt after stumbling on these speed breakers. Without any proper provisions for walkways, senior citizens are particularly prone to trip over them.

A city-based road safety enthusiast, Harman Sidhu, filed an application with the civic body under the Right to Information Act seeking the rationale behind the rumble strips installed on roads in various parts of the city. The query was made on April 16 and an appeal was filed with the first appellate authority when no reply came within the stipulated period. Finally, on June 3, the MC replied it had “not followed any technical or other safety standards norms, like warning signs, for putting the rumble strips and the locations were identified according to the conditions prevailing at the particular site”.

On the responsibility, accountability and the action taken against erring officials, the civic body stated: “No accountability is involved” and “no reply can be furnished for the hypothetical question” (action against erring officials).

“The rumble strips were installed on the city’s roads virtually without any consideration. No doubt, measures to check speeding are required but the proper standards should be followed and there should be a consistency in the city. The V5 roads are being widened to facilitate smooth flow of traffic but instead this is resulting in increased speeds”, remarked Sidhu.

“The UT administration and the MC should have a comprehensive plan and these traffic calming measures should be taken in compliance with the norms laid down by the Indian Road Congress”, he added.

Panchkula, June 13
Concerned over the increasing incidences of dog bites, the district administration is trying to get rid of the nuisance of stray dogs in the town and its periphery.

The administration has decided to invite “Expression of interest” from various organisations for sterilisation and anti-rabies vaccination of stray dogs in the city.

The executive officer, KK Jain, while talking to The Tribune here today said there were about 4,000 to 5,000 stray dogs in the city. He said in order to avoid double dose the ears of the stray dogs would be marked so that they could be identified in future. He said we want to do away with the problem of stray dogs as many people have suffered due to dog bites.

Earlier, some NGOs and the Resident Welfare Association had come forward to sterilise the dogs, but it did not work out as it involved huge investment besides regular monitoring of the dogs.

Commenting on the stray cattle on the city roads during late night hours, which posed danger to the commuters, Jain said earlier the administration had decided to impose a fine of Rs 500 per cattle, but due to political interference these were returned to their owners without imposing any fine.

He said now the owners of gaushala in Mubarikpur, with a capacity of 300, has come forward to lift stray cattle from the city during night. He said the cows would be released to their owners only after they shell out Rs 500 to 700 per animal. He said this would help in restraining the cattle owners from setting them free on city roads during night.

Long queues of fruit vendors can be seen right next to the entry point to Chandigarh on the Ambala road. This causes traffic hazard but one is surprised at the police callousness as the post is only a stone’s throw from the point.

Thousands of students who appeared for the matriculation examination of the Central Board of Secondary Examination(CBSE), this year, along with their teachers and parents are caught in the rigmarole of deciphering the Cumulative Grading Point Average(CGPA) for admissions to Class XI.

One wonders at the relevance of grading in Class X when it had no connection with either the earlier classes or the following XII or graduation, at least at the moment.

The suggested module of taking the overall average first and then the average in the particular subject to calculate the final merit, for admissions to different courses, has not yielded any definite answers. On ground, majority of the schools, particularly private, are managing admissions on their individual criteria. Government schools are adopting a separate line of action.

The circular says that in case of a tie in the CGPA between two or more candidates, the average subject-wise indicative percentage of marks obtained by the candidates in one compulsory language and the subjects they opt for studies in the higher secondary class should be taken into consideration. However, the circular also says that schools can adopt other methods that they find suitable in their own context.

The government schools are following the directives of the concerned education departments. The peak reaction to the grade system and accompanying problems might be over for the matriculation results, this year. However, based on the recent experience, the board needs to work out a distinct system to help schools in deciding the criteria for future admissions.

Most importantly, the aspect of the year round evaluation for class activities and extra-curricular activities needs to be made a part of the student result. These marks need to be as important as the evaluation for examination while deciding on merit for admission to courses of their choice in Class XI.

An average for academic appeared to be a generalized statement. The exercise does reduce unnecessary competition among students. However, while evaluating merit of a student, even for record purposes, it was very important to know how he fared in activities besides academics to form an opinion and guide him for future. A student's standing in related academic activities(like quiz and debates), extra-curricular activities and general behaviour were strong indicators for his personality trait and would help in guiding him for his future.

In absence of quantifying weightage for the activities, besides academic, it will be very difficult for deciding on merit of students who seek admissions. Suppose, a school had 30 seats and it received 50 applications. Incase 35 students had CGPA of 10, it will become very difficult to refuse five students. There is no norm in writing to disqualify students with the same CGPA.

The marks sheet handed over to the students does not make any mention of cumulative marking in activities, except the annual examination. This means that all activities, beside the final examination, were not taken into account in the final gradation. Even if the authorities claim that they had taken an overall view of a student's performance, there is no separate mention of the exercise on the result card.

