Govt rejects two sites proposed by UT Chandigarh for construction of Assembly building

The Haryana government, which has been blaming Punjab for not giving its fixed share in the Assembly building, has rejected two sites proposed by UT Chandigarh for the construction of new Assembly building.

Haryana came into existence following separation from adjoining Punjab in 1966 and a certain share was fixed for both the states in terms of resources and others. Officials said that Haryana was suffering from shortage of resources and space in the Assembly.

Haryana Speaker Gian Chand Gupta had raised the issue with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The state government has demanded 10 acres of land for the construction of a new assembly in Chandigarh. But the final decision to give approval for the required land is still pending with the central government.

The UT administration has proposed two sites for the construction of the new assembly building but the Haryana officials refused it. Gupta said: “We do not agree with the proposal as the land proposed by the UT is too far away from Haryana Civil Secretariat. Therefore, setting up a new assembly building is likely to affect the working and functioning of employees as well as the government.”

The proposed sites exist in IT Park and Kalagram area of Chandigarh.

The Capitol Complex, which includes the buildings of Punjab & Haryana High Court, Assembly and Haryana & Punjab Secretariat, has been declared as world heritage by UNESCO. The UT administration said that no new construction can take place in the Capitol Complex.

The Haryana government countered this by saying that nearly 20 rooms were constructed in Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2014, then why no new building can be constructed in this area.

The UT administration also said that Capitol Complex is a buffer zone which does not allow construction of new building in this area. In reply, the officials of Haryana said that there are several sectors falling in buffer zone adjoining Capitol Complex and construction is going on extensively, then how UT can deny the same for Haryana.