Chandigarh, February 17
The role of revenue officials in land transactions is set to be curtailed, with the Centre today sanctioning the setting up of the first-of-its-kind Land Titling Authority for Chandigarh.

To be set up under the Land Titling Act, 2010, the decision to set up the authority in the city, the first in the country, was taken at a high-level meeting, chaired by Union Urban Development Secretary Naveen Kumar and attended by UT Home Secretary Ram Niwas.

Sources said the authority would prepare, maintain and update register of titles and register of disputes, besides updating and maintenance of survey entries in respect of immovable property.

Currently, revenue officials wield a lot of power in the registration of property, leading to allegations and counter-allegations. In fact, the revenue department is alleged to be the den of corruption in the administration.

Prevalent laws were lopsided, giving wide discretionary powers to revenue officials and underlining the role of property consultants. Now, even land transactions with doubtful nature were registered by the revenue officials.

However, no civil court would have jurisdiction to entertain any dispute relating to an immovable property in respect of which the authority was empowered by or under this Act. No injunction would be granted by any civil court in respect of such matters, sources said.

The authority would hava a chairperson and specified members and officers. In fact, the sub-registrars appointed under the Registration Act, 1908, would be deemed to be officers of the authority.

Chandigarh, February 17
Highlighting the heavy load on operation theatres at Government Medical College & Hospital, Sector 32, Ranjit Singh, who suffered a fracture on his right arm on Sunday, has been taken to the surgery ward every day since Monday only to be rolled back on a stretcher in the evening.

“I’m made to sit on an empty stomach till evening as I’m supposed not to eat anything before the operation. Every evening I’m given a ray of hope that I’ll be the first to go on the operation table but am let down yet again”, he said.

The patient, who works in a factory in Mubarakpur, near Dera Bassi, suffered an injury when he was unloading goods from a truck on Sunday.

However, Dr Rohit Jindal, consultant in charge at the hospital, told The Tribune: “Patients already listed for the surgery are given first preference. Ranjit was taken to the operation theatre after we felt we could manage to speed up his surgery despite the routine rush. His case will be definitely taken up on Saturday”.

A senior doctor conceded Ranjit’s case has once again put the spotlight on the critical shortage of infrastructure and even medical staff for the increased rush of patients.

Mohali, February 17
The three ICC World Cup 2011 matches, two group stage games and one semifinal fixture, scheduled to be held at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium in Mohali next month will become a prominent occasion to oblige politicians, senior bureaucrats and other VIPs with “a nuisance value” at the government’s expense.

Prominent among the beneficiaries will be several senior IAS and IPS officers, who being members of the PCA Board are expected to dole out passes as freebies to so called VIPs and of course friends and family.

Though the state has spent around Rs 10 crore so far since 1995 on deputing a strong contingent of the Punjab police constabulary, which is yet to be paid by the PCA, the dues are coming in a different way and benefiting a few at the expense of the taxpayers.

In return, the beneficiaries turn a blind eye to the pending dues on being obliged with the complimentary passes. The passes not only guarantee its holder (irrespective of the person in whose name it has been issued) a prime location to watch the matches, but also provide a ticket to land right next to the VIP gate after passing through different layers of security, while the other cricket buffs wait in serpentine queues to gain entry to the stadium.

Joint secretary of the PCA GS Walia said only obligatory passes were given as decided by the governing body of the association. Though he did not quote the number of complimentary passes distributed before every significant match, sources involved in the exercise of distribution of such passes revealed that the figure ran into five digits.

Sources instrumental in distributing the complimentary passes revealed that passes worth lakhs of rupees were given before every significant match. The issues of pending Punjab police dues and building violation at the stadium are pushed under the carpet before every match.

Officially tightlipped on the issue, senior officials in the Punjab police said, “The PCA owes around Rs 10 crore to the police department as charges for providing security during matches. On an average, around 1,500 policemen are deputed for an international match. The whopping Rs 10 crore was enough to sustain hundreds of families belonging to economically weaker sections or to fund a water supply scheme in rural pockets.”

