Chandigarh, July 15
Chandigarh is growing, growing, and phew, growing! The easel that supports the vast canvass of City Beautiful is being forced to live with its unwanted child, Mullanpur, nay, New Chandigarh, spread over 15,000 acres to the north-west of the original city. The fear is that there would be a permanent umbilical chord with Ma Chandigarh.

Work in progress on widening of the Chandigarh-Mullanpur road that is being projected as the ticket to the development of New Chandigarh. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

Here’s reality check: it will have at least 17 high-rises, including residential complexes. Based on its population projection of nearly 5 lakh by 2031, the requirement of water and electricity would be at 165 million litres per day (MLD) and 790 MW. The city would generate 247 tonnes of solid waste per day, and 62 million litres per day of sewage.

Would things be any better when Chandigarh would have to spoon-feed its newest, wealthiest foil, New Chandigarh? The original city is not allowed to grow vertically beyond 30 metres. It draws its water share from Khajauli plant that gets supply from the Bhakra. It needs 87 million gallons per day (MGD). It is short by 29 MGD. For power, the Union Territory is dependent on a variety of sources. Its requirement is 400MW per day. It is running short by about 60MW.

Five years after the Punjab Government released the first master plan 2013-2058, prepared by Jurong Pvt Lt, the Singapore-based consultant, construction of roads and provisions of adequate water and electricity supply remain only on paper.

“Infrastructure follows development. As projects come up, developers would create facilities”, said a senior Town Planning Department official.

Many town planners say the broad outlines of low-density country living in Mullanpur area are being subtly altered by raising the population density and Floor Area Ratio (FAR). That means that there would be 40 persons living in an acre, 17 years hence. Compare this with Chandigarh: the population density at present is around 35 persons per acre. By 2031, this would rise to about 57.

A Venu Prasad, Punjab Principal Secretary Housing, says: “The increase in the population density would not affect the eco-sensitivity of the area. The new township has been divided into three zones. The density level would be kept low in Zone A which is located near the Shivaliks and is the reserved forest area. In Zone B, the density would be kept moderate. It will highest in Zone 3 but that too with restrictions”.

Top Punjab Government officials are confident they can deliver. “The new township has been planned in such a way that there would be no dependence on Chandigarh. Both would complement each other,” says AK Sinha, Chief Administrator, Greater Mohali Area Development Authority.

Not many are convinced, though. There are accusations of politicians-bureaucrat-realtor nexus at work as the New Chandigarh master plan has been changed to “adjust” unplanned development in the immediate periphery of Chandigarh, be it Nayagoan to the north of the Punjab & Haryana civil secretariat or Zirakpur, which is all but a concrete urban slum.

“If the Punjab Government succeeds in realising this (New Chandigarh) project, it would be a tragedy: It would belie its commitment to the making of Chandigarh to which it was a signatory in 1949. And it will kill Chandigarh, which is a city of its own creation. The state should focus on developing existing towns,” says SS Bhatti, former Principal, Chandigarh College of Architecture.

As an oversized city struggles to take on a season's knock each year, it despairingly evokes a sharp, cringing cussedness, what with never-ending nights and days of thirst and supply woes. "Things weren't as bad a few years back," thus begin, and end, all day and midnight conversations.

naqli Chandigarh: Any resemblance to asli is purely coincidental

Reality check

The new township spread over 15,000 acres, will have at least 17 high-rises, including residential complexes

Based on its population projection by 2031, the requirement of water and power would be at 165 million litres per day and 790 MW