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Hindustan Times
20 hours ago
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Chandigarh: Time-bound promotions for GMCH-32 faculty on the cards
Three years after the UT administration's notification for adopting Central service rules for its employees, the newly drafted UT Chandigarh Health Service Rules are awaiting implementation. With this, the medical faculty of Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, will have time-bound promotion in place. After receiving the approval from the administrator on May 29, 2025, the health services rules have been sent to Union ministry of health and family welfare for final nod. Earlier, doctors at GMCH-32 were getting promoted on the basis of vacancy. With new rules in place, an assistant professor can be promoted to associate professor having four years of experience, degree requirements and good work performance. From associate professor to professor, the promotion will require four years of regular service. For promotion from professor to director would require seven years of experience and other minor requirements. Currently, there are 137 faculty posts in GMCH-32, who will be benefitted by this. Health secretary Ajay Chagti said, 'With time-bound promotion in place, faculty wouldn't lack the motivation and wouldn't have to wait for a vacancy to get promotion.' Replacing the Punjab Service Rules, the new rules have come in place after three years of implementation of central service rules for UT employees in Chandigarh. The department had first sought the in-principle approval from the ministry of health and family welfare to frame new rules as per central service rules which then were placed before law, personnel and finance department for reform. Having received the green signal from all the departments and administrator, the draft of service rules for medical posts in GMCH-32 now awaits ministry of health and family welfare approval. The health department is yet to frame the service rules for general duty medical officers and dentists in Government Multi Specialty Hospital, Sector 16.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
CHB back-pedals on Sector-53 housing scheme, to refund ₹7.5-crore application fee
The Chandigarh Housing Board still cannot seem to make up its mind about the long-delayed General Housing Scheme in Sector 53 — its only offering since 2016. After conducting a much-publicised demand survey, which received an enthusiastic response, the board has now decided to refund the nearly ₹7.5 crore collected from the hopeful applicants. The demand survey, which ended on March 3, saw 7,468 applicants vying for 372 flats across three categories — nearly 20 applicants per unit — reflecting a strong demand. To confirm their interest, the applicants had deposited ₹10,000 for High-Income Group (HIG) and Middle-Income Group (MIG) flats, and ₹5,000 for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) flats. However, a sharp hike in the city's collector rates, which took effect from April 1, pushed the flat prices up by 35% to 40%, throwing the project into uncertainty. When the demand survey was conducted, just weeks before the new collector rates were implemented, the estimated cost of the three-bedroom, two-bedroom and two-bedroom EWS flats was ₹1.65 crore, ₹1.40 crore and ₹55 lakh, respectively. But under the new collector rates, the prices have risen to a staggering ₹2.29 crore for a three-bedroom flat, ₹1.97 crore for a two-bedroom flat and ₹73 lakh for an EWS flat, leaving officials pondering whether the interested applicants will still be willing to proceed at the higher prices. Subsequently, CHB CEO Ajay Chagti had said the matter will be placed before the Board of Directors to decide whether to go ahead with the scheme or conduct a fresh demand survey. But no meeting has been held since. Instead the board has simply decided to refund the application fee — leaving thousands of housing hopefuls in Chandigarh frustrated and disappointed. To make matters worse, there's no clarity on what comes next. A CHB official confirmed that UT chief secretary-cum-CHB chairman Rajeev Verma had approved the refunds. However, no decision has been taken on whether a fresh survey will be conducted or whether the scheme will proceed at all. Ironically, the demand survey itself was ordered by the UT chief secretary to establish demand for the project. But a call to conduct a fresh demand has never been taken even two months after the hiked collector rates were enforced. Scrapped, revived, on hold again The whopping 7,468 applications are in stark contrast to only 178 applications for 492 flats when the scheme was first floated in 2018. The low response, primarily due to steep prices, had ultimately led to the scheme getting dropped. Back then, the three-bedroom flat was offered for as high as ₹1.8 crore, two-bedroom flat for ₹1.5 crore and one-bedroom flat for ₹95 lakh. Struggling to justify its existence, the board revived the scheme in February 2023 with lower prices. However, former UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit put the scheme on hold on August 3, 2023, citing there was no requirement for it. But Purohit's successor Gulab Chand Kataria, in November 2024, revived the scheme, prompting a fresh demand survey. Established in 1976, with the primary objective of providing reasonably priced and good quality housing in Chandigarh, CHB had last successfully rolled out a housing scheme in 2016, when it had offered 200 two-bedroom flats in Sector 51 for ₹69 lakh each.
