Ludhiana, May 25
The Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) has been selling residential and commercial property through open auction at a handsome premium, but its track record of recovery of outstanding amount against sold property has nothing to write about. The outstanding amount against defaulting buyers, which stood at Rs 24.46 crore at the end of March 2011, has shot up by almost 50 per cent to touch more than Rs 36 crore by February 2012.

Information obtained from GLADA authorities under the Right to Information Act 2005 by the Council of Commercial Properties during this period.

Persistent failure of the GLADA authorities to take stern action against defaulters led to the situation taking a turn for the worse in 2011-12. While the outstanding amount against residential property during this period marginally increased and went up to Rs 16,19,37, 312, the default amount recoverable against sale of commercial sites and built up property more than doubled to touch Rs 19,86,46,401.

Even though the GLADA officials maintain that the defaulting buyers were being proceeded against as per the conditions laid down in sale agreements, but if sources in the real estate market are to be believed there is a general impression that buyers of GLADA property only need to pay 25 per cent of the sale price of the property (10 per cent as earnest money at the time of auction/allotment and another 15 per cent within 30 days of allotment) and take possession of the property.

“Since no worthwhile action is being taken against the defaulters by GLADA for years together, the buyers are using their discretion to pay the balance 75 per cent of the sale price along with interest. It is only when the defaulting buyers are served with notices of cancellation of allotment or sale agreement or else if they need to transfer the ownership of the property that they come forward to clear the dues,” said a real estate dealer.

Rohit Sabharwal, president, and Arvind Sharma, secretary, Council of RTI Activists, have called upon the state government to put an effective mechanism in GLADA and other development agencies to ensure that dues against sold or allotted residential and commercial property are recovered as per schedule of payment and conditions laid down in allotment letter or sale agreement are scrupulously followed in taking action against the defaulters.

Ludhiana, May 25
In an interesting development, the SAD has changed candidates from two of its wards. Harbhajan Singh Dang, who was earlier allotted ticket from ward number 61, has now been adjusted in ward number 47, from where his wife Surjit Kaur Dang would be the party candidate. Similarly, Inderjit Singh Gill, who is sitting councillor from ward number 45 and was allotted party ticket from ward number 67, has refused to contest from this ward on “moral” grounds. This ticket has now been allotted to Rakhwinder Singh Gabria, son of former Cabinet Minister Hira Singh Gabria.

The SAD and the BJP have also swapped two seats. Ward number 1 and 10, that were earlier represented by the BJP have now been given to the SAD in lieu of ward number 26 and 53, earlier represented by the SAD.

The SAD issued its second list of 12 candidates today. As per the announcement, Baljinder Singh Gogi has been fielded from ward number 1 and Pal Singh Grewal would contest from ward number 10, after his ward got reserved for women. Savinder Kaur Neena Grewal has been fielded from ward number 11.

Bhupinder Singh Bhinda, who is considered close to a senior police official recently posted in the city and to Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, has been given ticket from ward number 56. Sources within the party said Bhinda might have to face rebellion from other Akali leaders, who had also applied for ticket from this ward.

Rakhwinder Singh Gabria will be the party candidate from ward number 61. He was earlier denied ticket from this ward and party had chosen Harbhajan Singh Dang, a close aide of Rakhwinder’s father Hira Singh Gabria. But after Harbhajan’s request of changing his ward, the party chose this youth face.

Senior Akali leader Jagbir Singh Sokhi has been allotted party ticket from ward number 63. A two time councillor, Sokhi holds good hold in his ward and is considered a strong candidate.

While speaking to The Tribune, Inderjit Singh Gill said he was interested in contesting from ward number 45. “This is the ward which I had nurtured in the past five years. But party chose Kamaljit Singh Karwal over me and instead allotted me ticket from ward number 67, from where I did not want to contest. I know how it feels when some outsider is allotted ticket on your place and that is why, I did not grab some other person’s right,” he said. Commenting further, Gill said he was paying the price of being an honest and dedicated party worker. “When the SAD gave party ticket to Balwinder Singh Bains during the SGPC elections, I supported him wholeheartedly. As Gabria was supporting some other candidate at that time, he got angry with me. Later when Gabria was allotted ticket for Vidhan Sabha elections, I supported him and Bains brothers got annoyed. But no one understood that I always remained with the party. If this is the price one pays for being loyal, then I have no regrets. Moreover, politics is not business for me,” said the first time councillor.

