Chandigarh: In a city where concrete ambitions often collide with a carefully preserved legacy, the Chandigarh administration has made its position unambiguous: No development will come at the cost of its architectural soul. As sweeping amendments to the Chandigarh Master Plan (CMP-2031) are pushed forward, officials have underlined that heritage protection and infrastructure readiness are “non-negotiable.”Senior UT officials said the “sanctity” of heritage sectors — firmly reinforced by the Supreme Court of India — will remain untouched. “Phase-I sectors will continue with their low-rise, plotted character. No additional height will be permitted under any circumstances,” an official said, stressing adherence to original architectural controls and zoning norms envisioned by the city’s founding planners.The proposed changes, based on recommendations of an expert committee constituted by the UT administrator, focus largely on Phase-III — areas yet to be developed — while keeping the core city intact. Officials insist the amendments are aligned with the broader vision of Chandigarh’s three-phase development model.“Crucially, the town planning wing of the urban planning department played a key role in drafting safeguards, embedding strict heritage protection norms and infrastructure-first conditions into the proposed amendments,” said a senior UT official who supervised the drafting of the recommendations.But the administration has coupled higher development potential with a strict caveat: infrastructure must come first. The committee has mandated that no increase in Floor Area Ratio (FAR) will be operationalised without simultaneous augmentation of essential services.In the Industrial Area, the proposed FAR enhancement is expected to generate an additional built-up area of over 15.24 lakh square metres in Phase-I and 7.85 lakh square metres in Phase-II, along with thousands of equivalent car spaces. This surge, officials admit, will significantly burden existing infrastructure unless upgraded in advance.To address this, the engineering department and municipal corporation have been tasked with expanding sewerage, water supply, electricity networks, effluent treatment systems, waste management, road capacity and parking facilities. A time-bound action plan has been made mandatory, and implementation of the amendments will remain on hold until these upgrades are completed and formally cleared.The committee has laid down a tough condition. “In view of the enhanced FAR, the engineering department and Chandigarh Municipal Corporation shall undertake augmentation of trunk infrastructure — including sewer lines, water supply, electricity network, effluent treatment plants, waste management, road widening, and parking — to handle the increased load…The recommendation will stay in abeyance until full infrastructure augmentation is executed and clearances are submitted. Only then will the urban planning department issue final notification.”
