The Tribune...Chandigarh

C H A N D I G A R H

Tuesday, July 14, 1998

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today's calendar

When MI-26 choppers remained grounded
CHANDIGARH, July 13 — MI-26 helicopters of the IAF have mostly remained out of operations ever since their induction between May, 1986, and February, 1989...

Broken road dividers
risky
CHANDIGARH, July 13 — Despite numerous alterations carried out on city roads to ensure safety traffic movement continues to be time consuming , dangerous and even confusing...

Roundabouts await completion
CHANDIGARH, July 13— Inordinate delay in the completion of two major roundabouts falling in sectors 52 and 42 has become a source of inconvenience to residents of the area and thousands of road users going to Mohali...

Grant more funds to MC, Adviser urged
CHANDIGARH, July 13 — Councillors of the Municipal Corporation (MC) have urged the Adviser to the Administrator, Mr Jagdish Sagar, to grant more funds for the civic body...

Postal employees hold rally
CHANDIGARH, July 13 — Postal services in the city as well as in the neighbouring townships of SAS Nagar and Panchkula were affected for the fifth consecutive day as postal employees continued their stir...

Working papers on job scheme ready
CHANDIGARH, July 13 — As per the Punjab Finance Minister's commitment on new employment opportunities, jobs for 2.88 lakh persons are likely to be generated through Plan schemes in 1998-99. It will involve an expenditure of Rs 584.94 crore...

Sangrur DSP, gunmen falsely implicated
CHANDIGARH, July 13 — The Punjab Police Service Association has sought the intervention of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, DGP and Chandigarh IGP R.P. Singh to secure the discharge of Mr Jagjit Singh Gill, DSP, Sangrur, and his three gunmen in July 6 judicial complex shootout case...

CAT order on studio assistants' pay stayed
CHANDIGARH, JULY 13 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court today stayed the operation of the Central Administrative Tribunal judgement directing the Chandigarh Administration to release the pay scale of Rs 1400-2300 to studio assistants...

Jain loyalists ignore Sagar's visit

Judicial remand of suspects extended
in Burail jail blow-up case

When MI-26 choppers remained grounded
By Prabhjot Singh
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 13 — MI-26 helicopters of the IAF have mostly remained out of operations ever since their induction between May, 1986, and February, 1989.
Though the IAF has a separate squadron for these heavy-lift helicopters, the machinery and manpower therein remained under utilised.
The helicopter squadron was formed in May, 1986, with a unit establishment of two MI-26 helicopters procured at a cost of Rs 36.09 crore. The requisite manpower of 12 officers, 79 airmen and 21 non-combatants was sanctioned in February, 1987 for operation and maintenance. On the induction of two more MI-26 helicopters in February, 1989, the Ministry sanctioned additional manpower of six officers, 63 airmen and seven non-combatants who were enrolled in July, 1993.
Two of these heavy-lift choppers have remained grounded for 26 and 38 months, respectively. Between June, 1995 and May 1996, three of the

four helicopters in the squadron were unserviceable. This must have adversely affected the operational capability of the squadron.
A review of the procurement, maintenance, serviceability, actual performance of the helicopter and also manning position of the the squadron revealed that two of the four choppers were sent to manufacturers abroad for overhaul in June, 1991. The helicopters came back in August, 1993.
Ever since their induction, there has been low utilisation of heavy-lift helicopters in the squadron. In 1992, the utilisation rate was only 11.90 hours which went up to 21.34 hours in 1993 but fell to 17.34 in 1994. It rose to 23.34 hours in 1995 and dropped to 20 hours in 1996.
In December, 1996 the unit authorities stated that though only one helicopter was operational, the aircrew were utilised in rotation to undertake the tasks allotted from time to time and meet the training requirements. In November, 1997, the Defence Ministry maintained that the provision of manpower was considered necessary to impart training to make better use of the assets for meeting operational requirements in the case of need.
Earlier in 1992, the Defence Ministry stated that the low utilisation of the helicopters was because of the fact that the helicopters were utilised only in cases where their use was considered inescapable as major components of these heavy-lift machines had a very short overhaul life and their procurement was restricted.
In December, 1996, the operation unit stated that while there had been no allotted task for the eastern sector during the past three years, the requirement of the northern sector was met with two serviceable MI-26 helicopters. In November last year, the Defence Ministry stated that the allotted task was fully achieved by the squadron within the existing utilisation rate. This established that there was no enhanced airlift requirement and procurement of two additional MI-26 helicopters in February, 1989, and associated equipment at a cost of Rs 60.52 crore lacked justification.
These findings of the auditors have already been placed in the Parliament during the current session.

