UT or state: Residents caught in the middle

Chandigarh, September 06: The rapid expansion of Chandigarh, independent India’s first planned city, has brought with it problems of demarcation. To the extent that it has become difficult to determine where Chandigarh ends and Mohali starts. It’s somewhere along the Phase 3 sectors but in the absence of clear delineation many are caught in the middle.

The case in point is a gurdwara, located in Sector 61, that falls in the union territory as well as Punjab. Also, there are several shops which partially fall under Chandigarh and Mohali.

Chairman of Chandigarh Social Welfare Council, Anil Nayyar, said: “Demarcation is necessary to keep property-related problems at bay. Recently, Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) had built houses on land in Chandigarh. A similar problem arose when the Chandigarh Housing Board had to build houses in Sector 63.”

On the other side of the city, residents of Rajiv Colony in Mauli Jagran face a similar predicament. The colony dwellers were told to vacate their land by the Haryana Government as half the colony is in Chandigarh while the other half lies in Haryana.

Councillor Jatinder Bhatia said demarcation should be taken up immediately. “I have requested the UT Engineering Wing to look into the matter. Three or four years ago, construction was started on a wall to demarcate the sectors but the work was abandoned midway. Demarcation would solve the problem of stray cattle entering the sectors as well,” he said.

The issue of the wall had come up for discussion at a recent House meet of the Municipal Corporation. But the proposal was deemed “unfeasible” and rejected.

The original plan
Chandigarh, designed by Le Corbusier for a population of 5 lakh (which has now exceeded 11 lakh), comprised of 47 sectors under two phases. The third phase was developed later. The city was to be surrounded by a 16-kilometre green belt.

Le Corbusier knew that the city would need to expand with time and the green belt was to serve that purpose. But the present expansion has taken place in an unplanned manner. The master plan has been tampered with and all the rules including the Periphery Control Act have been violated

M N Sharma
First Indian chief architect of city

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