1

SPEECH FOR REPUBLIC DAY 2007SPEECH FOR REPUBLIC DAY 2007SPEECH FOR REPUBLIC DAY 2007SPEECH FOR REPUBLIC DAY 2007

1. On the occasion of the 57th Anniversary of India’s

Republic Day I convey sincerest felicitation to all

residents of Chandigarh on behalf of Chandigarh

Administration. Today all of us rededicate

ourselves, individually and collectively to

strengthening the integrity of our country and

the creation of a just and prosperous society.

2. The sacrifices of our freedom fighters brought us

freedom and made it possible for us to hold our

heads high. Let us together pay homage to

those brave martyrs who have laid down their

lives for the country. The Indian Republic has

2

grown from strength to strength and has

achieved all round progress over the years.

Today India is embarked on the path of a high

growth rate. It is necessary to make the growth

inclusive so that all sections of society benefit

equitably from economic progress.

3. Chandigarh Administration remains committed

to its objective of enriching the lives of all the

citizens of the Union Territory through economic

growth, by continuously improving the quality

and quantity of civic services, by outreach

programmes for the deprived and the needy, and

by improving the quality of governance.

3

In recognition of the excellence of citizens of

Chandigarh at the national and international level,

and to honour those who bring such fame to us,

the Administrator has decided to institute an

annual Administrator’s Gold Medal, to be awarded

on Independence Day, for achievement of

outstanding quality in any field of endeavour.

4. The departments of the Administration have

been asked to make a clear distinction between

their public service and regulatory functions.

Over the next one year the Administration will

focus on the service role of all departments and

review all practices and procedures to make

4

them public friendly. The overall aim is to

inculcate the attitude of caring for the citizen,

and serving him well. The exercise has already

started, and as an early harvest, the requirement

of affidavits has been done away with except

when prescribed by law. More initiatives of a

similar nature will follow.

5. We have undertaken to remove barriers faced by

the public by opening up our departments and

providing single window services wherever

necessary and feasible. The Right to Information

Act has been implemented and has enabled

residents to seek and acquire information

5

relating to all departments. Our e-Governance

projects including e-Sampark and e-Jansampark

have brought single window services to the

people in several areas, and these will be

expanded. More than one and a half million

items of service were availed of in the last year

and the number is rising.

6. I have already referred to doing away with

affidavits except where legally necessary. In

addition, stamp papers have been made available

at e-Sampark Centres to minimize the leg work

of the citizens in dealing with Administration.

6

7. Our efforts to provide better infrastructural

services such as power supply, water supply,

health and education services alongwith efficient

public transport have met some success, but

much more remains to be done.

8. The quality of power supply depends upon

transforming capacity, and we have planned to

significantly upgrade this capacity to ensure that

within two years that every consumer is served

by two transformers. An additional power

transformer of 20MVA, 66/KV capacity has been

installed and commissioned in Industrial Area,

Phase II. A similar additional power transformer

7

is being installed in Industrial Area, Phase I,

which is likely to be commissioned before the

onset of summer.

9. Work for upgradation of the existing 33 KV Sub-

Station in Sector 18 to 66 KV is near completion.

It will help in meeting the increased power

demand of Sectors 8,9,17,18 and 19. Similarly,

upgradation of 33 KV Sub-Station at Manimajra

to 66 KV has been completed. It will improve the

voltage profile and continuity of power in

Manimajra.

10. The Administration has issued instructions that

new connections of a load less than 5 KW will be

8

released within 7 days, and no estimate/demand

notice will be issued. A Citizen Facilitation

Centre has been set up by the Engineering

Department where residents can lodge their

complaints at a single telephone number for

redressal of their grievances in respect of power

supply, public health and road works etc.

We purchase all our electricity from outside.

Though prices have increased we have not passed

on the added costs to the consumers. This has

been possible as the power department has

brought down transmission and distribution

losses from 25.58 per cent in 2003 to about 18%

9

per cent currently. The department deserves our

appreciation.

