Chief Secy to take up Chandigarh's five major issues with MHA

Soon after assuming the charge, UT Chief Secretary H Rajesh Prasad reviewed five major issues faced by the city and decided to take them up with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Share-wise sale of property, ownership rights of people living in various rehabilitation colonies, extension of Lal Dora in 22 villages, need-based changes carried out in houses allotted by the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) and various issues related to group housing societies have been hanging fire for a long time.

During a meeting on October 9, the Chief Secretary had detailed deliberations with the heads of the departments concerned on these five issues.

According to sources, a meeting on these issues was likely to be held with Union Home Minister Amit Shah soon after the festival of Diwali.

MP Manish Tewari had time and again raised what he described as “legacy issues”, which effect lives of lakhs of city residents, inside and outside Parliament and even wrote letters of the MHA and the UT Administration.

The MHA had repeatedly sought detailed comments and current status on these issues during the tenure of previous Chief Secretary Rajeev Verma. Significantly, the UT Administration had earlier turned down these demands while responding to queries raised in Parliament.

Twenty-two villages in the UT were brought under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation. Residents have long demanded the regularisation of constructions carried out beyond the Lal Dora. Political parties, meanwhile, have been repeatedly seeking abolition of the Lal Dora. In August last year, the MHA had clarified in Parliament that constructions outside Lal Dora without the DC’s approval were in violation of the Punjab New Capital (Periphery) Control Act, 1952.

Similarly, allottees of the CHB houses have also demanded regularisation of need-based changes carried out in dwelling units. Approximately 55,000 of the 62,000 dwelling units have violations. While residents demanded a one-time settlement on the lines of the “Delhi solution,” the Administration has maintained that unauthorised changes cannot be allowed, citing UT’s planned architectural character and its location in Seismic Zone IV.

Further, the UT Administration has banned the share-wise registration of properties outside families after the Supreme Court’s January 2024 order that banned conversion of houses in heritage sectors (1–30) into apartments. Many residents argued that the Administration misinterpreted the SC ruling.

Since 1980s, the UT has constructed 34,965 dwelling units for slum dwellers under rehabilitation schemes, allotted on a lease or licence fee basis. Many residents have transferred the ownership of the units to some other persons. In February, the MHA had clarified in Parliament that the schemes do not provide for transfer of ownership rights.