The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	unsafe buildings Rehab policy for occupants falls flat MC and IT were to pay market price of the structures to get them vacated as per the policy GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 13 The rehabilitation policy of the district administration for occupants of the century-old residential buildings, which are on the verge of collapse, has failed to deliver so far. During the last monsoon, a series of old buildings, which were in a very bad condition, had collapsed resulting in several casualties. It was then that the district administration, in collaboration with the Amritsar Municipal Corporation (AMC) and the Improvement Trust had devised a policy under which the occupants of these buildings were to be rehabilitated. A draft of this policy was sent to the Local Bodies ministry. In a communiqué to the secretary, local bodies department, the local administration after having deliberations with the Improvement Trust (IT) and the Amritsar Municipal Corporation (AMC), had roposed to introduce a tri-partite agreement between the owner/tenant of the unsafe building, the IT and the MC. Under the agreement a permanent 'dislocation package' was to be given to the beneficiaries, by way of offering multi-storey flats for those with little resources to make alternative arrangements for themselves, after vacating the unsafe houses they were living in. In lieu of this arrangement, the beneficiaries were to surrender their old houses under a barter deal and the Improvement Trust was to design the payment package after evaluating the market price of the house. The AMC was told to conduct a comprehensive survey to identify the century-old unsafe buildings and the status of the person, whether he is the owner or tenant of the building. Besides this, the Improvement Trust has been conveyed to identify vacant plots lying in its jurisdiction. The AMC teams led by Municipal Town Planner (MTP) Shakti Bhatia had started the process of demolishing the rickety structures Dholi Mohalla on the Sultanwind road, Maini Chowk in Lakshmansar, Tabela Jagatram in Namak Mandi, most of which were unoccupied and posed as danger to adjoining buildings too. Yet, till date, it all got stalled midway and nothing could be pursued in the matter as neither the AMC could continue with the survey proceedings nor any follow-up was done with the Local Bodies department. Hundreds of old, dilapidated buildings in areas like Dharam Singh market, Katra Ahluwalia Bazaar, Namak Mandi, Gali Chhajju and Guru Bazaar Pratap Bazaar, Cheel Mandi, Ghantagarh, Haveli Zamadara are in danger of collapsing. The AMC has identified 113 such oldest buildings in the city but officials say they were hesitant to go ahead with its plans to remove them because of a legal hitch which posed a major snag as most of them are tenants and their dispute with the landlords over vacating the place have been in the court for years. Another cause of concern is that these locations are densely populated because these sites cater to the daily needs of the people. Some of the public service centres too are being run from the century-old buildings. Thousands of residents visit these public centres. AMC Municipal Town Planner Shakti Bhatia said the process got stalled because of over occupancy with other tasks like meeting house tax recovery target till March 31 and announcement of assembly elections. AMC Commissioner Dharmpal Gupta said no progress could be made in this direction yet survey proceedings will be initiated shortly. y Hundreds of old, dilapidated buildings in areas like Dharam Singh market, Katra Ahluwalia Bazaar, Namak Mandi, Gali Chhajju and Guru Bazaar Pratap Bazaar, Cheel Mandi, Ghantagarh, Haveli Zamadara are in danger of collapsing. y The local administration after having deliberations with the Improvement Trust (IT) and the Amritsar Municipal Corporation (AMC), had roposed to introduce a tri-partite agreement between the owner/tenant of the unsafe building, the IT and the MC. y Under the agreement a permanent 'dislocation package' was to be given to the beneficiaries, by way of offering multi-storey flats for those with little resources to make alternative arrangements for themselves, after vacating the unsafe houses they were living in. official speak No progress could be made in this direction yet. Survey proceedings will be initiated shortly dharampal gupta, commissioner, mc
	House tax evasion: Govt offices go scot free GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 13 Even as the Amritsar Municipal Corporation (AMC) is chasing commercial establishments for the realisation of taxes, yet several government departments not only owe large amounts to the AMC as house tax but they have been enjoying immunity for quite a few years. The defaulting government departments include the police, the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board (PWSSB), the pollution control board, the forest department and the Improvement Trust. AMC officials say over Rs 1 crore has to be recovered from the police department for not paying house tax for past more than 20 years in lieu of the land to establish police posts and residential complexes. The police department deducts the house rent from its employees and it was liable to deposit the house tax with the AMC. Similarly, the Improvement Trust owes Rs 17.50 lakh as house tax, which has been pending for the past over five years. An amount of Rs 17.38 lakh has to be recovered from PWSSB office while the district administration-run Bacchat Bhawan owes around one lakh. Other departments like the forest department, and pollution control board too are defaulters for past three years. Sources say the unprecedented enhancement of house tax by the AMC had baffled the PWSSB officials. The house tax imposed used to be around Rs 50,000 per year but the fresh recovery notice of the AMC has been calculated on the basis of Rs 6 lakh per annum as house tax. To counter it, the AMC officials said any objection on the house tax assessment will not be entertained as the departments concerned were already given 30 days after serving them recovery notices, which had already lapsed. Shushant Bhatia, Superintendent, House Tax wing of AMC, said all calculations have been made according to the prevailing norms based on the cost of construction and current value of the land. The land over which the PWSSB office has been built belonged to the Improvement Trust and the official proceeding about the possession of the land is still pending. Meanwhile, the department had sought some time to clear the discrepancies and justification about the escalated house tax. However, the officials of the departments concerned had also initiated a dialogue with the AMC Commissioner and have sought more time to clear their dues. AMC Commissioner Dharampal Gupta said constant touch is being maintained with the officials concerned. “Efforts are afoot to recover the dues from the departments instantly,” he said. Defaulters Punjab Police, Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Punjab Pollution Control Board, Forest Department and Improvement Trust official speak All calculations have been made according to the prevailing norms based on the cost of construction and current value of the land sushant bhatia, superintendent, house tax wing, mc