11. The road infrastructure has been upgraded by

widening and strengthening of sector dividing

roads. Two plastic roads have been completed

by using shredded plastic as asphaltic concrete.

An additional dual carriageway from the

Hallomajra junction to Panchkula is being

constructed and is scheduled to be completed by

31st July. The most heavily used road in

Chandigarh has been concreted, and gradually

all roads will be made of concrete.

10

12. In the field of school education a novel model of

partnership has been devised with the help of

distinguished persons. This model envisages

construction of school buildings by the

Administration but educational services being

provided by institutions in civil society. We

expect this model will succeed in providing high

quality education at low cost.

13. Chandigarh enjoys excellent health facilities and

we are also looking after the needs of the people

of neighboring states. Recently we have been

able to add to our capacities in this area. Trans

Urethral Resection of Prostate, Laparoscopic

11

Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic Hysterectomy,

Phacoemulsifier and other modern Eye

equipment has been installed. A new Ultrasound

machine has been installed at Poly Clinic, Sector

45 and C.H.C. Manimajra, Chandigarh. Govt. of

India’s sanction has been accorded for the

upgradation of School of Nursing to College of

Nursing, D.N.B. Course in Gynecology &

Obstetrics and Paediatrics Department has been

started.

14. We have taken a decision to register patients

visiting government hospitals and dispensaries

at e-Sampark Centres. This would enable

12

patients to get their cards prepared at e-

Sampark Centres located in all parts of the city,

thus saving time spent in hospitals. CT Scan

services have been outsourced at the

Government Multi Specialty Hospital, Sector 16

and MRI Services are also to be provided there

shortly. Our aim is to ensure that each resident

of Chandigarh has access to modern methods of

treatment and the best medical facilities that are

available today. A Rural Health Training Centre

has been made operational at Palsora to provide

enhanced health care to the residents of the

area. A Genetic Centre has been made

13

operational at GMCH-32 to provide neonatal and

prenatal diagnosis of genetic disorders.

15. Upgradation of our Industrial Training Institute

(ITI), Polytechnics & Craft Institutes have been

carried out. ITI Chandigarh has been recognized

as a Centre of Excellence by Govt. of India. 96

new seats have been created in the field of

automobile engineering.

16. The Education Department has been

implementing the mid day meal scheme with

some success, resulting in enhanced enrolment

at the primary level and reduced malnutrition

among the growing children. The provision of

14

hygienic cooked food to children in government

primary schools through public sector

organizations, has resulted in these heartening

trends. Our efforts are to ensure that children of

the UT have access to the best methods of

education and also to computer and multimedia

aided learning. A new government college of

Commerce and Business Administration has been

sanctioned and the college has started

functioning, in Sector 19 from this year. New

courses such as Biotechnology, Bio Informatics,

Genetic Engineering, Website Construction, 3D

animation, MBE, Bachelor of mass

15

Communication etc. are being started. A

common prospectus has been introduced for all

government colleges which is also available over

the internet.

17. Our endeavour to increase the hours of water

supply from 16 to 24 are on course. Chandigarh

is one of the few cities, if not the only city in the

country which enjoys a water supply of 16 hours

a day. The Municipal Corporation aims at

providing round the clock water supply. I would

like to compliment the Corporation on these

ambition levels, and promise all possible help.

16

18. We have been able to attract fresh investment in

the Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park.

More than 4500 software professionals and BPO

workers are employed in the Park. The

Technology Habitat project has been undertaken

by the Chandigarh Housing Board and work is

under progress to provide residential,

commercial and community services to the

occupants of the IT park and to the people of the

city. Apart from the existing leading companies,

like Infosys, Wipro, eSys, Bharti, Tech Mahindra,

IBM Daksh, SAP, new companies like Winshuttle,

Taurus Agile and Onicra have invested in the

17

Park recently. A Regional Cyber Security &

Research Centre is being set up in collaboration

with NASSCOM. This would cater to the needs of

IT Industry by providing security related

information and technologies while also

facilitating the police in dealing with cyber crime.

