Furore in Punjab over ‘clearance’ for Haryana Vidhan Sabha in Chandigarh, Jakhar asks PM to review move

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Furore in Punjab over ‘clearance’ for Haryana Vidhan Sabha in Chandigarh, Jakhar asks PM to review move

The two states currently share a common building in the iconic Capitol Complex of Chandigarh, which houses both their assembly halls. The city has been a bone of contention between Punjab and Haryana since November 1966, when Haryana was carved out as a separate state from the former.

Haryana has been pressing for a separate Vidhan Sabha building in Chandigarh for the past two years. Punjab’s political leadership has opposed the demand, saying that Haryana is welcome to have its own assembly building anywhere in Haryana but not in Chandigarh.

On Wednesday, former Haryana Speaker Gian Chand Gupta had told the media that a notification issued by the Union environment ministry on 11 November had cleared the last obstacle in the construction of a separate Haryana assembly on 10 acres of land in Chandigarh.

Reacting to Gupta’s claim, the Congress, Punjab’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) issued separate statements, demanding that the BJP-led central government revoke the move.

Jakhar expressed his unhappiness over the decision taken by his party high command.

“Punjab’s claim on Chandigarh as a capital is not about a piece of land but is an issue which is deeply entrenched in the emotions of Punjabis. The multiple steps that Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji has taken towards the welfare of Punjabis are likely to get negated if Haryana state is given land in Chandigarh to build its own Vidhan Sabha. I believe that there is a need to review this decision and I appeal to the prime minister to look into the matter,” Jakhar wrote on X Thursday.

Attaching a post by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann from July 2022, when the CM had supported Haryana’s move for a separate Vidhan Sabha, Jakhar said that Mann was responsible for encouraging Haryana.

While the CM is quiet over the matter, his party has made its position clear. Addressing a press conference Wednesday, AAP leader Anmol Gagan Maan said that in 1966, when Haryana was carved out of Punjab, it was promised that Chandigarh would be handed over to Punjab after some time.

“Until Haryana built its own capital, Chandigarh would remain a Union territory. However, 58 years have passed and Chandigarh has not been handed over to Punjab,” she said.

She added that Chandigarh belongs entirely to Punjab, as it was built on the lands of 22 villages of Punjab. “The decision to build a legislative assembly for Haryana in Chandigarh is completely wrong. We will not tolerate it. This decision is entirely against Punjab,” said Maan.

“This decision is a blatant attack on Punjab’s historical and cultural claims to Chandigarh,” Leader of the Opposition and senior Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa wrote on X.

On Thursday, Bajwa wrote to the PM seeking his “discernment and sense of historical justice to address a matter of great emotional and symbolic value: the rightful restoration of Chandigarh as Punjab’s exclusive capital”.

Shiromani Akali Dal general secretary Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said the move was “totally illegal, unconstitutional and a grave violation of Punjab Reorganisation Act 1966. Chandigarh belongs to Punjab and should be transferred to Punjab. Haryana should build its own capital inside Haryana. The SAD declares that it will not allow any such evil designs to succeed at any cost”.

Also Read: Voters in 3 seats next to Chandigarh have same concern: Concrete jungle & host of civic issues

Ex-Haryana CM Khattar mooted the plan

In July 2022, then Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar had mooted the plan to have a separate assembly complex for Haryana. During a meeting of the North Zone Council in Jaipur, Khattar had claimed that the space taken up by Punjab in the common assembly complex was more than was given to Haryana.

Khattar had argued that the shortage of space would worsen following the delimitation of assembly constituencies expected in 2026, when, he said, the current number of constituencies in Haryana would be expected to increase to 126 from 90.

“Even after 56 years have passed, we have not got our complete rights. The 24,630 square feet area in the Vidhan Sabha building was given to the Haryana Vidhan Sabha Secretariat. But the 20 rooms that came to our share are still in the possession of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. There is not enough space for our employees as well as for meetings of legislators, ministers and committees. Therefore, we have demanded land from the Chandigarh administration to construct an additional building for the smooth functioning of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha. The land has also been identified for this,” said Khattar, adding that the home minister had been requested to intervene in this matter.

Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh Thursday, Jakhar blamed CM Mann for keeping quiet about this meeting.

Jakhar said a representative of Mann was at the meeting when Khattar spoke about a separate Vidhan Sabha in Chandigarh but the CM did not say anything in opposition to the idea. “He is responsible for not only selling out Punjab but also encouraging Haryana to go ahead with the move,” said Jakhar.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had cleared Haryana’s proposal soon after the Jaipur meeting. The Chandigarh administration identified a piece of 10 acres of land near the Chandigarh railway station to be handed over to Haryana for the construction of the Vidhan Sabha.

In lieu of the 10 acres, the Haryana government decided to hand over 12 acres of land in Saketri village in Panchkula abutting Chandigarh. The 12-acre piece was demarcated on the ground and a non-encumbrance certificate handed over to the Chandigarh administration by the Haryana government.

The Chandigarh administration refused to go ahead with the exchange on the grounds that the land offered by Haryana fell within an eco-sensitive belt–the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary–around the Sukhna lake catchment area in the city and was locked under the various provisions of environment laws, apart from ongoing litigation in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The Chandigarh administration asked Haryana to obtain clearance from the environment ministry.

This March, the ministry put out a draft notification for the delineation of the eco-sensitive zone around the Sukhna catchment area, seeking objections to the move.

In September and October, the 55th and 56th meetings of the environment ministry’s expert committee were held to consider the creation of eco-sensitive zones around protected areas, and the Haryana case came up for discussion.

The expert committee, headed by special secretary Tanmay Kumar, recommended the finalisation of the draft eco-sensitive zone notification but with the rider that the notification would be “subject to and governed” by the final judgment of the high court.

On 11 November, the ministry notified the eco-sensitive zone as proposed by the Haryana government.

When contacted, Gian Chand Gupta told ThePrint Thursday that the ministry’s notification of the eco-sensitive zone was the clearance that the Chandigarh administration was asking for.

“The delineation of the eco-sensitive zone by the ministry paves the way for Haryana to hand over 12 acres of land to the Chandigarh administration without any environmental objections. In return, the Chandigarh administration is expected to give Haryana 10 acres of land, on which the Vidhan Sabha will be constructed,” said Gupta.

‘Why can’t Haryana build Vidhan Sabha on 12 acres of its own land?’

Punjab’s political leadership has also objected to the Haryana government exchanging its own land for a piece of land in Chandigarh for the Vidhan Sabha.

“Instead of giving Chandigarh 12 acres of land in exchange for 10 acres of land, why can’t Haryana build its Vidhan Sabha on 12 acres of its own land?” Maan asked at the press conference Wednesday.

On Thursday, talking to reporters, Cheema alleged that a conspiracy to dilute Punjab’s claim on Chandigarh had been planned by the BJP and AAP during the Jaipur meeting of 2022.

“Apart from Punjab finance minister Harpal Cheema, who was representing the Punjab CM, (AAP national convener) Arvind Kejriwal was also present at the meeting, but no objection was raised when the demand for a separate Vidhan Sabha was accepted by the Union home minister,” said Cheema.

Cheema added that it was surprising that Haryana was insisting on constructing a separate Vidhan Sabha in Chandigarh by handing over 12 acres of land barely a few kilometres away from Chandigarh. “The aim is to dilute Punjab’s claim on Chandigarh,” Cheema said.

Cheema also said that the Haryana government could not hand over 12 acres of its land to Chandigarh since it was still locked under the provisions of various environmental laws.

He said the “so-called” environment clearance given for the transfer of 12 acres of land as claimed by Haryana was not in accordance with the ministry’s notification issued on 11 November, which clearly said that any decision in the matter would be subject to the judgment of the high court.

(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)

Also Read: Why BJP & AAP are locking horns again, this time over change in Chandigarh admin service rules

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