30072025-CT-01.qxd 7/30/2025 12:39 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune 205 CHALLANS ISSUED FOR NON-SEGREGATION OF WASTE PARTAP SWIMS HIS WAY TO 200M FREESTYLE GOLD ARJUN RAMPAL LOOKS TO THE SKY IN TRIBUTE TO ROHIT BAL MC Commissioner says violations will not be tolerated, and such drives will be conducted regularly. P3 Clocks 2 minutes and 39.73 seconds to win the gold medal in the boys' < U-17 category of the meet. P3 The actor turned the runway into a heartfelt tribute at the couture week as he walked for his late friend. P4 » » GENERALLY CLOUDY MAX 31°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 29.5°C | MIN 26.1°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 7.18 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 5:26 AM » WEDNESDAY | 30 JULY 2025 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST /THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Chd step closer to becoming slum-free city Man booked after wife Last slum Shahpur on 12 acres to be cleared by Sept, 12 teams to report fresh encroachments hangs self at Jhampur Nitin Jain COLONIES DEMOLISHED Tribune News Service WHAT’S ON APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 15, 40, 46 Panchkula: Sector 25 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com INBRIEF TWO ARRESTED IN ARMS ACT CASES Chandigarh: The city police have arrested two youths in separate cases under the Arms Act after they were found in possession of illegal ‘kamanidar’ knives. Salim Khan (22) of Hallomajra was arrested in Industrial Area, Phase I, with a big knife on Monday night. A habitual offender, he was produced before the court and remanded in 14-day judicial custody. The same night, the police arrested Satyam (21), also from Hallomajra, near Dariya village. He was also produced in the court and remanded in 14-day judicial custody. TNS Chandigarh, July 29 Chandigarh has moved closer to becoming the first slumfree city of the country with the Administration making preparations to evict dwellers from the last slum, Shahpur Colony, said officials. To check and report any fresh encroachment on government land, the UT Administration has constituted 12 dedicated teams of field officials, each headed and linked by two junior engineers (JEs) of the Estate Office. With all other 19 slum colonies and illegal establishments already demolished to reclaim 527.5 acres of prime land across the city worth over Rs 21,000 crore, the lone left-out slum, Shahpur Colony spread over 12 acres in Sector 38 (West), will be cleared shortly. With the demolition of the last slum, the UT Administration will reclaim a total of almost 530.5 acres worth Rs 21,220 crore, taking into consideration Rs 40-crore per acre as the base price, which Chandigarh had quoted for land to the Haryana Government for building a new Vidhan Sabha building recently. Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav, who is TOTAL SLUMS DEMOLISHED 20 19 REMAINING 1 LAND RECLAIMED COST 527.5ACRES ~21,000 CR The Administration is all set to raze Shahpur Colony in Sector 38-West, Chandigarh. TRIBUNE PHOTO: PRADEEP TEWARI REDEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR VACATED LAND ■ The Engineering Department is preparing plans to develop the vacated sites as an expansion of the sector area, in or around which they also the UT Estate Officer, told The Tribune that Chandigarh was planned to be a slum-free city in its original Master Plan prepared by the Swiss-French architectural designer, painter and urban planner, Le Corbusier, in the early 1950s. But with fall. These will have different components of residential, commercial, institutional and even religious pockets as per the the passage of time, the slums mushroomed on government land across the city. “We have already cleared 19 of the total 20 slum colonies and illegal establishments that existed in Chandigarh while the process to demolish the remaining illegal settle- THE TRIBUNE IMPACT Ramkrishan Upadhyay Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 29 Discussions over the nonfunctional streetlights in several parts of the city dominated the Municipal Corporation (MC) General House proceedings today, after Congress councillor Gurpreet Singh Gabi raised the issue. Gabi raised the issue citing the Chandigarh Tribune report published on July 29, “Dark side of City Beautiful”, highlighting the problems caused by the lack of proper lighting. The councillor said the non- functional street lights put residents at risk. “While the Mayor celebrates the city’s second-place in Swachhta