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A Tribune Exclusive
Punjab Guv to lose UT charge
Chief Commissioner to govern Chandigarh after Nov 16
Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 11
The Punjab Governor will not hold additional charge as the Administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh, the Union Home Ministry has decided.

The existing system of the Punjab Governor holding dual charge will continue only till November 16 when the tenure of the present Governor of Punjab, Gen SF Rodrigues (retd), ends. After that, a Chief Commissioner under the direct control of the Home Ministry will govern the Chandigarh Administration. The same pattern was prevalent till the mid-1980s.

However, the UT will continue to house the capitals of Punjab and Haryana and the latest move does not prejudice the claim of Punjab as envisaged under the Re-organisation of States Act, 1966.

Union Home Secretary GK Pillai has confirmed the move saying, “We will revert back to the old pattern once the tenure of the present Governor of Punjab ends”. He refused to comment further. Sources said a secretary-level officer would be posted as the Chief Commissioner.

Some powers enjoyed by the Governor in his capacity as Administrator could possibly be handed over to one of the junior ministers in the Ministry of Home Affairs while the Chief Commissioner will enjoy the autonomy as was the case before the 1980s.

At present the Home Ministry appoints a senior IAS officer as the Adviser to the Administrator. Financial powers up to a certain level to clear projects for Chandigarh wrest with the Administrator, who is the Governor of Punjab.

Also the ministry could revive the “advisory body” and have eminent citizens on board. In the past, Haryana had demanded that the post of Administrator be rotated between Punjab and Haryana.

In the mid-1980s, the circumstances of militancy in Punjab had necessitated a change in the system of governance of Chandigarh. The Punjab Governor was given dual charge of the Administrator of Chandigarh to provide better coordination between the police and the administration of Punjab and Chandigarh.

Just two months ago, several eminent residents of the city had written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding scrapping of prevailing system of governance. Several residents had expressed views in its support of the Chief Commissioner system in debates carried out by various newspapers, with The Tribune having taken the lead in seeking the change in governance and demanding that the Chief Commissioner system be restored.

Seeking accountability and transparency in governance, the eminent citizens included former judge of the Supreme Court Justice Kuldip Singh, former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court Justice SS Sodhi (retd) and Lt Gen RS Dayal (retd), former Punjab Chief Secretary RS Mann, former chief architect MN Sharma, theatre director Neelam Mann Singh Choudhry, former advocate-general of Punjab as well as Haryana ML Sarin and president of Independent Schools Association HS Mamik.