Chandigarh, March 3: As the presidential elections for the prestigious Chandigarh Golf Club due on April 6 draw near, the battlelines have been drawn this time between a bureaucrat and a lawyer.

On one side is DS Bains, a 1981 batch IAS officer of the Punjab cadre, who is presently the Principal Secretary, Local Bodies, Punjab. He has held various important positions in the state government.

On the other side of the fray is Birinder Singh Gill, a Punjab and Haryana High Court lawyer and a relative of the former Punjab DGP KPS Gill. The current president of the club is bureaucrat RS Sandhu who is the Financial Commissioner Development, Punjab.

Talking to Chandigarh Newsline, Bains says: "It is important that a full-time course manager should be appointed, preferably someone who has proper experience. At the same time, a long-term vision document needs to be prepared so that work on the course can be done in a holistic manner, with professional help. Some of the professional players have been suggesting solutions which may call for large-scale corporate sponsorships for the upkeep of the fairways and the greens. Many infrastructure and construction companies operating in and around Chandigarh have evinced an interest in sponsoring tournaments.

Companies may also consider providing funds for maintenance of fairways and greens in return for displaying advertisements on the course. Top-level sponsored tournaments are must for our Club and the golfing fraternity needs to be invited to play as well. Tournaments should be organised in which maximum participation of members can be ensured."

He also adds, "The club rates will be brought down. All clubs within the country and abroad ensure that club members are not charged heavily for their food and beverages. Members should be able to visit it along with their guests as often as they desire."

On the other hand, Gill, who is currently the vice-president, remarks, "My goal is to raise our golf course to higher standards of play, social interaction and also set it on track so that mistakes of the past are not repeated in the future. "

Gill says, "There are issues which need to be addressed on priority. They revolve around professional management and upkeep of the course, water purification, introducing a pre-paid caddy service, restarting grass nurseries, and levelling of trees, amongst others.

There is urgent need to appoint a well-qualified manager who will address these issues on a daily basis. There is also the need of judiciously utilising the funds at the disposal of the club."

Source: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Bureaucrat-lawyer-lock-horns-ove...