rankings, the ground reality is dire. Around 30 per cent of the city’s streetlights are either non-functional or broken, plunging large parts of the city into darkness. Is this what development looks like?” he questioned. In reply, MC Chief Engineer Sanjay Arora said a citywide survey would be carried out to identify non-functional streetlights. He apprised the House that a team of 100 people will be deputed for the work, adding that the survey will be completed soon. On the basis of report, Shahpur Colony Estate Office as per the rates to be fixed in accordance with laid down procedures. ment is in the advanced stage of implementation,” said Yadav, while disclosing that after the demolition of Shahpur Colony, the UT Administration will formally declare Chandigarh a slum-free city by the end of September. It will be the first such city in new streetlights will be purchased to replace faulty ones. Notably, Gabi had during the discussions pointed out that Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL), a firm engaged in clean energy initiatives in Chandigarh, left the work a year ago and Junior Engineers (JEs) and Sub-Divisional Officers (SDOs) are attempting to manage the situation independently. Addressing the issue, the Chief Engineer said a request for proposal will be issued to appoint a new company of the maintenance of street lights. The operation of street lights, he said, will also be connected with a control system to ensure 24X7 monitoring. the country, he added. Shahpur Colony is spread on 12 acres, which included 25% government and 75% private land. The latest survey conducted by the UT Estate Office, as part of the final proceedings to initiate demolition process, revealed that Shah- Chandigarh: Gabi said the Human Rights Commission Punjab and Chandigarh has issued a notice to the MC Chief Engineer. The hearing has been scheduled for September 19, 2025. The commission has sought a report from the Chief Engineer at least a week before next date of hearing. The Commission, comprising chairperson Justice Sant Parkash and member Justice Gurbir Singh, said it has perused the news item “Dark Side of City Beautiful”, indicating that Palsora colony has lacked street lights for the past six months, putting commuters at risk. — TNS Tribune News Service 9.95 LAKH CHALLANS IN 2024 CHALLANS 1,81,558 2,42,937 6,03,118 9,93,558 9,95,797 MANUAL 1,03,162 1,33,736 1,23,010 1,01,579 1,48,837 NEW SYSTEM 78,396 1,09,201 4,80,108 8,91,979 8,46,960 TOTAL FINE IMPOSED: ~221.36-CR | RECOVERED: ~119.15-CR PENDING: ~102.21-CR WHAT CHANDIGARH MP SAYS ❝It perhaps must be more than the number of cars registered in Chandigarh. No wonder people in my erstwhile constituency of Anandpur Sahib — that rings around Chandigarh on three sides — call it Challangarh. ❞ — MANISH TEWARI, CHANDIGARH MP A policeman challans an e-rickshaw at the Hallomajra Chowk on Tuesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR an extractive and extortive paradigm that has been institutionalised through this ITMS process,” the senior Congress parliamentarian told The Tribune over the phone. Referring to what he called as the astronomical increase in the number of challans issued between 2022 and 2023 after the AI-enabled system was introduced in Chandigarh, Tewari said, “It perhaps must be more than the number of cars registered in Chandigarh. No wonder people in my erstwhile constituency of Anandpur Sahib — that rings around Chandigarh on three sides — call it Challangarh.” Replying to the MP’s c m y b unstarred question, the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said the total number of traffic challans issued in Chandigarh under 91 different categories of violations during NA 12 pur Colony has a population of about 2,000 residing in around 500 jhuggis built on the government land parcel. “We are in the process of allotting flats to the eligible families to be uprooted from Shahpur Colony, following Continued on page 2 Mohali, July 29 The police have arrested Dilip Kumar and his brother Arun Kumar on the charge of abetting the suicide of his wife Pinky (26) who hanged herself in her house at Jhampur this morning. The woman reportedly hanged herself from the door of a room in her house. The family members rushed her to the Civil Hospital in Phase 6, where the doctors declared her dead on arrival. Meanwhile, a team from the Balongi police station reached the hospital and sent the body for a postmortem examination. Pinky, a native of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, was married to Dilip, a