Chandigarh — the boldest experiment in town planning and architecture is now almost 60 years old and boasts of internationally acknowledged testimonials such as ‘City Beautiful’. The credit for this goes, not only to the town planning and architecture, but also to its landscape design. In fact, Chandigarh is one of the few cities in the world with ‘planned’ landscaping.

Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret developed Chandigarh as an example for urban planning and architecture. The creation of Leisure Valley and Sukhna Lake highlights the work and vision of the two architects.

Now, it is high time that the future strategy for beautifying 50 per cent open spaces in Chandigarh be discussed. The Administration should actively consider the proposal of creating two more leisure valleys in the city. The same point was also emphasised by the experts who gathered at the recently organised International Conference on ‘Emerging Trends in Landscape Architecture’ by Saakaar Foundation.

The existing Leisure Valley has proved a boon for the residents. But its use remains mainly restricted to the adjoining or nearby Sectors like 3, 10, 16, 23 and 36. Even Albert Mayer, an American planner, recommended two such green valleys in his master plan for Chandigarh.

About 3,000 acres of the Sukhna choe and Patiala Ki Rao on the east and west of Chandigarh are lying neglected. Therefore, I believe that there is no need to acquire more agricultural land from poor farmers to create recreational places.

The proposed valleys can be sub-divided into subject-specific gardens like Children’s Park, Science Park and Memorial Gardens.

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