Infact, the unclear situation has led to hundreds of parents, from different parts of the country, approaching the CBSE under the Right to Information Act. They are seeking marks details of their wards.

The unclear situation has led to unclear messages from different quarters, particularly the regional office of the CBSE and the UT Education department. On ground, the situation has given a virtual freehand to private schools, in particular, to go ahead with their school admissions. A large number have already made the admissions employing self-suited exercises of interviews or aptitude tests.

The CBSE circular of making individual grade points as the base for admissions in different streams also did not solve the problem because in the CGPA system which is based largely based on merit, it is very difficult to make individual differences based only on grades.

Seeing the confusion in the first year of introduction of CGPA grades, it will be prudent to sort out the initial hitches in its implementation easier times, next year.

Going by the ground realities, it will be very difficult to ensure a uniform pattern in marking of the internal examination. A large section of the schools do not have laboratory facilities. When the students do not conduct practical in their laboratories how could they be given marks on that account.

Advantages

Without doubt, the CGPA has cut the unnecessary competition between young minds for scoring higher marks. It has been felt that minor differences were no reflection on the mental ability of a child.

A grading was a way of easing the pressure of studies. At the same time, higher grade meant a sharper mind. The CGPA discourages unhealthy competition and practices such as school toppers and distinctions.

Supporters for grading system feel that it would take away the frightening judgmental quality of marks obtained by a student. The exercise is seen to provide a stress free and joyful learning environment in the school. It is being argued that the system will delete the classification of students on basis of marks. Lesser cut throat competition between the high achievers, in particular, meant a healthier academic environment and better exchanges of academic inputs among themselves. A topper, in routine, would keep his secret of learning under wraps if he knew he was to score the highest. A common CGPA of 10 will goad him in sharing his trade secrets, better.

Grading definitely has ingredients of a greater flexibility and a lesser societal pressure to excel.

Disadvantages

The grading will reduce the element of putting in an extra effort by a student because a marks difference of eight to nine per cent would mean the same grade and so the same result. Toppers, in particular, will definitely see the grading system as a set back in their pursuit for academic excellence. All students between 81per cent and 90 per cent stood on the same platform with A2 grade.

There will always be the empirical question of evaluating the students with different marks on the same platform. Schools and parents are a confused lot, some even worried, over the fact that the will to slog for a little extra will be affected when the kids are young.

A section feels that the grading kills the element of the competitive edge. To some the grading system seems like preparing students with average standing. Class X is the right age when the child enters the world to see the truth of Darwin's postulation of 'survival of the fittest". How would a child fight his way to the top if he stood on the same platform, of the pyramid of life, as hundreds of others knowing that there were only limited seats at the top.

Chandigarh, June 13
In a landmark fillip to Panjab University, instead of routing funds through the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Union government will now provide funds to PU directly through the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD), which is the nodal agency for all universities in the country.

The recommendation has been made to the MHRD committee by a special task force. Besides, it will reduce the time taken to acquire funds and to seek permission on related matters. PU functionaries are now terming the achievement as a “reincarnation of the PU”.

Following the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to his alma mater, PU, on September 3, 2009, the consultative committee of MHRD had formed a special task force, consisting of members of the consultative committee to visit PU and prepare an estimate of university’s financial needs.

In its report, the task force has made another crucial observation, that the implementation of reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBC), like in all other Centrally funded universities, would mean an additional Rs 300 crore for PU.

In addition to the suggestion of providing total arrears to PU, the special task force has presented two options regarding the pension, which includes either totally taking over the pension corpus needed by PU or increasing the fund from Rs 175 to Rs 500 crore.

The committee suggested that “uniqueness of the university may be accepted, guarded and its national character be recognised by granting a special status, while preserving the existing status of Punjab Government.” On being questioned on the recommendations made by the task force, Vice-Chancellor RC Sobti said: “This move will ensure that PU can perform better.”

Chandigarh, June 13
More than 120 children participated in a special 12-day summer workshop organised by the TS Central State Library, Sector 17, which concluded this week.

During the workshop, children were involved in various fun-filled and educational activities. The workshop began on an artistic note when Dr Sumangal Roy, head of sculpture, Government College of Art, Sector 10, conducted a clay-modelling session.

Other activities conducted during the included painting techniques, craft, recitation and writing, essay and article writing, reading and speaking skills, science magic, puppet show, book and reference hunt and movie shows.

The workshop concluded on Saturday when Dr Supreet Soni conducted an interactive session on oral hygiene for kids. Parents and kids learnt about effective brushing techniques as well as how chewing a gum could keep their teeth healthy.

Neeza Singh, In-charge and co-ordinator of activities at children’s library said: “The workshop was an excellent way for kids to spend their summer vacations. Children got an opportunity to spend quality time in the library as well as participate in fun and learning activities.

The library has been organising such programmes to promote reading habits.”