Chandigarh, May 7
Haryana now wants to rule the capital city of Chandigarh. The Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, has demanded that the powers to administer Chandigarh should be given to the Governor of Haryana.

Successive Punjab Governors have been running the affairs of Chandigarh Administration for the last 21 years. Mr Hooda feels it should be Haryana’s turn now.

A suggestion has been made to the Prime Minister that both states should share the power to administer Chandigarh. The Chief Minister’s suggestion is that both states should manage Chandigarh alternatively and a tenure be fixed for the same.

It may be recalled that Punjab has been asking that Chandigarh should be transferred to the state while Haryana has been opposing it and demanding transfer of Hindi speaking areas of Abohar and Fazilka in Punjab.

Till now, for the past 21 years, the Governor of Punjab has been the Administrator of Chandigarh. Haryana Governor has never held the post.

Mr Hooda has reportedly pointed out that Chandigarh was the capital of both the states since 1966. Also, the extraordinary situation of militancy no longer exists in Punjab thus administratively also the Governor of Haryana be given a chance. Sources in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs confirmed the demand made by the Haryana CM.

In 1984 the then Governor of Punjab Mr Arjun Singh and now Union Human Resource Development Minister, was given the charge of Administrator of UT to have better coordination during the days of militancy in Punjab. Between 1966 and 1984 Chandigarh used to have a Chief Commissioner as its head who was appointed by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Before 1966, Punjab had full control of Chandigarh. Since 1984, the Chief Commissioner has been designated as Adviser to the Administrator.

At present Chandigarh, which also enjoys the status of a Union Territory, is run directly by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the Governor of Punjab as its Administrator reporting directly to the Union Home Minister or to the Prime Minister. The bureaucracy is drawn from Punjab and Haryana and the ratio of the officers is decided by the MHA. Even part of the staff is drawn from the states at a ratio of 60: 40.