Grant more funds to MC, Adviser urged
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 13 — Councillors of the Municipal Corporation (MC) have urged the Adviser to the Administrator, Mr Jagdish Sagar, to grant more funds for the civic body.
At a meeting with Mr Sagar here today, while hailing the achievements of the civic body, BJP councillors pleaded with the Adviser to grant more resources to the MC. The opposition members, on the other hand, criticised the functioning of the civic body. They alleged that the basic civic amenities were getting from bad to worse. Mayor Gian Chand Gupta urged the Adviser to forward to the Central Government the MC's proposal for Rs 100 crore for the fourth phase of the Kajauli water works scheme. The Rs 50-crore scheme, which was to bring 20 mgd of water to the city, was now proposed to bring 60 mgd of water, the Mayor informed the Adviser.
The Mayor also sought Rs 3 crore for stormwater drainage as against Rs 30 lakh given in the Budget.
More funds for the 19 community centres transferred by the Chandigarh Administration to the MC were also sought. In addition, Rs 1.5 crore was sought for the maintenance of 97 public toilets.
The Mayor demanded Rs 3 crore for setting up a sewerage treatment plant at Mani Majra. Funds were demanded for increasing the capacity of the sewerage treatment plant at Diggian from 30 mgd to 45 mgd.
An increase in the tax share of the MC from 50 per cent to 75 per cent was demanded. A cess on liquor sale was demanded on the pattern of municipal corporations in Punjab.
The councillors urged the Adviser to reconstitute the ward committees. The Adviser assured the councillors that decision to this effect would be taken within a fortnight.
Congress councillors alleged that the condition of civic amenities, particularly in the labour colonies and villages, was bad. Mr Raj Kumar Goel demanded a probe into the utilisation of funds by the MC on various projects. He also demanded the reversion of the Superintending Engineer, Public Health, to Punjab and handing over additional charge of the post of Superintending Engineering (construction circle) to the seniormost Xen of the UT cadre. Ms Sunita alleged that three mobile toilet vans in her ward were not being maintained properly and repeated representations to MC officials in this regard had failed to improve matters.
The Adviser was later honoured Mr Gupta. He was presented with a shawl on behalf of the MC. Mr Sagar assured all help to the MC for various projects.

