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Readers’ take | An Upper House seat will give Chandigarh an upper hand
The tricity is divided on the issue of a Rajya Sabha seat for Chandigarh. While some say that it will lead to unnecessary expenditure, others say that it is pertinent to give more voice to the city in the Parliament. But all agree that if City Beautiful does get a Rajya Sabha seat, it will gain an advantageous position politically
In a unanimous voice, the Chandigarh MC House recently supported the demand for a Rajya Sabha seat for the UT. Some councillors also demanded constitution of a Vidhan Sabha on the lines of Delhi. Does Chandigarh need representation in the Upper House of the Parliament or its own legislative assembly? Will it help in better governance and development or end up making governing structures top-heavy? Tricity residents speak:
One seat for 7 UTs, to be filled on rotational basis
It is essential that all union territories get representation in Rajya Sabha. Apart from Delhi and J&K (which have representation in Rajya Sabha), there are seven union territories which don’t have a seat in the Upper House. Giving a Rajya Sabha seat to Chandigarh alone would be unfair to Daman & Diu, Pondicherry, Lakshwadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Dadra & Nagar Haveli. The Union government will be well advised to apportion one Rajya Sabha seat for UTs, which can be filled by these union territories on a rotational basis. This would ensure representation of all UTs over a period of time and would be much better than no representation at all, which is presently the case.
Gurnoor Grewal, Chandigarh
A voice in the Upper House
Cutting across party lines, all elected area councillors of municipal corporation have unanimously endorsed the proposal for a Rajya Sabha seat for Chandigarh. There is no denying the fact that Chandigarh has not been getting its due from the Centre in terms of grant-in-aid, which is affecting development and maintenance works. The fact is that Centre has not been sending grants commensurate with the tax revenues generated from our city. Unfortunately, the city MP was not effective enough to get what our city deserved. Appointment of a Rajya Sabha member will ensure a voice in the Upper House, which will prompt the Centre to respond to the problems of the city.
SC Luthra, Chandigarh
An MP in Lower House is sufficient
There is no need of representation in the Upper House of the Parliament or constitution of a Legislative Assembly because Chandigarh is a small union territory and creating a Rajya Sabha seat would only add to the burden on the public exchequer. Only one MP in the Lower House is sufficient to raise the voice for the welfare of UT Chandigarh. The local bureaucrats and municipal councillors are enough to work for the betterment of UT. The public should get their MPs to take their demands to the Parliament.
Sumesh Kumar Badhwar, Mohali
Burden on the public exchequer
The city is already struggling due to division of responsibilities between the municipal corporation and administration. Further, in view of the size of the city and its population, one Member of Parliament is sufficient. The constitution of a legislature and a post of Rajya Sabha MP will only add to the burden on the public exchequer and serve the purpose of politicians instead of the public. There is no need to create more power centers.
Kidar Nath Sharma, Chandigarh
Continue with present system
The demand for a Rajya Sabha seat for Chandigarh is justified as most of union territories (UTs) already have such seats. But since the city’s population is very small compared to the other UTs, it is best to not bring in any changes and continue with the present system.
Subhash Chugh, via email
Save city from political slugfest
The present structure of governance in the city seems to be working well.
The day it gets a legislature, there will only be unnecessary political slugfest as was seen during the MC elections. Corruption, nepotism, favouritism etc will increase with the creation of legislature in Chandigarh. We cannot compare Chandigarh with New Delhi. The area of Delhi is huge in comparison to Chandigarh. Even without a legislature, City Beautiful fares much better than the National Capital on several parameters. Instead, the Centre should enhance funding and grants for overall development of the UT.
Anil Kumar Yadav, Chandigarh
Growing aspirations of people
Over the years, the Union Territory of Chandigarh has grown in to a big metropolitan-like city, housing nearly 12 lakh people and serving as the capital of two states—Punjab and Haryana. To meet the growing aspirations of people of Chandigarh, it is only appropriate to give more power to the city that holds so much significance in North India.
AK Sharma, Chandigarh
Why should City Beautiful be left behind?
When other Union Territories, such as Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir, and the National Capital Region Delhi can have representation in the Upper House of Parliament, why should Chandigarh be left behind? A seat at the table would give impetus to Chandigarh’s development. To avoid a power tussle, as is seen between the Lieutenant General and government in Delhi, and effective mechanism should be put in place with citizen’s welfare in mind.
Prabhjot Nagpal, Zirakpur
Ulterior motive behind unanimous support for RS seat
The Chandigarh MC House unanimously supported the demand for a Rajya Sabha seat for the city, but the councillors had an ulterior motive behind it. When already an elected MP is representing the city in the Lok Sabha, then the UT does not need another person to represent it in the Parliament. In fact, the entire council of states must be abolished as it seems to do precious little in serving the citizens of the country.
Kundan Lal Sharma, Mohali
Right to representation in Upper House
The Union Territory of Chandigarh has been denied representation in the Upper House of Parliament for so many years. People of Chandigarh have the right to have their representation in the Upper House. It is high time that at least one seat be earmarked for Chandigarh.
