From kabaddi ground to drug peddling

 Punjab cop-turned-NRI his aide

Panchkula, September 12
One of the drug peddlers arrested by the Panchkula police from a house at Sector 9 here on Saturday night is a kabaddi player who has represented Punjab in matches against Canada and England.
According to sources, the accused, Navjot Singh of Jalandhar, belongs to a well-off family which owns 10 acres. He is also facing a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, registered at Ludhiana in 2009.
Gurdyal Singh, Sarabjit Singh, Dilbag Singh, Navjot and Sarabjit are the persons arrested. Three-kg opium, a pistol and a revolver have been seized from their possession.
The other accused are also from well-off families. It is being investigated what made them choose this path, says a senior police officer.
Sarabjit and Dilbagh are NRIs. Sarabjit and his two brothers have settled in Canada. Dilbagh is with the Punjab Police since 1999. He went on short leave and left the country for Australia a few years ago.
The other Sarabjit runs a real estate business. All of them had a common link in the name of Mintoo, a resident of Panchkula, who managed to flee from the spot at the time of the raid, said the sources.

British national indicted

Case of Drug Peddling

Chandigarh, September 12Additional District and Sessions Judge Lalit Batra today framed charges against a British national, Napper Ned ’O Conner Tandy, in connection with a drug peddling case.
The crime branch of the Chandigarh Police had on July 16 arrested the British national on charges of possessing charas and psychotropic tablets.
Nineteen-year-old Tandy, a resident of London, was arrested from Sector-38 West during a checking drive.
The accused was riding a motorcycle without helmet. On being signalled to stop, Tandy tried to flee. During search, the police found 40 gram charas and psychotropic tablets from his pocket.
Tandy was on a tourist visa valid till November 8. He had arrived in India on May 22 and purchased a Bullet motorcycle (HR 12 E 7183) from a mechanic before heading to Manali in Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh.

Welcome to New Chandigarh

 It’s official -- green signal to urban estate

Mohali, September 12
The much-awaited 740-plot phase I of the Mullanpur urban estate will be floated on September 21 and applicants will be given a month to apply under the scheme. The site is located 7 km from the PGI in Chandigarh.
The decision follows approval to the project by the executive committee of the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) during a meeting under the chairmanship of Punjab Chief Secretary SC Agrawal.
For the first time, applications will also be received online. The draw of lots will be held on November 30. The letter of intent will be issued within a month of the draw of lots.
Allottees will be given 120 days from the date of draw of lots to deposit 95 per cent of the cost of the plot, a decision taken to keep speculators out.
To solve the problem of finance, GMADA is contemplating a tripartite agreement between banks, GMADA and allottees so that the cost can be paid within the period specified.
A senior GMADA official said after past experiences like Aerocity, it was decided to limit the schedule of payment of 95 per cent of plot cost to four months, between December, 2011, and March, 2012, from the date of draw of lots.
The letter of allotment would be issued once the 95 per cent of the cost was paid. In case of Aerocity, over three lakh applicants, mostly from outside Punjab and speculators, had applied and the margin money increased prices to an unimaginable level. GMADA Chief Administrator Sarvjit Singh said he could comment only after minutes of the meeting were issued.
As per the draft, the scheme was for bona fide residents of Punjab and Chandigarh. Employees of the Punjab and Haryana High Court were also eligible to apply. Applications would also be received online this time. This yardstick would apply to future housing schemes as well.

Project at a glance

n GMADA allows end users to buy property straightaway
n Only for bona fide Punjab and Chandigarh residents
n Those who own or have been allotted a plot are not eligible
n 100 sq yd, 125 sq yd, 150 sq yd, 200 sq yd, 250 sq yd, 300 sq yd, 400 sq yd, 500 sq yd plots
n Prices between Rs 15,000 per sq yd (for 100 sq yd) and Rs 19,000 per sq yd (for 500 sq yd)
n 95 per cent of plot cost to be paid within 120 days of date of draw of lots.

Filling fuel in Sector 39? Be careful!

