To ensure integrated planning and development of the periphery of Chandigarh,the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed to reactivate the coordination committee that was set up for the purpose in 1975. The committee headed by the Union Secretary for Urban Development and comprising senior officers of Punjab,Haryana and the UT Administration had been formed by the Union government. The directions were passed on Monday by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Tirath Singh Thakur and Justice Hemant Gupta. The matter was adjourned to April 22 with directions to the authorities concerned to file a status report. The directions were issued on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Gurbax Singh Shergill,a local resident. The petitioner demanded directions towards preparing a master plan or draft development plan for the peripheral area of Chandigarh in terms of the Punjab New Capital (Periphery) Control Act 1952. Besides,the PIL sought directions to prepare a composite regional plan for the Tricity in consonance with the regional plan. According to the PIL,the coordination committee set up in 1975 held a number of meetings but the decisions it took to bring integrated planning and development of the periphery were all violated by either the UT Administration,or the governments of Punjab and Haryana. The allegations were strongly contested by the law officers appearing on behalf of Punjab,Haryana and Chandigarh. UT Senior Standing Counsel Advocate Anupam Gupta submitted that UT had no objection if the court wanted to reactivate this committee and that there was no violation of the UT Periphery Control Act by the Administration. The counsel for the Union government said as far as the committees role was concerned,the role of the Centre was advisory because urban development is a state subject. The counsel for the three states countered the accusations. The entire development carried out on the periphery has been done in accordance with the plan and rules, one of them submitted.