Sources revealed that a few days ahead of the matches, hundreds of complimentary passes were dispatched through special messengers to the IAS and IPS officers.

“With some bureaucrats and top politicians on board, the PCA management thinks that the Punjab government is in its pocket,” pointed out a GMADA official.

Chandigarh, February 17
The administration has been making preparations to host its biggest tourist attraction, the Rose Festival, scheduled to begin on February 25.

With the festival round the corner, the administration has been making preparations to adorn the Leisure Valley and the Rose Garden to celebrate its mega-event with a lot of festivities.

To review the preparations, a site meeting was convened by Home Secretary Ram Niwas with the Chief Engineer, the Chief Architect, the CITCO MD, the Director Tourism, the MC Chief Engineer, the SSP and other officers.

The highlight this year would be an aesthetically made tunnel, about 20 feet long and covered with flowers and other forms of greenery, connecting the Leisure Valley with the Rose Garden.

The Home Secretary visited the site to review arrangements. For security arrangements, he issued instructions to put CCTV cameras around venues.

He further instructed the staff to cover the boundary wall with proper barricading at both venues. An enforcement team would be deployed to thwart unauthorised entry during the festival.

A fire brigade and an ambulance would be stationed at the site for all three days. Proper care would be taken to keep the sites clean.

This year, around 50 exhibitors would put up stalls at the Leisure Valley.

Chandigarh, February 17
TPS Phoolka, chief fire officer, fire and emergency department, has sought an explanation from JS Kang, station fire officer (SFO), Sector 11, for being absent from duty today.

Phoolka inspected all four fire stations in the city, Sectors 11, 17 and 32, and Manimajra, to check the condition of equipment and infrastructure and the staff crunch at the stations.

This visit was in response to the recent decision during the fire committee meeting, asking the department to prepare a detailed report of staff crunch and other aspects for tabling it during the next meeting of the committee.

During the visit to the Sector-17 station, it was found that two of the fire tenders required immediate repairs due to some major technical defects.

Phoolka was acquainted with the defects in fire tenders at the other fire stations and he directed the SFOs concerned to go ahead with minor repairs of the vehicles.

During the visit to the Sector-11 station, he directed the SFO to prepare a proposal for the renovation of staff accommodation and submit it to him at the earliest.

When contacted, Phoolka said all SFOs had been asked to submit reports on repair of vehicles in a fortnight, for which directions had been issued to them.

Mohali, February 17
The Joint Action Committee of the Puncom Employees Union has staged a protested against the Punjab Government’s move to utilise funds of Punjab Communication Ltd (Puncom) to acquire a piece of land for the self-contained Integrated Information Technology and Knowledge Industry Park at Rajpura.

The union members protested outside the office of Punjab Infotech in Industrial Area, Phase VIII, here.

The employees alleged that the Punjab State Industrial Export Corporation (PSIEC) along with Puncom had been asked to become partners in the purchase of land for the project. In return, the respective establishment would be given landholding in the project.

For the IT park, the common village land in contiguity of six villages in Sehra, Pabra, Sehri, Takhtu Majra, Akri and Akar was being acquired.

The move by the Punjab Government has sparked off a protest among the Puncom employees. Apprehending that their company would go the Punwire way, the employees had started sending distress signals to senior government functionaries and politicians.

The employees are keen on knowing the manner in which the money of the public sector undertaking would be returned even if the IT park at Rajpura fails to take off.

The state just wants to buy the land to benefit certain officials at the cost of company’s money, said the employees.

Mohali, February 17
The Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) continues to raise structures within the PCA Stadium without getting prior approval from the Greater Mohali Area Development (GMADA).

Without the zoning plan in place, the PCA has raised construction to extend its Club House right next to the main entrance. The issue has come under the spotlight once again in the wake of the facelift being given to the stadium for the forthcoming three ICC World Cup-2011 fixtures scheduled here.

