Assembly building: Land swap hits green hurdle, Chandigarh tells Haryana to pay Rs 620 crore

Tribune News Service

Dushyant Singh Pundir

Chandigarh, September 20

As the land offered by the Haryana Government in exchange for land for the construction of a new state Assembly building in the city falls within the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary, the UT Administration has requested the state to give another chunk of land or pay Rs 620 crore as the cost of its land.

Recently, officials of the UT and Haryana Government conducted a demarcation of 12 acres at Saketri village in Panchkula district, which is intended to be swapped with 10 acres of land to be allotted by the UT near the railway station light point towards the IT Park road.

Crux of the matter

• Haryana Govt identified 10 acres near railway station light point for its Assembly building
• In exchange, it offered to transfer to UT 12 acres of land at Saketri village
• Sources claim the Saketri land is unlikely to get environmental clearance from Centre
• UT thus asked Haryana to provide alternative site or pay Rs 620 crore as cost of its land

After an intensive search, the Haryana Government had finalised 10 acres near the railway light point for its new Assembly building and offered to give 12 acres at Saketri village in exchange. But after the UT raised concern over the proposed land falling in the ESZ, the Haryana Government decided to obtain environmental clearance from the Union Ministry of Forest and Climate Change.

Sources said when the Union Government refused to give wildlife clearance to the housing projects at IT Park, it seemed difficult to get environmental clearance for the adjoining land at Saketri. So, the Administration requested the Haryana Government to provide an alternative site with an equal value or pay Rs 620 crore, the estimated value of its land.

The allocation of land for the Haryana Assembly building in Chandigarh was announced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on July 9, 2022, during the 30th meeting of the Northern Zonal Council in Jaipur. The announcement had come in response to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s demand for the state’s rights in the existing Vidhan Sabha in Chandigarh, which it currently shares with Punjab. The demand stemmed from the projected increase in the number of Assembly seats following the 2026 delimitation exercise.