Similarly, Harbhajan Singh Dang clarified that before announcing his ticket; party did not even ask him. “I had asked for ticket from wards 45 or 46 or 47 or 48 as I could have contested from any of these wards. But I was never interested in ward number 61. That is why, on my request, party has now allotted ticket to my wife from the same ward which I am representing at present,” he said.

Ludhiana, May 25
Employees of the local revenue department are in trouble after Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) RI Singh warned erring employees of criminal action.

The Chief Information Commissioner has directed the local district revenue officer to fix responsibilities and register criminal cases against the erring employees for misplacing crucial documents related to a piece of land worth crore.

The Chief Information Commissioner further stated that public record, particularly pertaining to the ownership rights of the citizens, is a valuable document and its loss should normally entail criminal action against the employee. The direction has come after the employees of the revenue department, who appeared before the Information Commission, stated that the original land records pertaining to the mutation have gone missing.

However, there is the other side of the coin. Jaswinder Singh, Advocate, Punjab and Haryana High Court, claimed that the land records were deliberately being withheld by the revenue department employees in connivance with land mafia.

Jaswinder Singh showed a RTI reply filed by the revenue department officials on October 28, 2011, which states that the land record file was sent to the Divisional Commissioner of Patiala and it wasn’t returned.

“They have made the mockery of the Information Commission. Harminder Singh Sandu, Naib Tehsildar, Mullahpur Dakha, made an oral statement before the Chief Information Commissioner on April 30 that the relevant record has gone missing, on the other hand the Tehsildar (West), PIO of the revenue department, in a reply to RTI query stated that the land record file was sent to the Divisional Commissioner of Patiala on June 13, 2002, and it had not been returned since then,” Jaswinder Singh added.

“Now tell me what the truth is and what kind of benefits the revenue department is receiving by allegedly hiding the land records,” said Jaswinder Singh.

Jaswinder Singh had sought information regarding the mutation record pertaining to the 269 kanal and 7 merlas of agricultural piece of land located at Birmi village near Ludhiana.

“According to the RTI Act (Under Rule 6, (5), the Public Information Officer (PIO) was bound to supply the relevant information within 30 days, failing which they are charged with heavy punishment as per RTI rules. But the revenue department employees seem to be thick skinned. It has been over a year since I have demanded the mutation records of the land at Birmi village, but the employees are sitting of the RTI application and making contradictory statement before the CIC,” said Jaswinder Singh.

Youth commits suicide
Jaswant Shetra

Jagraon, May 25
A youth in his twenties allegedly committed suicide by jumping into Sirhind Feeder Canal near Akhara village today. The deceased youth has been identified as Mandeep Singh, a resident of Hans Kalan village situated on the Jagraon-Raikot road.

The youth arrived at the bridge on his bike, parked it on the roadside and sat there for a few minutes. Before jumping into the canal, he rang up his cousin brother living in Ludhiana to tell that he has got a visa for Dubai and would have to leave quickly. He, then, disconnected the phone. He switched off his mobile phone and jumped into the canal.

A few people, who saw the youth jumping into the canal, immediately informed the police control room about the incident. After some time, a police team led by Raikot Adda police post in charge Mukhtiar Singh reached the spot. As a diver could not be traced, the police officer failed to save the youth. An eyewitness had even pinpointed the exact spot from where the youth had jumped into the canal.

Meanwhile, the police was able to locate the family members of the youth on the basis of the registration number of his bike. It came to light that the youth belonged to a family of Hans Kalan village.

