Updated: November 22, 2020 7:43:59 pm
Chandigarh was planned to replace Lahore, the capital of the former Punjab, which became part of Pakistan during the Partition. (Express file photo)
Earlier this month, Haryana’s Senior Deputy Minister Dushyant Chautala said it would be better if both Haryana and Punjab agreed to Chandigarh as a Union Territory and established their independent capitals and higher courts. On November 1, Haryana was celebrating 54 years of its formation as a separate state after it was sculpted into undivided Punjab in 1966. The statement once again highlighted the long-running dispute between the two states over one of the cities. most modern in India. . But Punjab has always refuted Haryana’s claims about Chandigarh. We tell you why:
Why was Chandigarh created?
Chandigarh was planned to replace Lahore, the capital of the former Punjab, which became part of Pakistan during the Partition. In March 1948, the government of Punjab (of India), in consultation with the Center, approved the foothills area of the Shivaliks as the site of the new capital. From 1952 to 1966 (until Haryana was carved in Punjab), Chandigarh remained the capital of Punjab.
How did it become shared capital?
At the time of Punjab’s reorganization in 1966, the city assumed the unique distinction of being the capital of both Punjab and Haryana, even as it was declared a union territory and came under the direct control of the Center. Properties in Chandigarh would be divided 60:40 in favor of Punjab. 📣 Express Explained is now on Telegram
Punjab’s claim
The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had announced that Haryana would, in due course, have its own capital and Chandigarh would go to Punjab. According to documents submitted to the Lok Sabha, the Center had even issued a formal communication on the matter on January 29, 1970, almost three years after Haryana was created. “After very carefully weighing the claims of the two states, the Chandigarh capital project area should, as a whole, go to Punjab,” the note reads. Again, in 1985, under the Rajiv-Longowal agreement, Chandigarh was to be handed over to the Punjab on January 26, 1986, but Rajiv Gandhi’s government withdrew at the last minute.
Haryana counterclaim
According to documents from 1970, the Center had considered various alternatives to resolve the matter, including the division of the city. But that was not feasible as Chandigarh was built as a planned city to serve as the capital of a state. Haryana was told to use the office and residential accommodation in Chandigarh for only five years until she moved to her own new capital. The Center had offered a grant of Rs 10 million to Haryana and an equal amount of loan to establish the new capital.
In 2018, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar suggested creating a special body for the development of Chandigarh, but the Punjab CM rejected it, saying that the city “unquestionably belonged to Punjab.” Haryana, for her part, has been demanding a separate High Court and even took on Punjab by passing a resolution in Vidhan Sabha demanding 20 rooms in the Vidhan Sabha complex that have been in Punjab possession.
Don’t miss Explained | Why has Tamil Nadu banned online games?
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
.