	Pharma industry dying a slow death Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 13 A number of pharmaceutical units are closing down every year. After 1990 no new unit has been added in the district once known as a hub of the pharmaceutical industry in the northern part of the country. As many as 40 pharma units are operational. Still a sizeable number of them are holding their ground and exporting to major pharmaceuticals companies of the developed countries in Japan, Germany and the USA. Raman Gupta, proprietor of Hindustan Pharmaceuticals, one of the oldest export units here, said the high revenue generating industry of the border city is in doldrums. He said as a result of lopsided policies of the government it was tottering on the path of closure. With the union government extending tax holidays to the neighbouring states like Uttarkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, a number of pharmaceutical companies have shifted base from Amritsar. “Amritsar’s loss is gain for Baddi in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and its surrounding areas in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said. Conveniently located in the middle of the only natural garden in the World - the Himalyas and availability of skilled man power propelled Amritsar to become the hub of drug manufacturing industry and extracts from herbs. Rare herbs from Afghanistan, North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are still being brought here to form new formulations and drugs to heal different ailments. Raman Gupta, whose family has been in the business for over a century said prior to Independence, Lahore and Amritsar used to be the major centres of herbs sourced from various regions of the Himalayas. He said his father, after noticing the potential of the market, shifted from Lahore to Amritsar well before the partition. Pharmaceutical units especially export-oriented are importing herbs from these parts of the Himalayas. Each region of the Himalaya is known for offering a unique form of herb which is used in various drug formulations by leading international pharmaceutical units of the world. Afghanistan has rare stock of the herb ‘heeng’ while NWFP has ‘shilajit’ and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir region is rich in Atis, Kaud and many more. City based many pharmaceutical firms import herbs from Afghanistan and Pakistan. They also procure other rare herbs from Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and, Jammu and Kashmir to get the extracts of basic drugs and to isolate them to principal active components. Then they sell these substances not only in the country but also to major international pharmaceutical firms of the developed nations, including the USA, Germany, Canada, Japan and others. Many registered manufacturing units unable to compete with the big houses have now dabbled into marketing of pharmaceutical products, he added. Amritsar Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing Association president Dr Pardeep Blaggan said the industry has not seen any growth for the past two decades. He blamed the state government’s apathy in ignoring the domestic industry in the state where a majority of the units are small scale. He said the government procured drugs worth hundreds of crores every year but did not encourage participation of domestic units as it allowed participation of only those firms whose minimum annual sales must be Rs 5 crore.
	City climbs up in primary education rankings Improves position to ninth from 18th Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 13 Amritsar’s ranking in the mid tests conducted under Parho Punjab, an ambitious programme to raise the quality of primary education in government schools, has improved from the previous ignominious 18th position to mediocre ninth among the 20 districts of the state. Parho Punjab, district coordinator, Pankaj Sharma, said Amritsar had improved its position from the 18th rank attained in the test conducted in March 2011. He said the district’s catapulted to the ninth position within a span of eight months. Crediting the improved ranking to the teachers involved in the project, he said strong monitoring and support system in the government schools increased the accountability of teachers and other authorities. He said as part of the supplementary reading material, innovative and interesting teaching learning material was being made available to every child in school. Teachers are being provided with manuals for guidance on the new curricula and constant training to teachers being provided by Cluster Master Trainers. He said Amritsar has been divided into 90 clusters headed by a Cluster Master Trainer. Each cluster comprises an average of eight schools. Under the Parho Punjab, students from classes first to third have to undergo three tests in a year to show their understanding of arithmetic, English and Punjabi. While the students of classes fourth and fifth have to take tests in arithmetic, English, Punjabi and Hindi. These three tests are categorised as baseline, mid-test and post-test to evaluate the learning level of the students. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) initiated Parho Punjab project in 2008 to improve the learning levels of children in the basic reading and arithmetic in primary schools. Starting with a pilot project in English it now covers three to four subjects. He said intervention in English was initiated in 2009 for children who were able to read Punjabi fluently (Class IV and V). This intervention aimed to improve their skills in conversation, reading and writing while building a working vocabulary. Sharma said students of Amritsar improved their minimum learning in arithmetic from 33.48 per cent to 65.47 per cent, similarly in Punjabi from 36.88 per cent to 55.44 per cent. In English, minimum learning level was raised from an abysmal 9.89 to 37.79 per cent and in Hindi from 23.59 per cent to 52.80 per cent.