Not only the unapproved constructions within the stadium, the issue of fencing done on public land outside the boundary wall of the stadium and encroachment on additional 2.62 acres of land continues to hang fire. In spite of GMADA taking up the case with the sports department and the PCA on the encroachment, nothing has happened on the ground.

GMADA Estate Office Balbir Singh said since the land had been allotted to the sports department, they had been communicating with the department in the past. On new constructions, he said he was not aware of it and would inquire into the matter tomorrow before issuing any notice.

PCA joint secretary GS Walia said they had already submitted their building plans to GMADA and the delay had been on part of the administration.

On the contrary, GMADA officials maintained that the stadium had not adhered to the building bylaws, which stipulated the approval of building plan and zoning plan before commencing work.

The building plans submitted to GMADA were not approved, as they did not comply with the conditions laid down in the allotment letter. Regarding the violations, GMADA had written to the sports department.

Mohali, February 17
Congress MLA from Kharar Balbir Singh Sidhu has asked the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) to stop sending eviction notices to riot-affected people. Any forcible eviction would be strongly opposed by him, he warned.

Addressing mediapersons here today, Sidhu said around 80 riot-affected families living in LIG houses in Phase XI were allegedly being targeted by GMADA officials. Eviction notices were being issued to them because they did not have “red cards”, which were being considered mandatory for the allotment of houses.

He said it was the responsibility of the Punjab Government to prepare the “red cards” of riot-affected people and if the government had failed to do its duty, residents should not be made to suffer for the lapse.

Some people had migrated from Delhi and other places in 1984 out of fear and their dislocation itself had made them riot-affected. Discrimination was being done against such families by GMADA.

Sidhu said the families who were issued eviction notices had been living in these LIG houses for the past 25 years and their long stay in the houses had made them legal owners. Such people should be rehabilitated under the Indira Awas Yojna, which ensures a house for each family.

The MLA added that it was unjustified on part of the government to allot these houses to people living in other towns by uprooting those living in Mohali. The government should take the price of the houses from the families occupying these and let them stay there.

GMADA Estate Officer (housing) Subhash Chander Rana, however, said the authority was under the impression that all those living in the houses in question were riot-affected but after verification it was found that not all of them fell in that category.

As many 87 families were found living in these houses illegally. They were asked to submit the requisite documents in a month’s time so that allotments could be made but only 45 families had been able to do so. He said GMADA had taken no decision at its own level and was acting as per the government policy. The affected residents could prove their eligibility in the office of the DC and stake their claim to the houses that would be allotted at the price of Rs 33,000 each.

Zirakpur, February 17
Punjab’s former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal will visit Zirakpur on February 23 as part of his ongoing “Jago Punjab yatra”. Charanjit Singh Brar, officer on special duty, said the leader would hold a public meeting at a local resort.

According to sources, a senior Congress leader, Bhag Singh Baltana, is expected to come out in support of Manpreet along with his supporters.

Some senior Akali leaders and supporters might join Manpreet during the meeting, sources added. — TNS

Zirakpur, February 17
Youth Akali Dal patron Bikram Singh Majithia today said the SAD would reserve 33 per cent seats for the youth in the forthcoming Assembly elections. He said this while addressing a rally of Youth Akali Dal workers at Lakhnour barrier here.

He said the youth wing of the SAD was working for the betterment of the state and would rout Congress in the coming elections.

Chandigarh, February 17
Contrary to Panjab University’s official stand, the ongoing problem at the University Business School (UBS) does not seem to be just a “teacher-student” dispute. For, students and the faculty today blamed political lobbies in the senate and the syndicate for the ongoing fiasco. A forthright UBS chairman, Dinesh Gupta (who resigned yesterday), created ripples when he said the students were not responsible for his resignation. Sources close to him ascribed it to the ongoing politics in the senate which is divided into two major power lobbies.

