Chandigarh: Seminar on research methodology today

A one-day seminar is being organised by the department of geography, PU, on research methodology in social sciences on March 29 under the XI plan-UGC-merged scheme for faculty improvement program. The major purpose of the seminar is to acquaint the participants with recent developments/improvements in the field of research methodology. Prof G.S. Gosal, Professor Emeritus, department of geography, PU, shall preside over the function and Prof S.L. Sharma, former dean, faculty of Arts, PU, will deliver the keynote address. The participants shall have the benefit of gaining knowledge from eminent scholars.

The valedictory address will be delivered by Prof R.C. Chandna, former chairperson, department of geography with Prof B.S. Ghuman, dean, faculty of Arts in the chair.

Training: Dr B.D. Budhiraja, dean, College Development Council, PU, addressed the participants on the valedictory function of the 77th orientation course, which was a four-week in-service training programme for college and university lecturers attended by 41 lecturers from diverse disciplines from Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra and Assam. Dr V.K. Anand, chief librarian, A.C. Joshi released the report of the orientation course.

Postponed: The PhD/MPhil entrance test, which was scheduled to be held on June 29 has been postponed and will now be held on July 6.

Date fixed: The date of election of the ordinary fellows from registered graduates' constituency of PU senate, 2008, has been fixed on September 21. The last date for the receipt of enrolment forms from the Registered Graduate Constituency is May 31.

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Mohali: Nayagaon master plan withdrawn

In a decision that has put a big question mark on the above board functioning of the Akali-led government in Punjab, the Department of Town and Country Planning is learnt to have withdrawn its public notice regarding the proposed master plan of the Nayagaon notified area committee (NAC).

The public notice was issued in leading newspapers exactly a month ago by the chief town planner when the master plan for the NAC was made public to invite objections. However, in an "emergent" decision taken this evening, the chief town planner was reportedly asked to rescind his earlier orders.

While this means that the entire process of inviting objections (the last date of which was today) has gone waste, the absence of a masterplan is likely to lead to the revocation of the notification issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development exempting the NAC area from provisions of the Punjab Capital Periphery Control Act.

This means that the status of the Nayagaon NAC is back to square one. It continues to be powerless to allow construction in the area. It has once again no powers to approve individual building plans and approve group housing projects. Construction in the area, which is not in accordance with the periphery policy, is once again illegal.

While no government officer is ready to divulge the reason for this sudden turnaround, sources point to a myriad of causes. The creators of the master plan had, for example, demarcated a large area of Kansal village as "institutional", a part of which is owned by VIPs. Highly placed sources state parleys at the highest echelons were on to undo the "damage that the master plan had caused".

Another reason was the growing difference of opinion between the Department of Local Government and the Department of Housing and Urban Development over the Nayagaon NAC. While the housing department was following a cautionary approach to the opening of the Chandigarh's periphery following all relevant regulation laid down for the area, the local bodies department had strongly objected to the conditions laid down in the master plan. They were not happy that a large part of the NAC area (villages Karoran and Nadah) were not opened for development on the pretext that these areas are locked under the provisions of the Punjab Land Preservation Act 1900 (PLPA).

The department of local government also pointed out that there was no provision in the urban acts to get a "part regional plan" prepared. While the chief town planner's office seems to have been caught on the wrong foot on this technical point, its insistence on the NAC following the Forest Acts is not without good reason.

The issue of the PLPA has been a matter of controversy ever since the Akali-led government took over. The Akali government, for reasons best known to the powers that be, is almost desperate to get the PLPA repealed. The saving factor has, however, been the fact that a decision regarding the delisting of this area from the PLPA is pending before the Supreme Court. 

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Mohali: The truth of Sanetta

The Akali government cannot be blamed for not having done enough to attract private housing investment in the state. Notwithstanding protests from residents of SAS Nagar, the district administration is planning on establishing the district administrative-cum-judicial complex in Sanetta village, almost 20 km from Mohali.

The village is, however, only a stone's throw from a mega-integrated housing project being developed by a private promoter.

It is learnt that the private builder has even offered to construct the complex free of cost if it is shifted "close" to his housing project.

The proposed site is not centrally located. It is on the southeastern corner of the local planning area of the district. The local planning area is the area identified by the department of town and country planning to show the area where development is likely to take place in the next 10 years.

Sanetta is not a part of the sectoral grid of Mohali, and is on the Landran-Banur road which is one of the major roads planned for the area. However, on either side of the road there are only proposed private housing projects, many of which have not even started construction.

Real estate market analysts say most of these projects are facing difficulties in selling plots, villas and apartments.

The proposed shifting of the administrative complex can, however, help these promoters.

One of pleas taken by the administration for the identification of the site is that the government does not have any land in the district to establish the complex and only this piece of land is available.

This is a mere excuse, if not a complete lie. The entire area in Sector 62 is with the government and has been planned as the city centre. Almost 8 acres in Sector 62 have been identified and set aside for a DAC but the administration seems to have given up its right over the land.

The Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA), which had allotted the site for the complex, could not be happier as the land would fetch a whopping price in the open market.

Other than the Sector 62 city centre, the master plan of Mohali also provides for the entire Sector 87 as the city centre.