Jain loyalists ignore Sagar's visit
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 13 — Differences within the local unit of the BJP came to the fore today when the eight councillors belonging to the Satya Pal Jain (MP) group "boycotted" the first visit of the Adviser to Chandigarh Administrator, Mr Jagdish Sagar, to the Municipal Corporation (MC).
The visit, which was planned by the MC to honour Mr Sagar and give the councillors an opportunity to apprise him of the difficulties they faced in their respective wards, was attended by only 18 of the 29 councillors. The BJP councillors, including Mrs Kamla Sharma, former Mayor, Mr Prem Sagar Jain, Senior Deputy Mayor, stayed away from the meeting.
The other BJP councillors, who stayed away from the meeting were Mr Kewal Krishan, Mr Raghubir Lal Arora, Mr Kanhaiya Lal, Air Marshal R.S. Bedi (Retd), Mr Bachan Singh and Mr O.P. Goyal.
Sources said the boycott of the meeting was "pre-planned" as the Jain group was against the honouring of the Adviser. Many councillors are of the view that honouring the bureaucrat would set a wrong trend more so when the councillors had been blaming the Chandigarh Administration in the past for not giving it requisite funds and not making the division of functions between the MC and administration "clear".
More than this is the fact that the Jain group does not want Mr Gian Chand Gupta take all the credit for the "achievements" of the MC. They fear that if Mr Gupta establishes himself it might endanger the position of Mr Jain. Particularly when the president of party — Mr Dharam Pal Gupta — is supposed to be close to the Mayor.
While several of the councillors, including Mrs Sharma, Mr Prem Sagar Jain, and Mr Raghubir Lal Arora, could not be contacted, Mr Goyal, an advocate, said he could not attend the meeting as he was busy in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in connection with his cases.
Moreover, a senior BJP leader said that the "boycott" was on account of two reasons. One, the Jain group was not taken into confidence to honour Mr Sagar. A formal resolution for honouring a bureaucrat should have been moved in the monthly meeting of the civic body as senior officers are not honoured in the assembly halls of the Municipal Corporations.
Two, there was resentment in the Jain group as the Mayor had not invited any councillor from the group when he hosted a tea party in honour of Mr Govindacharya, BJP general secretary, a few days ago here. Only two councillors — Ms Ranjana Shan Shahi and Mr Des Raj Tandon — were invited.

Broken road dividers risky
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 13 — Despite numerous alterations carried out on city roads to ensure safety traffic movement continues to be time consuming , dangerous and even confusing.
A total of 58 persons had died in 163 road accidents in the city till June 30 this year. On an half yearly average the figure is lower than last years' 150 deaths during the year. The lower death toll apart , a number of slip roads remain invisible due to one reason or the other even as road users complain that slip roads have very sharp curves.
Even the exit on the main road is at an odd angle and does not have a smooth curve to blend well. Almost all these new slip roads are on the busy Madhya Marg. In some of the sectors along the Madhya Marg slow carriageways have been made. None of these carriageways have a connection with the slip road. Thus the people using it have to take a turn on the main road and then divert back to the slip road leading to confusion.
Another problem along the Madhya Marg is the stacking up of building material outside the showrooms . At some places trucks are parked in front of the showrooms leading to congestion. Though there is ample space provided at the backside. On Sundays the slow carriageways and the parking space is taken over by second hand car dealers while prospective buyers keeping driving in and out.
Traffic movement along the Dakshin Marg is equally cumbersome. This road has no slip roads and roundabouts are congested during all times of the day. Particularly choked are the roundabout at sectors 21, 22, 34 and 35 ( Piccadily) another one at sectors 22, 23, 35 and 36 ( Kisan Bhavan). Motorists feel that traffic light points instead of roundabouts will be better and safer option at these two bottlenecks.
At one time a proposal to have traffic lights was mooted for the Piccadily roundabout but was dropped.
Properly aligned slip roads could also ease congestion along the Dakshin Marg . This road , mainly the stretch along sectors 21 and 34 to sector 22 and 35 is very dangerous. All along the road squatters have settled. Small children of these people, mostly from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar run onto the road causing vehicle owners to apply brake at high speeds and swerve dangerously to avoid a tragedy. Recently these squatters have also "taken charge of" the road divider between sectors 34 and 35.
The road dividers on the Himalaya Marg between sectors 21 and 22 and 34 and 35 have broken at various places. Broken blocks of concrete line the centre of the road in a haphazard manner — one block around five-feet-long may be turned to the right the other may be turned to the left. Regular users of the road know which blocks are broken but its a tragedy is waiting to happen while the authorities have closed their eyes to this aspect .
Meanwhile, the traffic bottle neck for people visiting Sector 17 remains. The experiment of the one way traffic movement inside the Sector was criticized by some shopkeepers and the plan was dropped. A visit to the Sector at peak hour can fray the nerves of even the most laid-back persons. Though cops regulate the traffic, long queues are the norm. Parking space is also at a premium specially in lane where a number of restaurants have come up.
The same goes for parking outside the line where hotels abound in Sector 35 as cars and other vehicles are parked in a haphazard manner with no security or system of paid parking.
Another road urgently needing a divider is the one that runs straight from the airforce station to Sector 39. With the southern sectors developing very fast the rush has increased manifold.
Confusion also prevails among city residents about left turning on roads which do have slip roads as well as the traffic lights. While five points in the city have this unique combination no one seems to know the exact applicable rule . Some people stop for the lights others do not and a Chilean is issued at the whim and fancy of the traffic cop.