Chandigarh, September 12The police today arrested an employee of Hindustan Petroleum at the Sector-39 petrol station and booked another for withdrawing money of customers by swiping their credit cards twice.
The amount withdrawn the second time was later taken out of the petrol station cash box by the accused. The owner of the petrol station had to refund customers who returned complaining that their cards had been swiped twice.
The police booked Pawan, alias Lucky, of Dhanas for stealing Rs 45,000 from the cash box and Suraj for duping the employer of Rs 60,000 through at least 10 fraudulent transactions.
Gaganjot Singh, the owner of the petrol station, said he got to know of the theft when a number of his customers complained. “I refunded the money to all my customers when they brought their bank statements,” he said.
“I sat down to see CCTV footage yesterday when Suraj, who had joined recently, escaped immediately. It then came to light that he had stolen at least Rs 60,000 adopting this modus operandi over the past six days,” he added. Gaganjot complained to the police. While Pawan was arrested, efforts were on to nab Suraj. 

One more held in NRI murder case

Batala, September 12

The police has arrested one more accused, Rajbir Singh Bajwa (alias Raju), in the infamous murder case of Canada-based NRI Gurinder Singh Gill.
With today’s arrest, three of the four accused, including BJP councillor Rajbir Singh Bhullar and his accomplice Jarnail Singh, a Punjab police head constable — the duo arrested yesterday — have been taken into custody. Yadvinder Singh Bhullar, brother of the main accused Rajbir Bhullar, is still at large.
Gill was gunned down in broad daylight in front of the busy court complex, barely 50 metres away from the SSP’s residence, on Friday.
Batala SSP Gurkirpal Singh said several teams had been constituted to nab Yadvinder. Bajwa’s arrest, however, remains shrouded in mystery as a top police official on anonymity disclosed that the accused surrendered before the cops last evening. But officials say he was arrested following a raid.
Also, the Gurdaspur NRI unit’s executive committee held a meeting and condemned the murder.

Patil okays names of 6 advocates for elevation as judges

Chandigarh, September 12
Almost a year after the names of six advocates were recommended for elevation as Punjab and Haryana High Court Judges, the President of India has cleared the list. A fax message to this effect was received by the High Court this afternoon.
The lawyers to be elevated are R N Raina, N K Sanghi, Rameshwar Malik, T S Dhindsa, P S Dhaliwal and Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia.
The advocates will now undergo medical examination and other formalities before their warrants of appointment arrive and they are administered oath. The oath-taking ceremony is likely to be held within a week.
The oath will be administered by Acting Chief Justice M. Kumar, if Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi does not join the High Court by then.
After this, three more advocates will be elevated. They are Suvir Sehgal, Sunil Chadha and JS Puri. The file carrying their names is pending before the Apex Court collegium. With the elevation of the six advocates, the number of Judges will go up to 48. Even after their elevation, the vacancies of Judges in the High Court will remain as the sanctioned strength is 68.
As of now, the High Court has approximately two lakh pending cases. The list of six advocates, forwarded by outgoing Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal at the fag-end of his tenure, had reportedly hit a hurdle. Indications are that the list was again placed for review before the High Court collegium headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi. The roadblock was removed only after Chief Justice Gogoi gave the nod to the list.

Punjabi students hit language barrier in UK

Faridkot, September 12
Four months after the UK made changes in its student visa rules, many Punjabi students in the UK have already been sent back and more may follow for failing to clear the newly introduced English language requirement test.
From April 6 this year, the English language requirement has been changed from B1 to B2 level. This means that those going to the UK for graduation will have to appear for the English language test at the B2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference.
Now, Indian students in the UK are required to clear four English Language Foundation Stage tests if the institutions in which they are enrolled feel that the English level of the students is not up to the mark.
“If a student fails to clear these tests in three attempts, he or she is repatriated,” said Kushdeep Kaur (name changed) of Langeana in Moga district.
Kushdeep took admission in a London college nine months back. She failed the language test twice and the college removed her name from the course. “The initial fee for this test is 1000 pounds and if the student fails in clearing the test in the first attempt, the re-appearing fee is 2500 pounds,” she explained.
Though the students are given the visa after they have cleared the IELTS or TOFEL tests in India, many face problems in comprehending spoken English in the first six weeks of the course and are told to clear the four English Language Foundation Stage tests.
Jaspreet Singh, a student from Faridkot, returned home two weeks back after he failed the test and his name was removed from the college rolls.
Former Union Minister and president of the Lok Bhalai Party Balwant Singh Ramoowalia said the government had failed to make the younger generation aware about the new rules for studying abroad.
“A large number of unscrupulous travel agents are misleading innocent students”, he alleged.
Why the stumbling block
Those going to the UK for graduation have now to appear for the English language test at the B2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference
Indian students in the UK are required to clear four English Language Foundation Stage tests if the institutions in which they are enrolled feel that their English level is not up to the mark
The initial fee for the test is 1,000 pounds and the re-appearing fee is a whopping 2,500 pounds, say students
Travel agents are misleading students by not telling them about the new rules for studying abroad, says Lok Bhalai Party chief Ramoowalia.

