All clear for long-haul flights
Chandigarh International Airport will soon be able to operate long-haul international flights, as the Ministry of Defence has issued orders to the Air Force to create additional posts of Air Traffic Control (ATC) personnel at the Chandigarh airbase. The airport is under the control of the Indian Air Force (IAF). By March next year, the requisite manpower will be in place and the airport will be upgraded to enable round-the-clock flight services. Since the ATC was staffed in accordance with the IAF's operational requirements, the domestic civilian traffic was relatively low earlier.
No parking outside govt offices
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that if one is visiting any government office, he should park his vehicle inside and not outside the office premises. The Chandigarh Deputy Commissioner has ordered that to all authorities at all institutional buildings along Madhya Marg and Dakshin Marg should make sure that the parking space within such buildings is fully utilised and no one should park outside the buildings. However the order will not be applicable to buildings that house Defence installations, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Intelligence Bureau (IB) or other sensitive institutions.
Drop in number of winged guests at Sukhna Lake
An increase in the water level at Sukhna Lake has resulted in a reduction in the number of migratory birds, particularly waterfowl, visiting the lake area. This was stated in the Waterfowl Census and Species Count for Sukhna Lake conducted by the Chandigarh Bird Club. Only 417 waterfowls were recorded in the latest census, as compared to 717 spotted during the last one on November 12, 2017. However, the number of species has shown an increase from 91 in 2017 to 98. The increase in the number of species has been attributed to the development of the Nagar Van area on more scientific lines.
Playgrounds for children identified
The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation has identified 99 neighbourhood parks where children can play. This is the first time that the MC has mooted a proposal to provide children with playing areas. The move is being seen as a direct fallout of a number of parents and children approaching the city mayor to reserve parks for children. The agenda for the purpose would be placed for approval of the Finance and Contract Committee during its next meeting. Once it is approved, boards will be put up in parks saying that children can play in these parks. The city has around 1,800 neighbourhood parks and majority of them have plants and flowers. Benches and open-air gyms have been installed at these parks, which are mainly frequented by elderly people, hardly leaving any space for children to play.
The Chandigarh Administration has notified a new transfer policy for cooperative society flats, paving the way for resuming the process of transfer of flats. As per the "Chandigarh scheme for transfer of flats in cooperative house building societies-2018", the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) shall execute the conveyance deed or lease deed in favour of the society on payment of the prescribed stamp duty on the actual amount paid to the CHB. In cases where the conveyance deed or the lease deed is not executed till June 30, 2019, the said deed will be executed and registered at the prevailing market rates and not on the actual amount paid to the CHB. The completion certificate will not be a precondition for the execution of the conveyance deed.