09092024-CT-01.qxd 08-09-2024 23:30 Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune MOHALI ADMN TO PROBE VIRAL OUTBREAK AT VARSITY PRANAY, RISHIKA BAG GOLD MEDALS AT BADMINTON MEET THE ADVENTURES OF TRAVEL CREATOR KAMIYA JANI Mohali administration has stated that it will inquire into the viral outbreak at Plaksha University. P2 Pranay Katta of Rajasthan and Delhi's Rishika Nandi win men and women titles in badminton. P3 Nothing is impossible, says Kamiya Jani, who got Best Travel Creator title for her channel Curly Tales. P4 » » WHAT’S ON APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 43, 45 and Maloya Mohali: Phase V Panchkula: MDC, Sector 5 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com INBRIEF INMATE VIOLATES PAROLE NORMS Chandigarh: The police have booked a Burail jail inmate for violating parole conditions. Chinu was granted 28-day parole on January 8. He was supposed to return and surrender at the jail on February 6. The police rearrested him on February 20 and registered a fresh case under Section 9 of the Punjab Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 1962, at the Maloya police station. TNS MAN LOSES ~59K IN ATM CARD SWAP Chandigarh: A fraudster reportedly swapped the ATM card of a Zirakpur resident and later withdrew money from his account. Varun Sharma reported that a man swapped his father’s ATM card at a booth in Hallo Majra and later withdrew Rs 59,000 from his account. The police have registered a case. TNS MAX 34°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 33.4°C | MIN 25.4°C SUNRISE TUESDAY 6.04 AM TWITTER/THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE HC affirms ‘equal pay for equal work’ for lecturers on contract Bench upholds tribunal orders, raps UT Administration Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 8 The Punjab and Haryana High Court has affirmed that daily wagers, contract employees and those serving on an ad hoc basis are entitled to parity of pay with regularly appointed employees if they perform similar duties. The ruling came as the Bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Sudeepti Sharma upheld orders by the Chandigarh Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal, which, among other things, directed the Chandigarh Administration to regularise the services of several lecturers appointed on a contractual basis in various government colleges of the UT. In all, the Bench dismissed a bunch of 38 petitions filed by the Chandigarh Administration challenging the CAT’s orders. “The Bench finds it regrettable that despite the longstanding and valuable contribution of these lecturers to the educational institutions, the Chandigarh Administration has displayed a reluctance to regularise their services. This approach is contrary to the principles of KEY POINTS IN COURT RULING ■ The Bench emphasised that the nature of the work performed by contractually appointed respondent-employees was substantive and integral to the functioning of educational institutions. The court pointed out that merely labelling a position as “contractual” did not diminish the importance of the work being done. ■ The court reiterated the need for non-discrimination in employment practices, especially in public service. The Bench asserted it was the State’s duty to ensure employees performing similar duties were not unfairly treated based on their mode of appointment. ■ The court directed the Chandigarh Administration to implement the CAT’s orders within a stipulated time frame, ensuring that the affected employees receive the benefits they were entitled to without undue delay. ■ The court criticised the Chandigarh Administration for its reluctance to regularise the services of these lecturers, despite their longstanding contribution to the educational institutions. The Bench noted that the administration’s approach was not in line with the principles of fairness and justice. fairness and justice, as it disregards the substantive nature of their work and the need for equitable treatment,” the Bench ruled. The court asserted the respondent-employees, including lecturers, were entitled to the minimum pay scale of the category to which they belonged – but not to additional allowances – when they were appointed against substantive posts and discharged duties comparable to those of regular employees. The administration had contended that the tribunal did not fully appreciate the reasons that necessitated the appointment of lecturers on a contractual basis against additional vacancies. The administration argued that these appointments were made due to urgent requirements and the absence of regular posts. As such, it should not automatically lead to regularisation. Upholding the tribunal’s decisions, the Bench made it clear that the Chandigarh Administration could not indefinitely rely on contractual appointments for work of a perennial nature. Citing the CAT orders in the matter, the Bench noted: “The tribunal has rightly observed that the petitioners-UT cannot continue to take advantage of the respondents’ services indefinitely on a