19062025-CT-01.qxd 6/19/2025 12:30 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune 5 MORE HELD IN ~2.5-CR DIGITAL ARREST CASE HARYANA’S SUKHLEEN STUNS TOP SEED HOW YOU TELL A STORY MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE: DARSHEEL Complainant Sumit Kaur, a resident of Sector 10-A, had received first call from fraudsters on May 3. P3 Moves into boys’ U-12 semifinals at the CLTA-AITA Championship Series (CS7) Tennis Tournament. P3 Darsheel Safary, the famous Ishaan from Taare Zameen Par recently made his OTT debut with Gamerlog. P4 » » WHAT’S ON CHANDIGARH MUSIC CONCERT: David Walters – Live, Tagore Theatre, Sector 18, 7:30 pm, entry free APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 34, 56 and Ram Darbar Panchkula: Sector 5 Mohali: Sec 88 and Phase 8 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com Naksha: Aerial survey complete Tribune News Service MAX 35°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 36.1°C | MIN 25.9°C SUNRISE FRIDAY 5.22 AM /THETRIBUNECHD MC serves notices on property tax defaulters PARTLY CLOUDY SUNSET THURSDAY 7.27 PM » THURSDAY | 19 JUNE 2025 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Fitness first Over 40 owners asked to pay ~5-crore dues Ramkrishan Upadhyay Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 18 The cash-strapped Municipal Corporation (MC) has started issuing notices to the property tax defaulters. The outstanding amount on account of property tax has crossed Rs 200 crore. Sources in the MC said notices had been issued to more than 40 defaulters with the total outstanding amount of over Rs 5 crore. The tax wing of the civic body has prepared a fresh list of defaulters after calculating the tax on the basis of the revised rates. An MC official said the defaulters were given one month’s time for paying the dues. In case the dues are not paid within the stipulated time, then the MC will attach the property. The notices have been served on the owners of both commercial and residential properties. Similar notices MAJOR DEFAULTERS Institutions Amount (approx) Panjab varsity ~67 cr PEC ~10 cr PGI ~13 cr UT depts ~17 cr Railways ~2 cr will be issued to government departments for the non-payment of tax dues in the next phase, which will start soon. The outstanding tax amount has risen to Rs 200 crore since the levy was introduced in Chandigarh in 2004. As per Section 138 of the Municipal Act, the Commissioner is authorised to attach, sale or seal the property of defaulters. Recently, the Comptroller and Accountant General (CAG) had rapped the corporation for failing to recover the property tax dues from the defaulters. Panjab University, the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGI), Punjab Engineering College (deemed to be university) and several government departments have property tax dues running into crores. These departments of Punjab, Haryana and UT are delaying the tax payment for various reasons. Sources said outstanding tax matters with amount totalling Rs 100 crore are under litigation or some dispute. Meanwhile, for the first time, the MC has received over Rs 62 crore in property tax in the past two months when the rebate was offered. It was almost double the amount the civic body received during the corresponding period last financial year. Residents enjoy a pleasant evening at the Japanese Garden in Sector 31, Chandigarh, on Wednesday. PHOTO: PRADEEP TEWARI Mohali police bust fake call centre Rain likely over next five days, Suspects hail from other states, duped victims of ~30 crore in six months temp to remain below 40°C Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 18 The aerial survey of five villages and 15 sectors here has been completed in the first phase of the National Geospatial Knowledge-based Land Survey of Urban Habitations pilot programme, also called “Naksha”. Manoj Joshi, Secretary, Department of Land Resources, Government of India, reviewed the progress of the pilot programme at a meeting here today. It is being undertaken in the city as a model initiative. The officials told Joshi that a state-level committee, state project management unit and field survey teams have been constituted for the second phase of the programme. The status of the digitisation of registration records was also presented at the meeting for review and further planning. The “Naksha” has been launched under the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme. Mohali, June 18 The police have arrested eight persons, including a woman, for operating an illegal call centre from an apartment in Sector 91 here. They have allegedly duped their victims of about Rs 30 crore over the past six months. Following multiple complaints, the Cyber Crime Police Station conducted a raid on the fifth-floor apartment in the Acme Eden Court society early morning. The police arrested the suspects who hail from Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, Odisha and other states. According to the police, the suspects used to send bulk messages, claiming that the recipients were involved in crypto currency transactions linked to criminal activity the amount would be deducted from their accounts. Also, the suspects offered incentives such as gift vouchers and token money, tricking people into revealing their per- Tribune News Service Police officers address mediapersons following the arrests in Mohali on Wednesday. PHOTO: VICKY sonal and financial details. The call centre had reportedly been operational for the past six months. Those arrested include Abhishek Pandey (Mumbai), Akshay Kumar (J&K), Pradeep Das (Arunachal Pradesh), Amit Tewari (West Bengal), Mukul Singh (Kangra) and Kolkata residents Shaan Sakeen, Arfique Sadique and Arpita Housing Board to decide fate of Sector 53 scheme soon Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 18 The Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) will soon decide the fate of the proposed self-financing housing scheme in Sector 53, which has been hanging fire for the past many years. Officials concerned said a final decision on the scheme would be taken by the Board of Directors of the CHB at a meeting to be held soon. The CHB had received an overwhelming response to the demand survey for the proposed