Even more significantly, over 75 PU faculty members in a letter addressed to both Gupta and Vice-Chancellor RC Sobti expressed concern over what they termed as “politicisation of teacher-taught relations”. The letter signed by the faculty members from various disciplines went on to criticise the “slipshod treatment meted out to a senior teacher like him”.

“We all know the modus operandi that has been put into operation, of late, to malign some teachers. First, the protest of the students, often managed backstage by political lobbies, is allowed to take monstrous proportions, and then the teachers are intimidated and bullied to surrender to the peace formula worked out by the administration. The so-called peace formula, as usual, disregards the dignity of teachers, their contribution and dedication to the profession with such callous ease that they are left with no choice but to resign,” read the letter.

The teachers asserted that apparently the university authorities failed to learn lessons from the recent crisis at the Dental Institute and Hospital which led to its director-principal Dr Krishan Gauba tendering his resignation and seeking repatriation to the PGI. “Today he (Gupta) has been pinned. Tomorrow it could be somebody else.

The protocols of academics prevent teachers from coming to the streets. But if the vilification and victimisation of teachers continues, the university would become a battleground. This resignation is a wake-up call for the entire community, and we reiterate that in no way we would let your resignation be accepted by the authorities. It is time for those sitting at the helm of affairs to self-reflect and look beyond their feudal mindsets,” the letter added.

Even as Dinesh Gupta refused to withdraw his resignation from the position of chairman of PU’s University Business School (UBS), over 50 MBA students went to his house requesting him to rejoin the institute. Expressing their support the students rubbished allegations made by 25 MCom girls who had staged ‘dharna’ (protest sit-in) outside the PU vice-chancellor’s office a few days ago, accusing Gupta of using “derogatory” language in classes. The students claimed the protesting girls were backed by certain “backstage political lobbies” and were “blowing things out of proportion” and “maligning Gupta’s image”. The students also met PU dean of students welfare Naval Kishore, requesting him to urge Gupta to rethink his decision to quit.

Dinesh Gupta is a thorough professional and a disciplinarian. The protesting students had raised some demands regarding placements and provision of projectors, which were addressed immediately. Following this they began accusing him of misbehaving with them, which is a sheer lie. If he will leave this way then the institute will bear a heavy loss. — Arjun Bajwa, MBA (2nd semester) student

He (Gupta) always tried to steer the institute away from all kind of politics - be it those of students or of senators, and is now facing the consequences. We agree the university is being taken to ransom by a handful of students. But we can’t continue to lose good teachers just because the varsity chooses to bow to a group of students every now and then. — Gorki Singh, MBA (2nd semester) student

The girls who are protesting are now hardly ever seen in the department. The university should check their attendance and other academic credentials before giving credence to their allegations. It’s in hands of PU officials to decide how much they want to bow in front of protesters. We are also girls and hundreds like us can certify Dinesh Gupta never misbehaved with us. — Monika Kadiyan, MBA, IB student

We’ve always stayed away from politics and don’t want to lose such a good teacher because of it. Even we could have staged a ‘dharna’ and sat on a hunger strike in his support, but we aren’t here to create a ruckus. All we want is that Gupta shouldn’t leave as he is not only an excellent departmental head but also innocent. — Rosy, MCom student

Panchkula, February 17
Rajan Sharma and Reetika Sharma were awarded Mr and Miss titles, respectively, during a farewell party organised by Class IX students for outgoing Class X students at Holy Child School here today.

Raghu Vashisht and Preeti Makol bagged Mr and Miss Best Dressed titles, while Mr Ramp Walk was bagged by Rahul Dhiman. Miss Elegant was bagged by Arzoo Arora, while winner for memory game was Ikshit Singh. Capt Aditya Trehan, director, Holy Child School, announced the results and gave away the awards.

Speaking on the occasion, school principal Neena Trehan wished the outgoing students the best in their lives and exhorted them to live up to the ideals set up by the founder of All-Saints Educational Society.