The move to shift the site has met with widespread protest. Most resident welfare associations have objected to the move.

Those living in villages along the Mullanpur- Kurali belt would have to travel via Kurali to reach the complex. Those from the Lalru-Dera Bassi-Zirakpur area would have to come via Banur.

The three MLAs of the district had said the decision to set up the complex at Sanetta would be reviewed.

However, the deputy commissioner yesterday said that the site had been finalised and even the building plans were ready.

"Why is this happening only the Mohali DC can answer. No effort has been made by the district administration to look for an alternative site for obvious reasons," Kharar MLA Balbir Sidhu said.

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Chandigarh - Manimajra to don new look

Long dubbed as the city's poor cousin, Manimajra is finally catching up with Chandigarh. In fact, the village-turned-township, inhabitated by over 1.1 lakh persons according to 2001 census, is set to have a five-star hotel, a multi-speciality hospital, a convention hall, a college and a sports complex, besides a major revamp of the civic amenities.

All this will be possible following an ambitious development plan chalked out by the Chandigarh Administration and the municipal corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) for the township which currently depends on Chandigarh and Panchkula for its education, sports, entertainment and infrastructural needs.

In the backdrop of the coming up of the Chandigarh Technology Park in Manimajra's vicinity and projected population of 2.1 lakh by 2021, the administration had constituted a committee under the UT finance secretary to prepare a blueprint for township's development.

"The blueprint, aimed at the overall development of all 11 pockets of the township, has been sent to the UT Administrator for approval and actual development of physical infrastructure will be started soon," a senior official told The Tribune here today.

Given the commercial importance of the area along the Chandigarh-Kalka-Shimla highway, a five-star hotel has been planned in Pockets No 4 and 5. Since about 25 acre was still lying undeveloped in these pockets, the auction of the hotel site along with other commercial sites will bring handsome revenue for the MCC for Manimajra's development.

Officials said on the pattern of the area along the highway, the Pocket No 8 would be turned into a happening place with multi-speciality hospital, multipurpose hall/convention centre, sport complex and 100-foot road connecting the Mansa Devi Temple being planned for the area.The Pocket No 9 would have a college.

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Punjab govt passes new marriage act

In order to counter the growing numbers of marriage frauds, especially those pertaining to NRIs who desert their spouses, Punjab government on Wednesday passed the Compulsory Registration of Marriages Bill, 2008.

The Bill, presented by justice minister Upinderjit Kaur, is also intended for compliance with directions of Supreme Court which were delivered in the Seema versus Ashwani Kumar case, 2005, seeking adoption of Compulsory Registration of Marriages Act in all states.

Objects and reasons cited in the Bill state that the legislation is meant to mitigate hardships faced by women in Punjab because of matrimonial disputes, bigamy or polygamy and about their legal right to property. It wants to prevent parents or guardians from selling daughters or young girls under the garb of marriage.

The Bill call for appointment of a chief registrar of marriages, district registrars of marriages and a registrar of marriages who will register marriages solemnized in the state under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872, Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act 1937, Anand Marriage Act, 1909 or any other custom of personal law related to marriages.

Source: The Times of India News Service

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Beware! Tricksters on your doorstep !

Beware! Salesmen and service men of various companies and their agencies, trying to meet their sales target by all means, are on the prowl in the tricity.

Moving door-to-door, they enter your home and then try to defraud you by "detecting a fault" in your equipment, force you to replace a part, and thus force out of you a couple of hundreds.

What is even more alarming is that these "service men" could actually be hardcore criminals trying to gain entry into your house.They could also be operating as personnel appointed by a company or government department for "surveys."

With the police clueless on how to tackle the menace, the safety of residents is in their own hands.

Claiming to be employees of a water purifier, refrigerator or air conditioner companies, these service men are allegedly fleecing people, replacing the functional parts of the equipment, claiming that the part is defunct.

Wary of males, they target houses after 10 am in the hope that the menfolk would have left for work. Women, especially the elderly, are easy preys.

Vimal Khanna, a resident of Panchkula, informed TNS that two young men approached her house yesterday morning and inquired if a water filter had been installed at her house.

Upon confirmation, they said they had come from the company to offer free service. "Once inside, they took minutes to announce that the filter in the cylinder had become defunct and a replacement would cost Rs 300.

"Though I confronted them, saying I had bought the filter recently and it was under guarantee, they convinced me that the part was defunct. By chance, my son was home.The moment they realised that a male member was home, they made an excuse and fled."

In a similar incident, a young man claiming to be a service representative of a leading refrigerator company tried to gain access to a house in Sector 18 when the lady of the house was all alone.

"He claimed he was sent by the company for free service. However, I had got the refrigerator serviced a few weeks back and did not allow him inside. He then went away, but I called up the company office and was told that they had not sent anybody," she said.

When the matter was taken up with Chandigarh SSP S.S. Srivastava, he said indeed it was an area of concern and some preventive steps would be taken in this direction .

He, however, said he was not aware of any legal provisions by which they could regulate these "service reps" as everyone had the right to market their products.

"However, we will take up the issue with leading FMCG companies and try to find a way out. The residents should remain cautious and check the antecedents of any person before allowing him access to their homes. In case of any doubt, the police must be informed."

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