Chandigarh's offer to allot 10-acre plot to Haryana for construction of new Vidhan Sabha building draws criticism

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Chandigarh, June 6

The decision of the UT Administration to offer a 10-acre plot to the Haryana Government for the construction of a new Vidhan Sabha building has come in for criticism from city-based organisations.

The UT Administration had offered three sites — near IT Park, near Kalagram in Mani Majra and on the road from the Railway light point to the IT Park — to the Haryana Government. Vidhan Sabha Speaker Gian Chand Gupta, along with Chief Minister Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar, visited the sites on Saturday and finalised the 10-acre plot located on the road from the Railway light point to the IT Park.

Gupta had informed that either Haryana would exchange 10-acre land with Chandigarh or would offer an amount at collector’s rate, which would be around Rs 550 crore.

Opposing the move, Dr Dharmendra, general secretary, UT Employees’ CHB Housing Welfare Society, said employees were the backbone of the Administration, but nothing was done for the allotment of flats to the employees at older rates.

Expressing similar sentiments, the Second Innings Association (SIA) also opposed the decision of the Administration as it would erode the very status of Chandigarh.

“Chandigarh is a landlocked city planned for a finite population and infrastructure to serve the city. Very few pockets of land are available at present to house the growing need for institutional, cultural and even critical infrastructure. In such a scenario, the decision to allocate land to Haryana is highly questionable for many reasons,” said the association.

The association said Haryana should explore land available in Panchkula or other parts of the state for its personal need, which in no way the responsibility of the UT to fulfil.

The proposed site would pose constant disruption of normal traffic and put unnecessary load on this main arterial and other road. Hundreds of trees will be cut not only for the building but also for clearing out land for parking of cars, safety and security measures, accommodation of security forces and future widening of roads to cater to the increased traffic of diverse types.

There is no provision for such decisions in the Master Plan 2031 as such with such unwanted and unplanned construction on eastern part of the UT will eventually erode the very status of the planned city as all sorts of rules will be bent to adjust the new requirements of Haryana.

As such, the Administration should put all facts and figures in front of the MHA and the move should be stalled.

The sites

The UT Administration had offered three sites — near IT Park, near Kalagram in Mani Majra and on the road from the Railway light point to the IT Park — to the Haryana Government.