CHANDIGARH, Dec 1— The Centre has stepped in to stall Haryana’s push for a new Vidhan Sabha complex in Chandigarh, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah advising the state leadership to drop the proposal, officials familiar with the matter said.
According to them, senior Haryana functionaries had taken up the issue with Shah in recent weeks. “He directly said the state should not pursue the matter with the Chandigarh Administration,” a source said.
The move follows the UT Administration’s decision earlier this year to turn down Haryana’s land-swap plan for the proposed building. The Administration said the UT Master Plan-2031 “does not allow any such provision”.
Before the rejection, Chandigarh had offered three potential locations: near the IT Park, near Kalagram in Manimajra, and a 10-acre plot on the road from the Railway light point to the IT Park. Former Speaker Gian Chand Gupta and then Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had endorsed the 10-acre location in June 2022.
Haryana responded with an offer of 12 acres in Saketri, but the UT declined, citing poor accessibility, planning constraints and a natural drain running through the site. Officials said the drain divided the parcel into two and restricted construction. In contrast, they described the Chandigarh plot as “prime land” connected directly to Madhya Marg.
The demand for a new Assembly stems from the 2026 delimitation, which is expected to raise Haryana’s constituencies from 90 to 126 and its Lok Sabha seats from 10 to 14, leaving the current complex without expansion room.
The UT’s offer of land had drawn criticism from local organisations and Punjab political leaders, who argued Haryana should “build in Panchkula or elsewhere in its own territory” rather than seek additional land in the shared capital.