Postal employees hold rally
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 13 — Postal services in the city as well as in the neighboring townships of SASS Nagger and Panchkula were affected for the fifth consecutive day as postal employees continued their stir.
Though partial work was carried out in some post offices work was largely suspended and most importantly there was no delivery of mail. Several people waiting for passports and wanting to go abroad have been delayed as the passports — new ones and even those for renewal — are sent through registered post as per the guidelines of the Union Ministry of External Affairs. Over hundred passports are sent through mail daily.
At many places in city, post offices were closed and employees sat outside playing cards or gossiping. Local employees have joined the strike call given by the Postal Joint Council of Action, New Delhi. This represents about six lakh employees half of which are working in the rural areas who are not considered regular employees and are designated as extra departmental agents.
At the noon, a big rally was organised outside the office of the Chief Postmaster-General in Sector 17 . The telecom employees also joined the rally. In the rally, various speakers condemned the statement of Union Communications Minister, Mrs. Sashimi Sward , who reportedly said "political motivation" was behind the strike.
The rally resolved to convey to the central leadership that the stir should continue till the 10 point charter of demands was considered. A resolution conveying its regret to the public regarding the inconvenience due to the strike was also passed according to a press note of the employees.
A meeting of the co-ordination committee of Central Government employees and workers, Chandigarh, was also held today. It was resolved that from tomorrow the units of committee in the Departments of Income Tax, AG, Punjab and Haryana , Customs and Central Excise, Labour Bureau, Survey of India, Census ( Punjab, Haryana and UT), MES and CDA etc will participate in the rallies of postal employees, general secretary of the committee, Mr R.L. Moudgil said .

Roundabouts await completion
By Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 13 —Inordinate delay in the completion of two major roundabouts falling in sectors 52 and 42 has become a source of inconvenience to residents of the area and thousands of road users going to Mohali.
The construction of both roundabouts has been hanging fire for the past two years, resulting in traffic flow being hampered on the road leading to Kajheri village.
The construction work on the roundabouts had been going on such a slow pace that even the boundary walls have not been completed in the past two years allegedly due to lackadaisical approach of the engineering department of the Chandigarh Administration and the municipal corporation authorities responsible for the construction of Sector 52 and Sector 42 roundabouts, respectively.
Enquiries by TNS revealed that except for earth filling and a portion of the roundabout walls having been built there is no progress in the construction

work. The area has become accident-prone, especially during night as streetlights are not in a working condition. The main reason for accidents is said to be the separation of sand and stone layer on the road-bed as a result of recent rains.
The problem is acute at the roundabout near Kajheri village as sand spilling over the road from inside the roundabout has created slippery conditions for vehicles, especially for two wheelers.
A roadside vendor, Om Parkash Pandey said that the roundabout which has remained incomplete, had become a death trap as he had seen a number of accidents taking place at this place. He said even if the work started, it never went beyond a week.
Same was the case with the roundabout on the road dividing Sectors 42 and 43, also lying incomplete for about two years. Though the process of construction of a road around the is on, the area has become slushy and unsuitable for small vehicles to move.
Mr S.L. Bhandari, Xen, UT engineering department, when contacted said the main reason behind lingering construction work at the Sector 52 traffic circle was a sewer line passing beneath it. He claimed his department had taken up the matter with the civic authorities. According to official sources, another reason for delay of the construction work was an acute shortage of funds. Mr Bhandari, however, added that the roundabout would be completed in six months.
Similarly, the Chief Engineer of the municipal corporation, Mr Puranjit Singh, said leakage in a water supply pipe was hampering the construction work at Sector 42 traffic circle. He added that the completion of the project work would not take more than a month.