CTU to add 96 buses to local fleet

Chandigarh, September 11
With the expanding area of the tricity and increasing pressure on the public transport system, the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) has decided to add 96 buses to its fleet for its local routes this financial year.
Based on the population of the city, the CTU has prepared a five-year plan on the basis of which the number of buses will be purchased subsequently with an increase in the population. The addition of buses will help increase the frequency of buses on each route.
The CTU has calculated the requirement of buses on its local routes based on the population of the city.
CTU manager SP Parmar says the CTU currently has a fleet of 250 buses for its local routes. Out of these, 61 will complete their lifespan within a year, following which the existing fleet will be reduced to 189 buses. Moreover, there is a need for 285 buses, calculated as per the 2011 census.
“The estimated requirement of buses has been calculated on the basis of past experiences of other metro cities with a minimum of 27 buses for one lakh people,” he says.
The department has already sent a proposal to the UT administration for approval and is hopeful of getting a sanction soon.
According to the officials, the CTU will add 48 mini AC and AC semi low-floor buses. Another 48 non-AC low-floor buses and ordinary semi low-floor buses will be added to the existing fleet.
The CTU has also drafted a plan for the purchase of buses for its five-year plan from 2012-2017. The department has planned to purchase 140 buses for the local routes and reduce the frequency to 20 minutes.
The CTU officials further say with the purchase of new buses, the routes that have been shut due to shortage of buses or have a lesser frequency will be revived.
“With the increase in the number of buses, the number of drivers and conductors will also be subsequently increased,” the officials add.

More buses needed

The CTU currently has 250 buses running on local routes. Out of these, 61 will complete their lifespan within a year, following which the existing fleet will be reduced to 189 buses. There is a need for 285 buses

Restaurants’ big disservice to customers

Pocket ‘veiled tip’ in shape of service charge; admn asleep

Chandigarh, September 11
A number of prominent restaurants in the city continue to make hay by adding “service charge” to their bills even as the Chandigarh administration has been groping in the dark to identify the department to deal with the matter for the past five years.
Most restaurants have been burning a hole in the pockets of their customers by levying service charge, ranging between 5 per cent and 10 per cent, in addition to other taxes.
Around five years ago, the matter was first brought to notice of the Chandigarh administration by a city-based lawyer, Ajay Jagga, but the former did not respond.
The matter was then taken to the ministry of consumer affairs, New Delhi, which directed the administration to inquire into the matter and report back to it.
An inquiry was conducted by the then Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner, who reportedly maintained that such service charges were illegal and could not be levied.
As the restaurant owners continued to fleece customers, the matter was again raised in January by Jagga. “The then UT Adviser, Pradip Mehra, had referred the matter to the Deputy Commissioner-cum-Commissioner Excise and Taxation, who had marked it to the Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner (AETC). The AETC, however, sent it to the consumer affairs department on the plea that the matter came under the purview of the latter,” said Jagga.
On February 24, the consumer department again sent the complaint back to the Deputy Commissioner but the complaint once again landed back on the desk of the AETC.
Jagga, who is in no mood to give up, again approached the top brass - including the Adviser and Home Secretary. “Let’s see what happens now,” he said.
Ashok Bansal, general secretary, Chandigarh Hotel Association (CHA), said its members were not levying any service charge on their customers. Interestingly, many restaurants are not members of the CHA.
On the issue, UT AETC Naresh Dubey said he was aware of the matter but service charge did not come under his department’s jurisdiction, as the charge has not been prescribed by the competent authority and has only been devised by certain commercial establishments.
The charge is utilised by restaurant managements as they deem fit but no part of it goes towards any levy deposited with the government exchequer.
While many residents are apparently unaware of the service charge and its implication, some more aware residents feel the charge is a kind of “veiled tip” pocketed by the management in addition to the tip given to waiters.