Sandeep Singh, who accompanied the villagers, informed the police that the bike belongs to his brother Mandeep, who had left the house on the pretext of meeting one of his friends at Akhara village. He also told the police that he was upset for the past some days and rarely talked to family members.

Following this, the police got the gates of the canal blocked and found the youth’s body near Dalla village in the evening.

The body was identified by his brother Sandeep. The body has been sent for the post-mortem examination.

A case has been registered in this regard. The police has started further investigations.

Meanwhile, heart rendering scenes were witnessed at the residence of deceased youth when the family members came to know about Mandeep’s death.

Ludhiana May 25
Treading on a single track doesn’t give them satisfaction. They are hungry for success in whatever they do. They are bent upon proving that sports and academics can go hand in hand, scoring the perfect CGPA 10 and excelling in their passion.

Naman, who scored 10 CGPA in CBSE Class X examination, is a district badminton champion. Last year, Naman participated in three competitions and bagged positions in all.

Naman bagged second position in zonal tournaments during the start of the session. After that he scored second position in the Sahodaya School Complex Badminton Tournament and finally he got gold medal in the District Badminton Tournament. He has been playing badminton for the past two years. He is being trained under coach Anand Tiwari. Sports are a priority for Naman, but he feels that a good sportsman can be good in academics too. “I want to join the NDA and represent India as a badminton player,” he says.

Meanwhile, Manyata Kapoor, another student from the city, who also got CGPA 10 while equally concentrating on Yoga. Manyata recently participated in an international event of yoga organised by the Indian Yoga Federation.

She has been practicing yoga for the past six years and has participated in almost 30 national competitions. According to Manayta, Yoga and studies are equally important for her. However, she believes that she scored better in academics because of yoga. “Yoga improves your concentration level, which helps in study,” said Manyata.

Ludhiana, May 25
Senate elections of Panjab University will be held on September 23 and candidates in the foray are canvassing in full swing, leaving no stone unturned to woo the voters.

It has been alleged that some sitting members are misusing the perks and facilities given to them by the university while the first timers are feeling it heavy on their pockets.

Some candidates have alleged that the sitting members are misusing the facilities given to them. "They are being given travelling allowance at the rate of Rs 8 per km. At the time of canvassing, this allowance is being misused. They go on inspections and other work for only couple of hours while the rest of the travelling is done for canvassing and the bill is claimed from the university," alleged he.

Candidates in foray are meeting up with fellow professors, travelling across colleges in the state to seek support from lecturers and graduates during the elections and also travelling to colleges across the state seeking votes.

Mukesh Arora, from the SCD Government College a sitting senator from the city said, "Allegations and rumors are a part of the game. No sitting senator is misusing any allowances or perks. For me, working for the students and teachers is selfless service and I will continue doing that.”

While prof Barinderjit Singh Virdi, from GGN Khalsa College, who is contesting for the first time, said that it is true that the first timers have to work really hard. In addition to this, they have to arrange all the finances by themselves. “It depends upon a person's approach and I am really working hard to achieve success," he said.

Harpreet Dua, another sitting senator from GGN Khalsa College said, "Allegations and counter allegations are a part of election procedure. "Is it possible for a person to do his official work and also carry out canvassing simultaneously? Elections should be contested on one's own agenda and not by mangling anybody's else's image," he said.

Another non-member candidate in foray on the condition of anonymity said, "For non-members it is a tough job to canvass and gain support while for already sitting members it becomes easy as they keep traveling for work and side by side also meet the voters and ask them to vote. We cannot travel widely to lure the voters".

Ludhiana, May 25
His hands were of a “wizard” when he conducted any complicated surgery without sophisticated instruments. It was 92-year-old, Dr Karamchand Sood, a great surgeon, philanthropist and physician, whom the city lost forever on May 22 when he breathed his last and became an immortal genius of medical profession. His life is no less than an example for young doctors who kept serving the suffering mankind till the last moment of his life. He will be cremated tomorrow at the Madhopuri cremation ground.