contractual basis, especially when the work they perform is of a perennial nature. The respondents have a legitimate expectation of regularisation, having served for a considerable period.” The Bench further observed that the principle of “equal pay for equal work” has been well-established and should apply to these lecturers, who were performing duties comparable to those of regular employees but were being denied the corresponding pay scales and job security. “The principle of equal pay for equal work is well-established and must apply to these lecturers who are discharging duties similar to those of regularly appointed employees. Denying them the corresponding pay scales and job security merely because they were initially appointed on a contractual basis cannot be justified,” the Bench observed Off-track Youth held for doing car stunt Mohali, September 8 The police have arrested Jagjit Singh of Ropar for dangerous driving by performing car stunts in the Phase-3B2 market here last Sunday. The other youth accompanying Jagjit during the stunt is at large. Both youngsters were seen performing a car stunt in the parking lot of the market in a video on late Sunday night. A case has been registered at the Mataur police station. In another case, the police arrested two accused for stealing bikes. Sohana residents Ajju and Savan Kumar have been booked at the Sohana police station. — TNS PARTLY CLOUDY SUNSET MONDAY 6.35 PM » MONDAY | 9 SEPTEMBER 2024 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST Wild growth around a bench in Sector 29, Chandigarh. TRIBUNE PHOTO: PRADEEP TEWARI Fractured mandate takes toll on civic body working Sandeep Rana Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 8 Routine functioning of the civic body has been affected with no political party getting a clear majority in the Municipal Corporation House. No special sub-committees and three statutory committees on road and house tax assessment, and water supply and sewerage disposal could be formed for the third straight term. After two BJP Mayors Sarabjit Kaur and Anup Gupta serving back-to-back tenures, AAP Mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor has also failed to form any of these committees even as about four months are left for his oneyear tern to end. The three panels were supposed to be constituted by the Mayor soon after assuming charge. He has to send the names of councillors for the nine sub-committees to the Punjab Governor and UT Administrator for approval. Scanner stolen from Civil Sectt A biker crosses the Sector 12-14 road using the zebra crossing in Chandigarh on Sunday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: PRADEEP TEWARI Chandigarh, September 8 A Canon scanner has been stolen from the Haryana Civil Secretariat here. The police have registered a case at the Sector 3 police station on a complaint filed by an official, Arun Kumar. The theft came to light recently and the case was registered yesterday. — TNS Money cannot fetch gold medal, efforts matter : Gopichand Deepankar Sharda Tribune News Service Pullela Gopichand, Chief National Coach of Badminton Team, takes a selfie with players in Chandigarh. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VICKY Chandigarh, September 8 “Money can’t buy gold medals,” was a quick reply by Indian Badminton Chief Coach Pullela Gopichand to a question on the perception of people who think spending money is enough to turn athletes into world-class performers. He was in the city to attend the Yonex-Sunrise North Zone Inter-State Badminton Championships hosted by the Chandigarh Badminton Association (CBA) at the Sector 38 Sports Complex. The former Olympian and AllEngland Open Champion, Gopichand admitted that spending money on an athlete was just a normal aspect. “We blame either the system or the player for losing out in any competition. Our performance at the Paris Olympics was surely not up to the expectations, but the BADMINTON POPULARITY HAS GROWN OVER YEARS The right age to start badminton is 7, but there’s no age bracket to stop learning the game. Badminton has grown over the years. There was a time when India didn’t qualify for the Commonwealth Games. Now, we are playing in almost all major tournaments. In the coming years, we can see some great performances. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are the best bets for future major events,” said Gopichand. players played really well. We acknowledge the players who win medals but forget to appreciate those who missed winning laurels by a whisker,” he said. “Blaming the government or players is not wise. We have to assess if the player was provided with a proper environment or proper conditions to perform. The government, associations and authorities are doing a fine job, but money can’t buy gold medals... It’s players’ efforts that win medals.” Gopichand also talked about the pressure a player faces and the importance of maturity in his or her life. “We c m y b have a system. Announcing, for instance, Rs 10 crore for an Olympic winner sometimes puts pressure on a player or sometimes players