Campus Beat
MMC interviews from July 23
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 13 — The group discussion and interview for the candidates, who have cleared the written test and applied for admission to the first year of the Masters in Mass Communication (MMC) course, will be held on July 23, 24 and 25, a press note said here today.
Sanskrit department: The written test and viva voce test of the candidates, who have applied for admission to M.A. Part I (Sanskrit) will be held on July 23 at 9 a.m.
Physical Education department: Physical efficiency test for admission to M.A. part I (Physical Education) and B.P. Ed would be held on July 23 at 7 a.m., according to a press note on Monday.
Physics department: The interviews for admission to M.Sc. first year (Honours) will be held on July 23 at 10 a.m.
Music department: The aptitude test for admission to M.A. Part I (vocal and instrumental) will be held on July 20 at 9.30 a.m.
Department of Fine Arts: The revised date for qualifying aptitude test-cum-interview for admission to M.A. Part I (History of Art) is July 23 at 8.30 a.m., according to the Chairman of the department.

Working papers on job scheme ready
By P.P.S. Gill
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 13 — As per the Punjab Finance Minister's commitment on new employment opportunities, jobs for 2.88 lakh persons are likely to be generated through Plan schemes in 1998-99. It will involve an expenditure of Rs 584.94 crore.
The government's emphasis is on "self-employment" and wage-jobs. That the government is serious to tackle unemployment, particularly among educated unemployed and is worried by the idle youth power is evident from the constitution of a Cabinet sub-committee under the Finance Minister.
This committee is to suggest short and long-term strategy and evolve a policy on employment. The major concern is employment for rural youth. A working paper on the subject giving a framework for a "pragmatic programme" is ready. It has been prepared by the Financial Commissioner, Development, Mr R.N. Gupta.
It is estimated that out of the total registered unemployed persons — 5.95 lakh — the educated unemployed (matriculation and above) constitute 4.10 lakh; nearly 60 per cent of the total jobless. The state already has a shortage of unskilled workers. There are fiscal pressures. Both private and public sectors are being restructured, which may mean displacement or elimination at middle and base levels. The existing organised sector has its inbuilt limitations. That leaves Punjab with limited options.
The only probable areas are self-employment and wage-employment which will have to cater for educated jobless in rural areas. The projected potential of employment in the Eighth Plan is 17 lakh, including 4.85 lakh self-employed. Documents do mention employment generation potential but not the formula how it is calculated. The actual projection is missing.
What has made the task of providing gainful self or wage-employment difficult is the "functional isolation" seen in different government departments, which results in "duplication and confusion." Also this situation has resulted in "wasteful" dilution and drain-off of resources and inputs. Therefore, the document for the Cabinet sub-committee, prepared by Mr Gupta, talks of ways which are not difficult to follow; means which are not unachievable; but is silent on the political (add bureaucratic too) will to implement what he suggests.
In a nutshell, the report makes the following recommendations while giving a detailed profile of administrative and monitoring methodology and giving a word of caution on identification of beneficiaries:
— Let there be a "venture capital fund" of say Rs 20 crore. Let cash-credit system have proper linkages, including integrating available subsidies.
— Let there be capital investment in agriculture (mechanisation, irrigation and introduction of new equipment) and in commercially viable ventures like bee-keeping, sericulture, mushroom cultivation, horticulture, seed production etc.
— Let the Planning department act as a "nodal agency" with one Director, Rural, Employment, working in it.
— Let Punjab Enterpreneurship Development Institute be designated to do the implementation. The non-government agencies should be involved and each one given a district. A sum of Rs 5 crore, annually, should be kept apart for extending financial support to such agencies which take up self-employment programmes.
— Let the Agriculture Department introduce short training schemes before licenses are given. The major emphasis should on "target" group in 20-30 age bracket with separate training schemes for matriculates and middle pass rural students. Proper identification of beneficiaries is a pre-requisite. For this Nabard model or one evolved by Punjabi University, Patiala, be adopted with a "focal point's" command area as a unit.
— Let social prioritisation for self-employment programmes be identified. It is very essential as also a scheme for social security due to spreading menace of joblessness.
— Let an "empowered" committee headed by the Chief Secretary be there for monitoring. It should operate on the world bank pattern.
— Let there be reservation for rural unemployed in mandis and at focal points for setting up booths etc. "Home repairs" is an important sector for which matriculates and middle pass can be trained to become good masons and artisans working as painters, plumbers, electricians etc after training tool kits be given to them, and
— Let registration and placement services be privatised for competition. Steps should to involve private enterpreneurs for mass "computer training in small towns be done on the same pattern as stenography and shorthand training was imparted in 50s and 60s.

