M4PNews|Chandigarh
Chandigarh can boast of near 100% literacy and robust school and technical education systems. As the City’s is catching thousands of Challenges are emerging everyday before the Administration with increasing population. Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh who chaired the 28th Meeting of the Northern Zonal Council comprising of the States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Punjab, Rajasthan, NCT of Delhi and UT of Chandigarh today in Chandigarh. Chief Ministers and Ministers of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Lt. Governor Delhi and dignitaries and officers from the Northern Zonal Council Secretariat, Central Ministries and State Governments were also present in this meeting.
Here is the low down of Challenges which VP Singh Badnore, addressed in meeting.
PANJAB UNIVERSITY: Top class institutes like Punjab Engineering College (PEC), Catering and Hotel Management Institute, Design Institute, College of Art & Architecture, other Technical Institutes, IT hubs and last but not the least the Panjab University. PU has a glorious past, a world class infrastructure and learned faculty but today it is facing numerous issues primarily of status and financial resources, which needs to be resolved.
PGIMER CHANDIGARH is an institute known world over for excellence in health services and medical care which is something to be proud of, cherished and preserved. The tremendous pressure on OPDs and other services in the P.G.I is however a matter of concern.
SUKHNA LAKE: The Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh is ethereal and evokes in us a primeval connection, which transcends all manmade political and social boundaries. It is truly the heart and soul of Chandigarh. But preserving it has become difficult for which we need the assistance and support from our neighboring States. The lake has been running short of water at frequent intervals. We all need to focus ourselves to resolve this so that this important landmark continues to survive and flourish.
E-GOVERNANCE:
Chandigarh being the seat of 3 governments has made rapid strides towards entering into a new era of e-governance and responsive administration. Due to the upsurge of population, the city is under increasing pressure of developmental requirements. To meet the same, preparation of a functional plan having integrated proposal of transport network, physical and social infrastructure is desirable. To prevent surplus traffic within the city, there is a compelling need to create a ring road/by-pass around Chandigarh. In view of non availability of land within the city and to make provision of the above, the matter needs to be addressed at the interstate level. This will also provide a better connectivity to the International Airport.
SMART CITY MASTER PLAN:
The Chandigarh Master Plan 2031 along with Smart City proposals are being implemented expeditiously. The CMP 2031 expects symbiotic relations with the regional urban areas. It expects that the three partners in development, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh U.T should have an understanding and coordination between themselves for sharing key responsibilities for locating some of the spillover infrastructure components of Chandigarh in their territory and to reduce the pressure on our limited land bank. Chandigarh is protected and safeguarded by a strong and powerful 24 X 7 police force to make UT a better and a safer place to live in.
CONTROLLING LAW AND ORDER:
With the best efforts put in place by the police, like specialized investigation units and intelligence branch, the crime in Chandigarh has witnessed a declining trend but we need not be complacent. There is still a lot to do for which an active support of the neighboring states in maintaining the law and order is necessary. The existing mechanism of inter-state police cooperation needs to be bolstered. A State of the Art command and control Centre for managing the law and order, fire, disaster, health hazards, etc. is already planned under Smart City Project for Chandigarh which require active coordination by all the stakeholders.
WATER: MAIN CONCERN
Albeit water remains a contentious issue, Governments of Punjab and Haryana for giving consent to release additional 40 MGD of raw water for Chandigarh from Bhakra main line at Kajauli.