ALLOWED TO LEVY ONLY VAT, SERVICE TAX

Most restaurants add 10 per cent service charge to the bill, which they claim goes to the common fund to be given to the staff for good service. Under the law, restaurants can charge only VAT (12.5 per cent) and service tax (3.09 per cent) on food and beverages.

GMADA may lower reserve price

Mohali, September 11

With the aim of attracting greater public participation in the sale of commercial and residential freehold sites in the town, the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) is expected to lower the reserve price of the properties to be put under the hammer at its upcoming auction. The price is likely to be reduced by 10 per cent, it is learnt.
Dismayed by the poor response to its last two auctions, GMADA had been taking up the issue with the Punjab government. The auctions, held in February 2010 and in September 2009, were lackluster due to the high reserve price. In the former auction only a dozen of the 45 commercial sites on offer could be sold and in the latter only 17 of the 69 commercial sites went under the hammer, with residential properties finding no takers.
To enable reduction in the reserve price, GMADA has reworked the standard formula that allows officials to decide upon the reserved price of a specific site. The plan for a major shift in the auction norms is expected to be approved by the authority’s executive committee at its meeting scheduled on Monday.
Sources close to GMADA said it has been proposed that the reserve price of unsold sites and the price of the sites that have been sold would be clubbed while calculating the lowest price to start bidding for a property in a specific sector. This would automatically bring down the reserve price of a site, which would vary for different sectors, they added.
GMADA chief administrator Sarvjit Singh said the proposal to recalculate the reserve price of auctioned sites was under consideration. “The final decision would be known only after the necessary approval by the authority”, he added.
It has been learnt a proposal to demand full payment of an auctioned plot within 90 days of the respective auction was also under active consideration. Presently, after payment of 25 per cent of the auctioned price of a commercial site within one month of an auction, the balance 75 per cent payment has to be made in four yearly installments. Accepting payment within 90 days would reduce litigation as most of the disputes have been related to payments. Since the move is likely to face adverse reaction from investors, it has reportedly not found favour with senior Punjab government officials.

FULL BID PAYMENT MULLED

A proposal — on the pattern of the UT estate office — to demand full payment of an auctioned plot within 90 days of the respective auction is being considered by GMADA.

Recession scuppers auctions in Chandigarh City

Realty pangs get real

Chandigarh, September 11
The ongoing recession in the real estate sector has taken its toll on the auction of commercial and residential sites in Chandigarh. With the market going through one of the worst phases in its history, end users and investors have been waiting for nearly two years for an auction to be held.
And, in the process, the UT administration is losing crores of rupees in revenue that it could have earned by way of auction and collection of lease money from commercial properties.
Though the UT administration had planned an auction of residential and commercial properties last year it was cancelled at the eleventh hour.
Given the city’s relatively high standard of living and its emergence as a prime retail destination, the auction of commercial and residential sites always evoked a huge response from end users and investors here. However, officials in the UT administration feared the recession would cost it dearly as the expected response in an auction might well be “below average”. “This coupled with the provision of making full payment in three months’ time could prove to be a damper for an auction to be held at a time when the property market was passing through a crisis”, a senior official said.
The last auction held in the city - in December 2009 - was no different with the average price fetched by a residential property working out to Rs 74,820 per square yard. In fact, a five ‘marla’ (272.25 square feet) plot in Sector 32 was sold for a whopping Rs 1.4 crore at an average price of about Rs 1.06 lakh a square yard.
Despite the fact that commercial property in the city is being sold on leasehold, the average price worked out to be Rs 2.74 lakh per square yard.While conceding the recession was a major reason for the delay in auctioning property, an official said an auction was “overdue” and would be held before the end of this fiscal.

UT LOSING CRORES

Due to delay in auction, the UT administration is losing crores of rupees in revenue that it could have earned by way of auction and collection of lease money from commercial properties.