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Develop tricity suburbs, ease burden on City Beautiful

A Punjab resident caught while illegally carrying 132 bottles of whisky and 24 bottles of beer.

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The Chandigarh Administration and Governments of Punjab and Haryana should plan together to create infrastructure in the tricity. Hospitals, bus service, public conveniences and roads are used by residents of the tricity. So, these should be developed together.

IPS Anand, Gurugram


No check on influx of migrants

Chandigarh was planned for a population of five lakh with need-based infrastructure. With the passage of time, the population of the city crossed 11 lakh by 2018. With this unprecedented increase in population, the progress/

growth of infrastructure in housing, health, education and civil amenities has been negated. To this is added the burden by its conjoined cities of Mohali and Panchkula. With no check on the influx of migrants, the infrastructure will always remain inadequate. Therefore, need of the hour is deliberation on the issue at the appropriate forum of the UT Administration, Punjab and Haryana Governments to find a plausible solution. Political parties must shun their vote bank policies and ensure no patronage is given for the development of slums/jhuggi-jhopari colonies.

SS Arora, Mohali


Tricity administration should come together

I am of the firm opinion that if the population in our City Beautiful has increased, then infrastructure has also been burdened. Parking, housing and health services have emerged as major issues. The administration of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula should come together and try to solve the issue. No country can be over populated, if there is work for everyone. Only migrants with genuine purpose should be allowed to enter the city with documentary proof.

Tarlok Singh, Mani Majra


Strict and unified action is required

Alarming increase in population is putting severe pressure on available infrastructure and should be tackled jointly by the governments in tricity. New roads should be added to decongest the present connecting stretches. More government hospitals and dispensaries should be built to provide affordable health care. All three governments should implement Periphery Act strictly to avoid mushrooming of unauthorised colonies, which exerts pressure on infrastructure like water, health, crime-control, transportation, sanitation and other things. Most importantly, ways to control population should be found.

Bharat Bhushan Sharma, Chandigarh


Find solution rather than levying taxes

Time is running out and now the UT Administration, Punjab and Haryana Governments should come forward to solve the pressing issues like parking, housing and health services. There is already chaos in the tricity. Solution to facilitate all issues rather than harassing residents with unnecessary taxes and fines has to be found. Just like the head of the family, the administrator should look into increasing problems of the tricity.

Opinder Kaur Sekhon, Chandigarh


Form committee to plan infra in tricity

To meet needs of growing population in the tricity, a high-level committee comprising officials of the Governments of Punjab, Haryana and the UT Administration should be set up. Committee should coordinate between governments of both the states and the UT Administration to plan infrastructure for public use. Priority should be given to integrated multi-modal mass transport system for the tricity, especially Metro project, execution of proposed tricity Ring Road and fully operationalisation of the international airport. This will help to attract investments in health care services, housing, educational institutions and solve parking problems, besides increasing economic growth and creating jobs in the tricity.

Col Balbir singh (retd), Chandigarh


Shift govt offices from UT to Mohali, Panchkula

It is a challenging task and of great concern for the respective Administration of the tricity as how to control the growing pressure of unrestricted addition of population on the insufficient available infrastructure. The governments of Panjab, Haryana and the UT Administration should sincerely plan to develop adjoining suburbs of the tricity on the pattern of modern cities, which have quality education infrastructure, well-planned housing, advance medical facilities, sports stadiums and self-sufficient markets. It may lessen considerable pressure on the tricity. Swift means of local transport like Metro and monorail may be introduced for better connectivity with the adjoining region. The government and corporation offices may be shifted from Chandigarh to Mohali and Panchkula. Affordable housing schemes for the lower and middle class in the tricity suburbs can be floated by the government and builders.

Bhupinder S Sealopal, Mohali


Infra development not on par with population

The infrastructure development, whether housing or medical, road network, traffic management or parking facilities is not at par with the rising population. Lack of facilities has created chaos in Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali. So, it’s high time that the UT Administration, and governments of Punjab and Haryana came together and framed a joint plan whereby infrastructure can be developed on a long-term and sharing basis between the three cities. The impression on the public that Chandigarh is a better place to live has to be done away with to make Panchkula and Mohali attractive so that people shift to these two cities and a balance is achieved. The cost of property has also to be kept under control by the state governments and the UT Administration. Medical facilities need to be improved in Panchkula and Mohali. At present, all the lower class patients run to the PGI. Mohali has private hospitals, but these are too costly for the masses. There should be a check on treatment cost at these private hospitals by the government. Parking woes have also to be addressed in the tricity. The policy of number of cars owned by each household has to be formulated.

Sanjay Chopra, Mohali


Cities can compete for better infrastructure

There is no denying the fact that with the rise in population and urbanisation, people from the rural and suburban areas have marched to the tricity, which have better infrastructure. Perhaps, it is difficult to plan for improvement in infrastructural shortcomings. However, the respective administrations of the three cities should be in competition with one another to make their city better in respect of traffic management, parking, housing, garbage management, education and health services for their residents. They can certainly emulate the models set by one anothér.

