UT chief secretary H Rajesh Prasad will meet Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla in New Delhi on Saturday to discuss a range of long-pending issues affecting Chandigarh residents, officials familiar with the matter said. The meeting is expected to focus on governance reforms, urban development policies, and amendments to outdated laws governing the Union Territory.
According to officials, the chief secretary will take up matters related to good governance, filling of vacant posts in the education department, and a detailed review of the Capital of Punjab (Development and Regulation) Act. The Act, enacted decades ago, may see proposals for relaxation of provisions that no longer align with Chandigarh’s present-day urban realities.
Key issues likely to be discussed include the share-wise sale of properties, ownership rights of residents in rehabilitation colonies, extension of Lal Dora in 22 villages, and regularisation of need-based changes in Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) dwellings. The plight of group housing societies, facing procedural and ownership hurdles, will also be raised.
City MP Manish Tewari has persistently flagged these “legacy issues” impacting lakhs of residents, both inside and outside Parliament. The ministry of home affairs (MHA) has repeatedly sought detailed reports from the UT administration, though many of these proposals were earlier turned down.
Residents of 22 villages brought under the municipal corporation have been demanding regularisation of constructions beyond the Lal Dora. However, the MHA clarified in Parliament last year that such constructions, if undertaken without the DC’s approval, violate the Punjab New Capital (Periphery) Control Act, 1952.
{{/usCountry}}Residents of 22 villages brought under the municipal corporation have been demanding regularisation of constructions beyond the Lal Dora. However, the MHA clarified in Parliament last year that such constructions, if undertaken without the DC’s approval, violate the Punjab New Capital (Periphery) Control Act, 1952.
{{/usCountry}}Similarly, CHB allottees have pressed for a one-time settlement of structural violations on the lines of the “Delhi solution”. Nearly 55,000 of the 62,000 dwelling units reportedly have some form of modification. The administration, however, has resisted the move, citing Chandigarh’s planned architectural heritage and seismic sensitivity.
The meeting is also expected to revisit issues like the ban on share-wise registration of properties and ownership rights of rehabilitation colony residents, which continue to affect thousands of families across the city.