resident of Jhampur, in 2023. In his statement to the police, the deceased’s brother alleged that her husband and brother-in-law used to harass her. The police have registered a case his complaint. The police have reportedly found a four-month-old video, in which the victim is seen with head injuries and she is accusing her husband and brother-in-law of thrashing her. Rights panel takes notice Congress MP dubs Chandigarh as ‘Challangarh’ with over 11-fold increase in traffic tickets in past 5 years YEAR 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Tribune News Service AREA 5 5 2.5 40 55 89 65 13 13 12 30 30 3 6 65 20 50 12 12 (AREA IN ACRES) Automated traffic challans extractive, extortive: Tewari Chandigarh, July 29 Chandigarh MP and former Union Minister Manish Tewari has endorsed the public perception that an extractive and extortive paradigm has been institutionalised through the Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) in the city. He was commenting on the reply by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to his question on traffic challans issued in Chandigarh, in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. The government has informed the MP that there was over 11-fold rise in the number of challans issued for traffic violations in Chandigarh through the ITMS network during the past five years. From 78,396 in 2020, the count of automated traffic challans went up to 8,91,979 in 2023 and 8,46,960 in 2024. “These figures testify to the fact that what people of Chandigarh are saying is absolutely correct that there is YEAR 2007 & 2025 2007 & 2025 2010 2013 2013 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2014 2016 2025 2022 2016 2014 2025 2025 LEFT-OUT SLUM Chandigarh Master Plan-2031. ■ The developed sites will be auctioned by MC to conduct survey of non-functional streetlights Congress, AAP and BJP councillors in a heated debate over an issue during the MC House meeting. RAVI KUMAR (SEE ALSO P3) NAME Janta Colony Kumhar Colony SBS Colony Rajiv Colony Colony No. 5 Kalyan Colony Ambedkar Colony Nehru Colony Pandit Colony Kuldeep Colony Majdoor Colony Madrasi Colony Gursagar Colony Sanjay Colony Colony No. 4 LB Shastri Colony Kabari Colony Adarsh Colony Furniture Market the past five years included 1,81,558 in 2020, 2,42,937 in 2021, 6,03,118 in 2022, 9,93,558 in 2023, and 9,95,797 in 2024. He disclosed that a total of Rs 221.36-crore fine was Continued on page 2 Traffic chaos at Khuda Lahora. FILE PHOTO Heritage committee gives nod to flyover on PGI-Sarangpur route Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 29 Hassle-free travel from the PGIMER to Sarangpur will soon be a reality with the Chandigarh Heritage Conservation Committee (CHCC) giving the go-ahead to the proposed flyover on the route. An official said the CHCC gave its approval to the construction of the proposed flyover from the PGIMER to Sarangpur during a meeting recently. The next step on the project would be taken after getting the minutes of meeting, the official added. The UT Road Safety Committee had recently recommended the construction of a flyover from the PGIMER till the Botanical Garden in Sarangpur. The committee had identified five high-congestion zones in the UT, and termed the Khuda Lahora road the most critical choking point. According to the committee, the road leading to Khuda Lahora and Khuda Jassu witnesses frequent traffic jams caused by pedestrians in the absence of footpaths, school-related parking, encroachments and poor drainage. Auto-rickshaws stopping in the middle of the road to pick up and drop off passengers and vehicles taking a U-turn at sharp cuts further hinder the flow of traffic. To ease the traffic, the committee proposed certain measures, including the construction of the flyover from the bridge at Khuda Jassu near the PGIMER to the Botanical Garden, creation of footpaths by shifting the school boundary wall, immediate removal of encroachments and widening the existing road to 200 ft for the traffic heading towards Mullanpur. Initially proposed in 2020, the 1.75-km flyover, encompassing a 1.3-km elevated stretch, was temporarily shelved due to Covid. The official said various clearances, including environmental, would be obtained before finalising the design and cost of the project. The estimated cost of the elevated road was Rs 90 crore, with a planned width of around 19.1 m and a carriageway width of 17.5 m. The four-lane elevated road will provide a smooth travel for those commuting to New Chandigarh and Baddi in HP and vice versa.