19. A Financial Services Centre is to be established

by the Administration and the report of the

consultant is being implemented to make

Chandigarh a hub for financial services The

Department of Information Technology has

initiated an exercise to obtain ISO 9001:2000

18

Certification for itself and ISO 14001:2004 for

Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park.

20. New projects like the Education City, Theme

Park, and the Multimedia Film City Project have

progressed significantly in terms of preparatory

work. The Education City Project has received

expressions of interest from some 30

organizations. We aim to set up campuses of

leading universities and colleges, for providing

high end education. The theme Park Project

agreement has been signed and work is likely to

start shortly. When functional the Theme Park

will add considerably to the cultural and

19

economic life of the region. The Multimedia Film

City Project is likely to take off by March this year

and would place Chandigarh on the map of the

select few cities which have modern multimedia

and digital studio facilities. A modern Terminal

Market and an 11 storey building project have

also been initiated and we expect to formalize

agreements later this year.

21. Tourism has been a key area for the

Administration in the past one year. Upto 10

percent of the total employment generated in the

country is likely to be through tourism and

hospitality services in the coming years.

20

Chandigarh has been placed on the tentative list

of World Heritage Site by UNESCO, adding to the

stature of our city. The number of tourists

visiting Chandigarh has increased by 15 percent

in the last one year and our new initiatives are

likely to attract many more.

22. New attractions have been added to the city

through the joint efforts of the Engineering

Department and the Department of Forests. The

Botanical Garden spread over an area of more

than 170 acres has been opened to the public.

The Bamboo Valley garden has been created to

provide residents of Sector 23 and nearby areas

21

with a green environment and beautiful

surroundings. New lakes have been added by the

Forest Department this year in the Botanical

Garden, Patiala Ki Rao, and the Sukhna Choe.

23. The Chandigarh Museum and Art Gallery, the

Natural History Museum, the Chandigarh

Architecture Museum, the National Gallery of

Portraits have been upgraded. A permanent

gallery on India’s Struggle for Freedom has been

opened at the National Gallery of Portraits in

Sector 17. A new sound and light show is being

planned from next month to showcase the major

attractions of Chandigarh.

22

24. The Chandigarh Transport Undertaking is in the

process of installing Global Positioning system to

provide real time information to passengers. 74

new buses are being introduced to augment

services. 16 air conditioned buses will also be

put into service. Our endeavour is to ensure that

public transport becomes more attractive than

private transport.

25. Registering & Licencing Authority has started the

practice of issuing learners licence, duplicate

licence, renewal of licence, international driving

licence and regular licence on the same day.

Vehicles are also registered the same day.

23

26. Chandigarh Housing Board is engaged in

building of more than 20,000 small flats so that

those presently living in slums can be housed

with dignity. The entire proceeds from the

auction of land in the Technology Park will be

invested in this project. Since that will not be

enough, help of about Rs.400 crores has been

promised by the Government of India under the

Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission.

27. Chandigarh Police has been able to maintain law

and order in the Union Territory and has dealt

with numerous rallies and demonstrations

relating to neighbouring states effectively.

24

Modernization of the force has been carried out

and many services are now available online for

the benefits of the residents. A Global

Positioning System is also being introduced by

Chandigarh Police to monitor the movement of

its vehicles in the city.

28. The Cricket Stadium in Sector 16 has been

upgraded and will shortly be ready for

international matches. The Bangladesh and Sri

Lanka teams had held practice matches last year.

The Tennis Stadium, Hockey Stadium and other

sports facilities have been upgraded. Flood lights

have been provided in the Hockey Stadium,

25

Sector 42. A MoU has been signed with a German

Football Academy for helping the coaching of the

trainees of the Chandigarh Football Academy.

29. India stands on the threshold of great things. A

double digit growth rate is reachable.

Combining high rates of growth with a kind, just

and equitable society will take all our skills, and

all our efforts. I seek the cooperation of all of

you to make Chandigarh an exemplar of vibrant

urban virtues. I wish all of you well.

Jai Hind