aim for that only. A player has to be mature enough to understand the importance of playing well. Parents, coaches and others put a lot of effort in preparing a player,” he added. The Chief National Coach also expressed his happiness over the changing aspect of Indian badminton. While interacting with the media, he explained how the bench strength of Indian badminton has grown to all-time high in recent years. “We are lucky to have a good base for a better future. I remember finding only two talented players (Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu) to represent India. Now, we have hundreds of players awaiting a chance to prove themselves at the world level. This is a good sign for our Indian team. The youngsters are really promising and well connected with the basics of the sport. I believe, over the years, the sport has gained a lot of popularity in India and we have a great bunch of players under consideration for making the nation proud in future,” said Gopichand. Bond more important than infrastructure While appreciating the growing popularity of badminton in the nation, Gopichand believes that building a good bond between coaches and players is more important than creating huge infrastructures. “See, continued on page 2 Special sub-committees, statutory panels not formed for 3 years Sources said none of the three major parties got a clear majority in House, which was the reason for the delay in formation of the committees. The Mayors avoided forming these panels as they had to nominate the councillors of all parties for these. Now, agenda relating to these committees is directly sent to the Finance and Contract Committee where it is passed without detailed discussions. Nine special sub-committees on sanitation, environment and city beautification, electricity, fire and emergency services, Apni Mandi and day market, women empowerment, enforcement, slum colonies, village development and art, culture and sports; besides three statutory committees on road and house tax assessment, water supply and sewerage disposal are supposed to be formed every year. These panels can approve works costing up to Rs 15 lakh. The Finance and Contracts Committee, which receives lengthy agenda these days sees, can allocate works for up to Rs 50 lakh. Agenda items with a cost beyond this amount go to the MC House. The Mayor claimed, “The panels could not be formed during his term as the BJP did not send the names of its councillors to be included in the committees. The AAP and the Congress councillors had given the names of persons to put on the panels.” Leader of the Opposition and BJP councillor Kanwarjit Singh Rana said, “I have no intimation that our names have been sought. But who stops the Mayor from forming committees, at least the statuary ones. He is only finding excuses to shirk his responsibility.” UT police working on neighbourhood plan to strengthen security Amit Sharma Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 8 The Police Department is developing a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme to strengthen security in the city. Under this initiative, watchmen and security guards in both commercial as well as residential areas will act as extended eyes and ears of the police. Sources said the police beat officers would coordinate with watchmen in each sector to build a strong security network. They will get training and essential equipment such as jackets and torches to improve their effectiveness in assisting the police in curbing crime. The beat officers have been directed to prepare a list of night watchmen in their areas and share contact information with them to facilitate the reporting of suspicious activities. Each sector has a police beat box, officers of which serve as a liaison link between residents and the police. These officers are familiar with local RWAs (resident welfare associations), eminent residents and vehicles in their areas. The police also plan to hold regular training sessions for the watchmen and security guards on how to identify WATCHMEN TO GET TRAINING As part of the Neighborhood Watch Scheme, watchmen will get training and essential equipment such as jackets and torches to improve their effectiveness in assisting the police in curbing crime. threats and establish an effective communication. This training will equip them to handle different situations with confidence and efficiency. Currently in the planning stage, the proposal is expected to be launched soon. The department is optimistic that this initiative will not only enhance security but also strengthen the bond between the community and police. To ensure the sustainability of the programme, the police are also exploring roping in RWAs. These partnerships could provide additional resources and support for the scheme, making it a longterm solution to maintaining safety of residents. Sources said as part of the implementation process, a pilot phase will be launched in select areas of Chandigarh. Feedback from this phase will be used to further refine the programme before it is rolled out across the city.