Paying tributes to him, Dr DV Jindal, a senior citizen of the city, said, “He was a bold and brave surgeon without any senior qualification of surgery. He cured many patients without charging any fee just because he was a philanthropist. I still remember how he would jump into his duty to alleviate the sufferings of a person and would do so within minutes at his clinic.”

His clinic used to witness a crowd of patients from morning till late evening. Many a times, he would not charge from his patients. Recalling this, Dr Ravinder Vatsayan, a city-based ayurvedacharya, who has closely observed his way of treating sick people said, “He was a wonderful doctor. I still remember the passion and devotion with which he used to serve the sick and ailing with smiling face.” Dr Narottam Dewan, former president of the Indian Medical Council, Ludhiana, and a city-based surgeon, said, “He was a pillar of medial profession and always remained in the service of sick people. I have come across many patients who always speak high of him.”

Dr Sood has been survived by six children, out of which four are doctors. His real brother, Dr Brij Mohan Sood, anoncologistinthe USA, said, “Ourfather Dr Ramchand Sood was also a doctor. I always saw my deceased brother busy with his patients.”

Ludhiana, May 25
Civic employees were in for a rude shock when they received documents regarding their duties for the Municipal Corporation elections due for June 10. This is for the first time that we have been put on election duty, they said.

But district electoral officers said this step was being taken as per rules. At least 400 employees, including SDOs, junior engineers, superintendents, clerks and others have been put on election duty in different booths that will be set up in the district.

A municipal employee said, “This is for the first time that we have been put on poll duties. We might be pressurized by leaders. If we do our work honestly, a few leaders might target us after winning.” Additional Deputy Commissioner Rupanjali said all government officials, who were posted in the district, could be put on poll duty as per election commission’s new guidelines. 

Ludhiana, May 25
Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tiwari said as per the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh, a list of those danga peerats is being prepared whose names have not received any benefit of immovable property (home/booth/flat) till date.

He said while preparing this list, it had come to his notice that details of red card number of some danga peerats were not clear. The list of danga peerats was available on the link “list of riot victims who have been intimated to come on June 3, 2012 NEW” of the website www.ludhiana.gov.in <http://www.ludhiana.gov.in>.

The danga peerats whose names have been included in the list should show the attested copies of their original red cards at room number 6 of his office at RRA branch on June 3 at 10 am. He further said if anyone failed to show his or her attested copies of the red cards, his or her names would not be included in this list.

Ludhiana, May 25
Major issues:

Due to the absence of garbage dumps, littering of garbage in many of the areas is common problem in the ward.
Residents complain that sweepers do not visit regularly in many of the areas.
Water logging during the rainy session, is a major problem for those who live near Budhha Nullah.
Some of the roads near the CMC Chowk remain very busy. The area is congested, so traffic jams are a major problem. People say that the authorities should deploy traffic police at chowk to resolve the issue.
Supply of potable water is irregular.

Statistics
Major Areas: Dharampura, Toka, Harbans Pura, Samrala Chowk, Fateh Ganj
Population: 25,000
Voters: 8,000

reSIDENTS Speak
There are number of schools in the area. Closing time of all the schools is almost the same, which leads to the traffic jam in the afternoons. Otherwise, the police do not deploy employees to regulate traffic

— Mohan Lal

Garbage disposal is the biggest problem of the ward. Safai sewaks do not come on the time. Garbage can be seen of every corner of the street. In the past five years, condition of the roads has improved

— Pawan Kumar

COUNCILLOR Speak
I contested the election and won as an independent candidate. Five years ago, all the roads were in bad shape, sewerage used to block and water supply was irregular. I have spent Rs 70 lakh on roads, Rs 25 lakh on sewerage and installed 4 new tubewells. I have installed a tubewell in historical Gurdwara Gau Ghat. Dumping the garbage on roadsides is a major problem of area. An effective awareness drive is needed to make aware the public about ill effects of garbage

— Ajay Nayyar

Ludhiana, May 25
Major Issues

Streets in the inner areas are potholed. Delay in carpeting and cementing of the streets is causing widespread discontent among those residing in the area.
Traffic jam is a continuous problem near CMC. Many points in the area are accident prone due to narrow streets.
Public toilets remains blocked and are in dilapidated condition.
Residents complain about erratic and dirty water being supplied in some areas of the ward.
Cleanliness is a problem in most of the areas. Sweepers don’t turn up for days together, according to residents of the area.