Sangrur DSP, gunmen falsely implicated
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 13 — The Punjab Police Service Association has sought the intervention of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, DGP and Chandigarh IGP R.P. Singh to secure the discharge of Mr Jagjit Singh Gill, DSP, Sangrur, and his three gunmen in July 6 judicial complex shootout case.
In a written statement, Mr Bachan Singh Randhawa, president of the association, alleged that Mr Jagjit Singh Gill and his gunmen had been falsely implicated in the case.
Mr Randhawa said on July 6, Mr Gill accompanied by his gunmen visited the court to consult his lawyer in connection with his personal civil case. It was at that time that the shooting started. Mr Gill approached Mr Baldev Singh, Superintendent of Police, city, to ascertain facts about the incident. He was asked to accompany Mr Baldev Singh to Sector 17 police station and after four hours he was told that he had been arrested in the shootout case.
Mr Randhawa maintained that neither Mr Gill nor his gunmen had fired even a single shot during the shootout.

CAT order on studio assistants' pay stayed
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, JULY 13 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court today stayed the operation of the Central Administrative Tribunal judgement directing the Chandigarh Administration to release the pay scale of Rs 1400-2300 to studio assistants.
A Division Bench consisting of Mr Justice R.S. Mongia and Mr Justice S.S. Sudhalkar, handing down this order, ordered: "Admitted to the Division Bench since this a writ petition against the judgement of the Central Administrative Tribunal. Meanwhile, operation of the impugned judgement shall remain stayed."
The studio assistants had pleaded before the tribunal that they were getting a pay scale of Rs 570-1080. This scale was revised to Rs 1400-2300 by the Fourth Pay Commission. However, the administration had not extended the benefit of the revised scales to them.
In its judgement the tribunal had held: "It baffles our understanding why the Chandigarh Administration thought it fit to refer the matter to the Anomaly Committee. It was just a question of putting a post in the pay scale applicable to the corresponding categories which was recommended by the Fourth Pay Commission. In view of this, the application is disposed of with a direction to the administration at the level of the administrator and the Secretary of the Finance Department, who are respondents in this application, to fix the applicants in the pay scale of Rs 1400-2300".

Judicial remand of suspects extended
in Burail jail blow-up case
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 13 — The Judicial Magistrate, Mr Jasbir Singh, today extended the judicial remand of Satnam Singh and Baljit Singh, both suspects in the Burail Jail blowup case, till July 21.
The police claimed to have recovered 1 kg of PETN from Satnam Singh at the time of his arrest. Another 1.700 kg of PETN was recovered from his residence on the basis of his statement. He was also alleged to have planned to smuggle two wireless sets into the jail. These wireless sets were also seized from him.
As for Baljit Singh, he was a conduit between Jagtar Singh Hawara and other conspirator in the case. The police further charged him with giving Rs 1.45 lakh for purchasing an explosive from a conduit at Ropar to blow up the jail and help escape other suspects lodged there.
The Judicial Magistrate issued notice to the jail superintendent for July 17 on an application moved by Baljit Singh, one of the suspects in the case, alleging harassment at the hands of jail officials. He alleged that he was scolded and his religious feelings were hurt.
He urged the court to issue the necessary directions to the jail superintendent not to misbehave with him.