Harish Kapur, Chandigarh


Keep a check on coaching centres

Growing population is the root cause of many problems in Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula. Major issues like parking, houses, health services and others have emerged in the tricity. Obviously, the UT Administration as well as Punjab and Haryana governments should take immediate and concrete steps to maintain standards in the tricity. The growing student community and mushrooming coaching and ILETS training centres are the cause behind increase in population of Chandigarh. It all started in 1990s when a number of coaching centres opened in the city and attracted students from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and even Jammu and Kashmir. Though these students are temporary residents of the city, once a batch moves on, another one is ready. Some students settle here permanently. So, the UT Administration should curb or at least control coaching and IELTS training centres to keep city population under check.

Bir Devinder Singh Bedi, Chandigarh


Form tricity infrastructure planning board

The UT Administration and Punjab and Haryana governments should jointly tackle the infrastructure shortcomings in the tricity. Heads of the three cities should call a meeting and assess the ground realities of parking, housing and health services, difficulties faced by the public and direct respective departments to frame a list of shortcomings in infrastructure to upgrade the existing set up. There is a need to constitute tricity infrastructure planning board and make a strategy to generate funds. These funds can be utilised for construction of flyovers, underpasses on roads connecting the tricity and multi-storey community parking lots. Other common issues can be solved with mutual consent. Income generated from parking lots can be jointly used for further development.

Sukhpal Singh, Chandigarh


Common problems can be tackled collectively

Parking, traffic jams and health issues are common problems in the tricity. So, better results can be achieved if tackled jointly. The decision of the UT Administration to provide vaccine to Chandigarh residents, who are bitten by stray dogs, is not desirable. It should be provided to the needy in the tricity at designated centres. Traffic jams can also be tackled jointly by earmarking entry and exit roads during the peak hours.

Balbir Singh Batra, Mohali


Form panel on pattern of NCR Board

The tricity needs to constitute a council on the lines of the NCR Board, which oversees development and infrastructure in Delhi and its adjoining districts of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. It is the highest decision-making body for the infrastructure in/around Delhi, which oversees development of the 100 km area around the National Capital. Something on similar lines can ease the burden on Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana. The tricity board can undertake joint operations for vehicular movement, restricted area access for heavy vehicles and that too only at notified timings, have underground mechanised parking lots, removal of encroachents and unauthorised construction. Besides, provision of “legalised encroachment” certificate for street vendors has to be done away with. Further, OPD services at government hospitals need to be enhanced by at least 12 hours. Transport services of CTU, PR and HR have to be in sync. A centralised dumping ground for garbage, which is 20 to 30 km away from the tricity periphery, is required.

Rajiv Boolchand Jain, Zirakpur


Cars comprise 95% oftraffic on roads

No infrastructure can end the problem of car parking. Multilevel parking created on five acres, whose market value is 500 crore, is lying almost empty. Nobody is willing to pay car parking charges here. Had this land been auctioned for a mall, its parking would have been almost fully occupied similar to Elante Mall. Funds received could have been used for creating metro transport infrastructure. Hence, reducing cars on roads is the only solution. No public facility should be free. To reduce the rush of cars, the authorities can increase registration and parking charges. Public transport infrastructure can be created in the city from the funds generated. Singapore has been developed on this theme. Cars comprise 95% traffic on roads for which owners hardly pay 2% of the cost of road construction and parking. Avoid creating white elephants till the users are ready to foot the bills.

Ashok Kumar Goel, Panchkula


Politicians must stop appeasing migrants

The basic infrastructure of the city has been over-burdened resulting in fast deterioration of basic services, like availability of water, electricity, healthcare and clean air. And the reason for this grim scenario is not too far to seek. Considering them as an easy vote bank, our elected representatives have been welcoming, rather than opposing, the ever increasing influx of migrants to the tricity, thus making the law-abiding genuine residents face the music. Now, the direct visible outcome of this indiscretion is the phantom of vendors’ problem apart from overcrowding, increase in crime rate, encroachments everywhere, open defecation and unhygienic conditions. City planners appear to be at a loss to find a solution unless the unabated influx of migrants is checked resolutely. 

SC Luthra, Chandigarh


Give due importance to Zirakpur

The UT Administration together with Punjab and Haryana Governments should work out a joint action plan to tackle issues related to infrastructure, which concern Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula. Zirakpur, which is an entry point to Chandigarh, should be given due importance keeping in view the infrastructural growth in the tricity. Zirakpur is hardly in line with the development in UT, Mohali and Panchkula. Like GMADA, a greater Chandigarh area development authority should be formed to plan and control the growth of the tricity, including Zirakpur.

Rakesh Chaudhry, Ambala Cantt


QUESTION  

At present, the Chandigarh Mayor has a fixed tenure of one year. Do you think the one-year term is sufficient. If not, should it be extended from one year to two and a half years or five years to enable him to serve the City Beautiful better.   

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