Chandigarh, Dec 14: With the verandah dispute resolved, the Chandigarh Administration has stepped up work on the long-pending UNESCO-mandated Site and Buffer Zone Management Plan for the Capitol Complex, a key document that will govern all future interventions in and around the heritage precinct.
Prepared by IIT-Roorkee, the plan will define how restoration, infrastructure upgrades, parking, security and visitor management can be carried out without compromising the site’s Outstanding Universal Value.
Chief Engineer C.B. Ojha said the Administration was committed to complying with international norms. “We are aligning every step with UNESCO norms. The verandah and green paver works show that functionality and heritage sensitivity can move together. Our priority is to protect the Outstanding Universal Value while meeting daily needs,” he said.
The urgency follows a 2023 decision of the World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, which suspended three major projects — a proposed underground parking facility, a holistic High Court development plan and a chiller plant — citing potential harm to the site.
Subsequent Heritage Impact Assessments by IIT-Roorkee in 2024 found that several expansion proposals would cause irreversible damage to the Core Zone. Only subterranean parking behind the Open Hand Monument was found conditionally feasible.
Meanwhile, restoration work has gathered pace. Internal restoration of the Punjab and Haryana Assembly is scheduled for completion by December 2025 at a cost of Rs 6.23 crore, while restoration of nine High Court courtrooms is planned through December 2026 for Rs 5.11 crore. Exterior restoration costing Rs 7 crore has already been completed.
Structural assessments have flagged deterioration in exposed concrete, corrosion of reinforcement and seepage in several buildings, prompting calls for systematic retrofitting.
Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria said conservation and functionality must go hand in hand. “The Capitol Complex is not a monument to be frozen in time. Its restoration, renovation and upkeep are non-negotiable, and we are committed to preserving this UNESCO World Heritage site while keeping it fully functional as a living centre of governance,” he said.
Officials involved in drafting the plan said it would introduce zoning rules, protect visual corridors and regulate development pressure around the Complex, reducing the scope for ad-hoc decisions that previously attracted UNESCO objections.