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Evening OPDs at dispensaries on hold amid Chandigarh admn's silence on budget
The UT health department's plan to start evening outpatient departments (OPDs) at all its civil dispensaries and health and wellness centres across the city remains in limbo in the absence of budget approval by the UT administration. In February, director of health services Dr Suman Singh had confirmed that a ₹13-crore proposal to run the evening OPDs had been sent to the UT administration for budget sanction. However, more than three months have passed and the administration is yet to take a call on the matter. Health secretary Ajay Chagti said, 'The proposal has been submitted to the finance department. We will start the OPDs when it is approved.' Finance secretary Diprava Lakra said he was not aware of any such proposal and refused to comment further. The proposed evening OPDs will operate for six hours, complementing the existing morning shift (8 am to 2 pm) at health and wellness centres. The extended hours will cover three civil dispensaries, 15 Urban Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, and 29 health and wellness centres with the aim of providing relief to city residents, daily wagers and those belonging to the working class as they find it difficult to visit doctors during their daytime working hours, especially those living in Dadumajra, Mauli Jagran, Dhanas, Maloya, Manimajra and Industrial Area Phase 1. The services to be offered include general outpatient care for illnesses and minor ailments; primary healthcare, including prenatal and childbirth care, and management of communicable diseases. This expansion follows a previous, limited evening OPD trial at Government Multi Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, in 2015, which addressed faculty shortages by hiring retired specialists, including orthopaedics, gynaecologists and surgeons, etc. However, this time, the focus is on hiring young MBBS doctors on a consolidated salary basis to staff the evening shifts. The proposal of starting evening OPDs has been making rounds since 2023. Initially, it had targeted five key locations with a high concentration of daily wage earners, aiming to provide accessible healthcare without requiring them to sacrifice their daily income. An estimated budget was prepared for the five locations but was later extended to all the dispensaries.
Hindustan Times
30-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Taking steps to cork liquor smuggling, Chandigarh responds to Punjab
Days after the Punjab government strongly objected to the increasing incidents of liquor smuggling from Chandigarh into various districts of the state, the UT excise and taxation department has responded, stating that all necessary measures are being taken to curb the illegal trade. Last week, in a detailed 13-page letter addressed to Ajay Chagti, secretary, excise and taxation, UT, Punjab's excise and taxation commissioner Jitendra Jorwal had attached a list of 35 FIRs registered across multiple districts since financial year 2025-26 began, all pertaining to liquor illegally smuggled from Chandigarh. In its reply, the UT excise and taxation department stated that it had intensified efforts to curb inter-state liquor smuggling and ensure strict compliance with the Punjab Excise Act, 1914. Regular inspections and enforcement drives are being carried out to combat illegal practices and to promote transparency in the distribution and sale of liquor, it said. The response added that on several occasions, the department had acted upon information received from Punjab regarding seized liquor consignments, promptly seeking further details to identify points of sale and the individuals involved. Multiple letters and reminders have been issued to the authorities concerned, the department said, expressing hope that the culprits will be booked, as Punjab has assured the provision of detailed information in the requisite format to trace the origin of the smuggled liquor without ambiguity. To enhance coordination, the department has also initiated communication with neighbouring states to ensure swift information sharing whenever liquor meant for sale in Chandigarh is seized elsewhere. Upon receiving such information, proceedings under the Punjab Excise Act are immediately initiated. Action has also been taken against bottling plants and suppliers whose liquor, manufactured for sale in Chandigarh, has been seized in Punjab. The reply further stated that during the current Excise Policy period (2025-26), the department has conducted 48 inspections, resulting in the seizure of 16,429 bottles of liquor. Legal proceedings have been initiated under the applicable excise laws. These actions reaffirm the department's commitment to maintaining transparency, discipline and accountability within Chandigarh's licensed liquor trade. Additionally, the department has implemented a track-and-trace system for real-time monitoring of liquor production and distribution. Non-compliance with this system will attract strict punitive measures. The department is also conducting back-tracing to vends or bottling plants upon receiving information from Punjab or other neighbouring states, along with regular inspections across all excise premises, it added in its response.