Statistics
Major Areas: Mohan Singh Nagar, Ram Nagar, Khudd Mohalla, Issa Nagari, Field Ganj, Jail Road, Kucha Inayat, Koti Alamgir, Hata Mohammad Tayr, Division No 2 Road and Brown Road.
Population: 25,000
Voters: 8,000

reSIDENT Speaks
Traffic is a problematic in the ward. We spent hours commuting through some roads due to constant traffic jams. Accidents are also common here. All encroachments hampering the traffic should be removed from the area

— Vicky

COUNCILLOR Speak
I have resolved most of the problems in the ward during my tenure. I have spent about Rs 10 crore on roads, tube wells, water pipes and streetlights. About Rs 30 crore is being spent on coverage of nullah in Field Ganj. Signages with street numbers were installed on streets at the cost of Rs 15 lakh. We are working for the construction of a flyover from the Jagraon Bridge to the Civil Hospital. We have already earmarked Rs 24 crore for the project. I am associated with the Congress and I am contesting the election again on the Congress ticket. If I get re-elected, it would get the signages outside every home with the names and house numbers

— Sanjay Talwar

Ludhiana, May 25
MAJOR ISSUES:

Water accumulation whenever it rains.
Encroachments on the streets is a common sight and several shopkeepers have extended their portions.
Traffic congestion and jams common problem in the ward.
Stray animals, especially stray animals could be seen roaming freely in the ward.
The Ganda Nullah which passes from near this ward leads to stink, mosquitoes, flies and other such insects.
Garbage could be seen strewn in some parts of the ward and residents demand proper lifting of garbage.

Statistics
Major Areas: Dharampura, New Shivaji Nagar, Janakpuri Street Number 12-16, Ganesh Nagar, Cheema Colony, Hari Kartar Colony, Hargobind Nagar, besides others.
Population: 70,000
Voters: 10,300

reSIDENTS Speak
Whenever it rains, problem of water logging starts in our area. It becomes very difficult for the residents to even get outside our home. The councillor should take some steps to resolve this problem

— Ashok Kumar Tandon

The Ganda Nullah does not have any boundary wall or fencing around it and any person can fall in it. The councillor should take steps so that the problem could be solved. This open drain also leads to stink in the entire area

— Rakesh Kumar Bitta

COUNCILLOR Speak
Being a low-lying area, I admit that residents suffer from water logging problem whenever it rains. But a project in this regard is under way and people will not suffer from it once it becomes operational. During my tenure, we have spent around Rs 3 crore on roads and around Rs 1 crore on sewerage. Five new tube wells were also installed during my tenure, besides carrying out several other development projects

— Ravinder Kaur Chadha, Councillor Ward Number 40

Ludhiana, May 25
MAJOR ISSUES:

Main problem of the area is water accumulation whenever it rains because it is a low-lying area.
The roads are full of potholes in some parts of the ward.
Sewerage gets often choked, which leads to overflow on the roads.
Encroachments and garbage in Janakpuri area is one of the major problems being faced by area residents.
The Hanuman Mandir Road is in poor shape because it falls between ward number 40 and 41. Residents rue that due to which, the road is not taken care of both the councillors.

Statistics
Major Areas: Kidwai Nagar, New Kidwai Nagar, Hargobind Nagar, New Hargobind Nagar, Janakpuri, besides others.
Population: 30,000
Voters: 11,000

COUNCILLOR Speak
Main problem of my ward is water accumulation whenever it rains. But its there because it is a low-lying area. The project to solve this problem is already in the offing. Most of the major development projects of my ward have been completed and if any project has not been completed, it will be completed soon

— praveen bansal, Councillor Ward Number 41