20,000 strays sterilised; fresh canine census soon
The city municipal corporation will carry out a fresh census of stray dogs. The civic body claimed to have sterilised around 20,000 dogs between 2015 – when sterilisation first started in the city – and August last year. The tenure of the current sterilisation work, outsourced to an agency, has come to an end and the agency is on an extension till a new one is hired. In the last survey conducted in 2018 by the department of animal husbandry, the number of stray dogs was pegged at 12,920. Last year, the sterilisation programme of the corporation drew flak in a report by the Animal Welfare Board of India.
Report okayed, survey soon for tri-city mobility plan
The Chandigarh administration has approved the inception report by Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) on the comprehensive mobility plan for the tri-city (Chandigarh-Mohali and Panchkula). Authorities have also allowed RITES to start a comprehensive traffic and travel survey. By May end RITES will submit its interim report based on this survey. The representatives of RITES submitted a presentation of inception report which consisted of study progress, objectives, methodology, transport scenario, primary surveys and their proposed locations, survey data analysis and its inferences. In August last year administration had decided to go for a fresh mobility plan for mass rapid transport system (MRTS) as the RITES had conveyed the 2009 plan could not be updated.
Pay dues or get evicted: 11k flat allottees told
Notices have been issued to around 11,000 allottees of small flats – under the Affordable Rental Housing Scheme (ARHC) of Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) – to clear their pending rent which mounted to `40 crore to avoid eviction. The cancellation proceedings would be initiated against the defaulters if they failed to clear their dues within fifteen days. The occupants of small flats in eight rehabilitation colonies have failed to pay rent dues. The CHB had time and again sent recovery notices to the defaulters. In 2019, the CHB had cancelled the allotment of nearly 250 allottees.
Minority schools found turning down EWS kids
The department of education has warned of legal action against private schools with the minority status that are not admitting children from economically weaker sections (EWS) under the land allotment scheme. “It is clear that private recognised schools, including minority schools, have to admit 15 per cent EWS children from entry-level to class XII as per the land allotment policy. The department has time and again requested to admit the children under the EWS quota. Some schools are not implementing the provisions of the land allotment scheme,” stated a letter.
Harpreet Bajwa
Our correspondent in Chandigarh hsbajwa73@gmail.com