Chandigarh step closer to becoming slum-free city

Chandigarh has moved closer to becoming the first slum-free city of the country with the Administration making preparations to evict dwellers from the last slum, Shahpur Colony, said officials.

To check and report any fresh encroachment on government land, the UT Administration has constituted 12 dedicated teams of field officials, each headed and linked by two junior engineers (JEs) of the Estate Office.

With all other 19 slum colonies and illegal establishments already demolished to reclaim 527.5 acres of prime land across the city worth over Rs 21,000 crore, the lone left-out slum, Shahpur Colony spread over 12 acres in Sector 38 (West), will be cleared shortly.

With the demolition of the last slum, the UT Administration will reclaim a total of almost 530.5 acres worth Rs 21,220 crore, taking into consideration Rs 40-crore per acre as the base price, which Chandigarh had quoted for land to the Haryana Government for building a new Vidhan Sabha building recently.

Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav, who is also the UT Estate Officer, told The Tribune that Chandigarh was planned to be a slum-free city in its original Master Plan prepared by the Swiss-French architectural designer, painter and urban planner, Le Corbusier, in the early 1950s. But with the passage of time, the slums mushroomed on government land across the city.

“We have already cleared 19 of the total 20 slum colonies and illegal establishments that existed in Chandigarh while the process to demolish the remaining illegal settlement is in the advanced stage of implementation,” said Yadav, while disclosing that after the demolition of Shahpur Colony, the UT Administration will formally declare Chandigarh a slum-free city by the end of September. It will be the first such city in the country, he added.

Shahpur Colony is spread on 12 acres, which included 25% government and 75% private land. The latest survey conducted by the UT Estate Office, as part of the final proceedings to initiate demolition process, revealed that Shahpur Colony has a population of about 2,000 residing in around 500 jhuggis built on the government land parcel.

“We are in the process of allotting flats to the eligible families to be uprooted from Shahpur Colony, following which we will recover our remaining 3 acres of land under illegal occupation,” he said.

To ensure that the reclaimed government land is not encroached upon in future as well, the DC-cum-EO has deputed 24 JEs to safeguard the government land from encroachers. The city has been divided into 12 parts and two JEs have been given the charge of each segment.

“We have deputed the officials in different sectors/villages to report and ensure that there is no fresh encroachment,” said the DC, while revealing that these officials will submit an affidavit every fortnight declaring that no government land is under encroachment in their respective areas.

“It will ensure that there is no organised encroachment on government land in future,” he added.

SLUM-FREE CITY ON CARDS: KATARIA

“Among many other firsts to its credit, Chandigarh will soon add another feather to its hat by becoming the first slum-free city of India. We have adopted a zero tolerance policy towards illegal slums and encroachments on government land. The reclaimed land will be developed to cater to the increasing demand for housing, commercial, institutional, religious and other allied purposes in the city,” said Gulab Chand Kataria, Punjab Governor-cum-Chandigarh Administrator

MOST SLUMS CLEARED IN 2014

The biggest of all the 20 slums and illegal establishments, Kalyan Colony, spread over 89 acres and seven other colonies, with a cumulative encroached area of 302 acres, were demolished in 2014. Three illegal colonies spread over 30 acres and parts of two other slums were razed in 2025.

POLITICAL PATRONAGE

The slum colonies in Chandigarh were allowed to come up over the prime government land under the political patronage over the period of time. The leaders of certain political parties exerted their influence over the UT Administration not to act against such brazen encroachments for building their vote banks. However, this practice was not allowed after 2014 when the local officials started gathering courage to act against the illegal settlements without budging under the political pressure.

TELLING NUMBERS

TOTAL SLUMS: 20

DEMOLISHED: 19

REMAINING: 1

LAND RECLAIMED: 527.5 ACRES

COST: RS 21,000 CRORE

REDEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR VACATED LAND

The Engineering Department is preparing plans to develop the vacated sites as an expansion of the sector area, in or around which they fall. These will have different components of residential, commercial, institutional and even religious pockets as per the Chandigarh Master Plan-2031.

The developed sites will be auctioned by Estate Office as per the rates to be fixed in accordance with laid down procedures.