	Residents demand extension of freight corridor to holy city Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 13 On the eve of the Railway Budget, residents of the holy city demand extension of freight corridor to Amritsar and better connectivity with the rest of the state to push up the economic growth of the city. Chairman of the CII’s Amritsar chapter Suneet Kochar said for timely delivery of goods, the Railways should run the freight trains like passenger trains, ie time-scheduled freight trains, on all major routes to ensure better customer service. Dedicated freight lines should be upgraded or accelerated to avoid congestion on the operative routes. Loading and unloading times must be increased for full wagons and their handling must be improved. The Railway Ministry should follow a PPP model, wherein building the network, tracks, terminals and haulage points would be undertaken by the Railways (as in the case of roads) while the running of freight trains would be the responsibility of private players. The Arbitrator of disputes (pilferage, damage and service efficiency) should be moved to an independent authority. Any loss or claim against the Railways was referred to the Arbitrator for settlement. There should be a third party (independent party) to look into these matters. A local businessman, Gunbir Singh, said Amritsar must be connected by rail through Makhu/Patti to Rajasthan and Gujarat, which had ports. He sought operating of one more Shatabdi and another night train to New Delhi in view of heavy passenger rush. “Start container movement for better movement of bulk cargos, improve interchange facilities with Pakistan, augment infrastructure at rail yards for cargo, turn the local railway station into a green land by planting tree in lines and use unused rail property for social forestry,” he said. Dr Varinder Bhatia, local resident, said extension of freight corridor to Amritsar would provide a better connectivity of the country with the industrial town as the city was linked to Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah Joint Check Post and had international airport. He felt that the linking with freight corridor would usher in a new chapter of growth. He said out of 545 unmanned crossings in Punjab only 40 had been manned. Train connectivity was badly needed with Dera Baba Nanak, Quadian (both in Gurdaspur), Beas, Tanda (in Hoshiarpur), Tarn Taran and Goindwal. He said these towns were located near the holy city, but they failed to get a share out of the economic development of the holy city due to poor train connectivity. Dr AL Adlakha, city resident, demands a rail link between Amritsar and Ferozepur via Tarn Taran-Mahalam for which only an additional 30-km rail track is to be laid. He said 25-km line from Makhu to Patti remained non-implemented, which would pave the way for the Amritsar-Ferozepur line. He said operationalisation of the rail link between these two districts would reduce the distance between Ferozepur and Amritsar from 196 to 82 km. The line would bring down the distance between Amritsar to Mumbai by 240 km, besides connecting this part of the country with Rajasthan. Even the distance between Jammu and Mumbai would be shortened by 267 km. He said it would not only benefit Amritsar but the entire northern belt comprising states of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh besides Punjab. The rail link between Amritsar and Kalka must be restored by extending Amritsar-Chandigarh Duronto route to Amritsar-Chandigarh-Kalka. The train between Amritsar and Kalka remained operational for decades. A bank employee, Harminder Singh, said the need of the hour was the connectivity of the holy city with the Malwa region of the state. He said Amritsar did not have adequate rail connectivity with Rajasthan and Gujarat.
	undergraduate exam Varsity date sheet released Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 13 All arrangements have been made to conduct the annual examinations for under-graduate courses of the Guru Nanak Dev University from March 17. The date sheet for all these classes is available on the university website www.gndu.ac.in <http://www.gndu.ac.in>. Professor in-charge (examinations), Prof RK Mahajan, said about 1, 50, 000 students will appear in various examinations held in 270 examination centres established by the university in various cities. The roll numbers to all the eligible candidates has been sent to the addresses given by the candidates. He said candidates who don’t received their roll numbers till March 15, can appear approach the Examination Branch 1 and 2 of the university along with two passport size attested photographs and essential documents of the lower examination to collect duplicate roll numbers. Prof Mahajan also advised students not to put any identification or religious marks on the answer sheets otherwise case of unfair means will be registered against them and they will be debarred from appearing in any university examination. official speak About 1, 50, 000 students will appear in various examinations held in 270 examination centres established by the university in various cities Prof RK Mahajan, Professor in-charge (examinations)
	Indoor stadium at DAV Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 13 DAV College is all set to construct an indoor sports stadium at its Shastri Nagar Sports Complex as its foundation stone was laid by DAV managing committee president Punam Suri. He also laid the foundation stone of the Golden Jubilee Block on the college campus. College principal Dr KN Kaul said the stadium will provide international level facilities as it will be equipped with modern sports gadgets and proper lighting facility. Kaul said the new block will accommodate students from new courses. He said many new courses were in the pipeline, for which new classes is required.