scheme, which was put on hold by the Administration in 2023. Nearly 6,300 applications were received under the survey. These included nearly 1,000 applications for units specified for economically weaker sections (EWS) and the remaining for HIG and RISING PROPERTY RATES After the revision of the collector rates, the CHB is in no mood to offer the flats at the original rates. Considering the rising property rates in the city, the Board of Directors will take a final decision whether to launch or totally scrap the scheme, said the officials concerned. MIG units. Nearly 70 per cent applications in the second category were received for HIG units. The CHB was considering launching the scheme only after receiving adequate response from interested eligible persons as well as obtaining requisite approvals. However, after the revision of the collector rates in the city, the CHB is in no mood to offer the flats at the original rates and decided to refund the money collected during the survey. Considering a rise in property rates, the Board of Directors will take a final decision whether to launch or totally scrap the scheme, said officials. Keeping in view the future planning, the CHB has already got the environmental clearance renewed for the scheme. For taking part in the demand survey, an applicant had to deposit an amount of Rs 10,000 each for HIG and MIG units and Rs 5,000 for EWS units as confirmation of their interest in the scheme. The amount was to be adjusted against the earnest money deposit (EMD) after the launch of the scheme. The withdrawal from further auction would result in the forfeiture of the entire amount. The proposed scheme has 192 HIG units, 100 MIG Continued on page 3 Sarbabidya, all aged between 25 and 30. The police said they received monthly salaries in cash. The local handler, who is yet to be arrested, had gifted an SUV to the main operator. Addressing mediapersons, DSP Rupinderdeep Kaur Sohi said, “During preliminary investigation, it came to light that there is a parallel call centre running in a foreign coun- try, which used to share the lists of prospective victims. On an average, they used to dupe people of Rs 5 crore per month. Seven-eight people worked at the centre from 9 pm to 2 am.” A case has been registered under the IT Act and Sections 318(4) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Cyber Crime Police Station. Chandigarh, June 18 The maximum and minimum temperatures in Chandigarh went up in the past 24 hours after registering a dip for three consecutive days due to cloudy weather and light rain. However, morning drizzle brought some relief from the hot weather conditions in Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula. The maximum temperature went up by 5.1 notches to settle at 36.1° Celsius on Wednesday. The minimum temperature also rose by 0.8 degree in the past 24 hours after dipping by 2.6 notches on Monday night. The weathermen have predicted partly cloudy sky with likely thunderstorms and rain in the tricity over the next five days. The yellow alert at isolated places in Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana will remain till June TRICITY MERCURY MAX Chandigarh 36.1 Mohali 35 Panchkula 34.5 MIN 25.9 25.4 25.4 23 with the forecast of heavy rain at isolated places on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The maximum temperature will continue to remain below 40° Celsius over the next five days. The local residents experienced a relatively warm night on Tuesday night with the minimum temperature going up to 25.9° Celsius. Faridkot in Punjab and Sirsa in Haryana recorded the highest minimum temperature of 28.6 and 27.8° Celsius, respectively, to be the warmest towns in the region on. June 10 had recorded the maximum temperature of 44 degree Celsius, which is the season’s hottest day in the city so far. According to the Meteorological Centre here, the department’s observatory at Sector 39 recorded the maximum temperature of 36.1° Celsius while another unit at the Indian Air Force (IAF) airport logged 35.4° Celsius on Wednesday. While Sirsa remained the hottest place in the region on Wednesday with the maximum of 38.6° Celsius, which was the highest in the region, Pathankot logged the maximum of 38.1° Celsius to stay the hottest town in Punjab. The MeT Department has predicted a gradual fall in the maximum temperature over the next five days in the tricity region. It said the temperatures in Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula will remain maximum between 31 and 35° Celsius and minimum between 26 and 28° Celsius with the possibility of rain coupled with cloudy sky and thunderstorm till June 23. Admn all set to raze Adarsh Colony slum today Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 18 Deputy Commissioner (DC) Nishant Kumar Yadav today held a meeting to review the preparedness for the demolition of Adarsh Colony in Sector 54 here scheduled for tomorrow. “The drive is aimed at reclaiming approximately 12 acres of government land currently under unauthorised occupation,” said the DC. The meeting was attended by senior officials of the Police Department, Municipal Corporation, and the Engineering Department. The Deputy Commissioner stressed the need for a coordinated and lawful approach to ensure a smooth demolition operation. The SSP Kanwardeep , Kaur, said there would be adequate police deployment at the spot for law and order management. Around 1,000 police personnel will be pres- c m y b 1,000 police personnel, six ambulances with doctors to be deployed at the spot Adarsh Colony in Sector 54, which is spread over approximately 12 acres. FILE PHOTO ent at the slum during the demolition drive. The Engineering Department has mobilised the machinery and manpower, including JCBs and dumpers, for the drive. The representative of the Health Department said six ambulances along with doctors and paramedical staff will be deployed at the site to provide emergency medical support, if required. The Deputy Commissioner reiterated the Administration’s commitment to fostering sustainable urban growth in the city. The 12 acres to be reclaimed after removing the slum will be utilised for developing public utility infrastructure in alignment with the Chandigarh Master Plan.