Col TBS Bedi (retd), Mohali
Too many cooks spoil the broth
The decision of the authorities to get Chandigarh a Rajya Sabha seat will only increase the number of persons involved in the governance and make accessibility to the public more difficult. Moreover, most Rajya Sabha members are affiliated to political parties and this reduces the usefulness of the seat. Chandigarh already has a seat in the Lok Sabha. Our systems of administration have always been simple and they should remain so.
Saikrit Gulati, Chandigarh
City already has too many levels of governance
Chandigarh already has so many levels of governance. There is the civic body with 35 elected members and 10 nominated members. Then there is administration comprising bureaucrats and the governor. And further, there is a Member of Parliament to take the city’s voice to the top. In such a scenario, there is no need for an additional voice in the Parliament. Citizens are already burdened with taxes and the creation of another post will only add to the problem.
Usha Verma, Chandigarh
Even larger UTs such as J&K don’t have legislative assembly
There is no comparison of Chandigarh with Delhi in area or population. To demand a legislature for Chandigarh is totally uncalled for. It will only add to the expenditure of the already top heavy administration in Chandigarh. Even a large state like Jammu and Kashmir has been bifurcated and converted into Union Territories, with no legislatures or Members Of Parliament in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. One member representing Lok Sabha in Chandigarh is out of action for years due to her health issues. But even otherwise, she was never in tune with local population over various issues such as metro/monorail, lease of properties and extensions carried out in CHB houses. Above all, Chandigarh is a union territory under an award and the issue of transfer to Punjab is still pending. The MC councillors should concentrate on the job assigned to them instead of taking up issues beyond their preview or powers.
Suresh Verma, Chandigarh
Independent status to Chandigarh
Chandigarh, despite being a Union Territory, loses out in the power tussle between the two states of Punjab and Haryana for which it acts as a common capital. More than representation in the Upper House, what Chandigarh needs is an independent status. This is only possible if Punjab and Haryana can identify its own capitals.
Abhilasha Gupta, Mohali
Present system gives autonomy to city
Rajya sabha seat for the UT will not only bring discomfort to the state administratively but also make the governing structure top heavy. This will bring nothing but chaos in terms of distribution of power and accountability. The present system gives a lot of autonomy to the city.
Garv Bhupesh Verma, Panchkula
Directly elected representatives have already let down people
The Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) was set up basically on the demand of political parties to carry out affairs of the elected representatives in place of the bureaucracy. But the Chandigarh MC has not come up to the expectations of residents as is evident from the city, once known as City Beautiful, slipping to position 66 in Swachh Survekshan. Further, there is already one Lok Sabha member who is rarely seen with public affairs. In view of this sluggish show by the elected representatives, there is no need to have a Rajya Sabha member for a tiny Union Territory. However, there is need to bring improvement in the work culture of the corporation.
SK Khosla, Chandigarh
Explore ways to grow in terms of governance
An institution or a state are growing entities. They need to grow in terms of infrastructure and positions too. UT must go ahead with the proposal of a seat in Rajya Sabha. This may bring a lot of new ideas and attention for the UT.
Anju Mohan, Panchkula
UT should get legislative assembly
Chandigarh has witnessed growth in infrastructure, population, and awareness. The city is growing day by day it needs a legislative assembly on lines of New Delhi. It is also a political arena for budding leaders. Due to the lack of opportunities in the city, many great leaders shift base to Punjab and Haryana.
Sunny Dhaliwal, Chandigarh
A Rajya Sabha seat an advantage to city
The demand for a Rajya Sabha seat is well-justified because there are many advantages of this. It acts as a check on hasty legislation. It gives representation to independent talented persons. It keeps in touch with new issues and ever changing public opinion. It plays a major role when Lok Sabha is dissolved. Many bills are first introduced in the Rajya Sabha and cleared by his House. Thus Lok Sabha is relieved of its burden. By being member of the Rajya Sabha, UT can get more organised and laws regarding certain problems in the UT can be passed easily. Many topics will be addressed seriously and it will surely help UT to grow better.
Ishita Nara, via email
More MP LAD funds
Having a seat in the Upper House would entitle the city to an additional source of MPLAD funds. This can be used for the betterment for City Beautiful and resolve many issues of the city. It will also give the city a voice in the Upper House.
Avinash Goyal, Chandigarh
More power to city
Officially a union territory (UT) is administered by the central government. Chandigarh has the unique distinction of being the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana even though both states have no control over its administration.
The UT is under the control of the ministry of home affairs. While Chandigarh is governed by a bureaucratic setup, with officers being drawn from central government, Punjab and Haryana cadres, civic affairs are managed by a municipal corporation. To imagine a legislature in the city, and turning it into a state is difficult to imagine. Even if areas are included in Chandigarh from neighbouring states, it will remain a small entity. The burden of these merged areas will ruin the character of Chandigarh. But if Singapore can be run as a country, why can’t Chandigarh be a state?
Sanjay Chopra, Mohali
