Why proposal to build Haryana Vidhan Sabha complex in Chandigarh has united Punjab political parties

A chronology

During the tenure of former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Haryana had sought from the Centre a piece of land to construct a separate Vidhan Sabha building in the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

Subsequently, the UT’s administration decided to allocate 10 acres of prime land near the railway station for the purpose in return for 12 acres of land in Panchkula (in Haryana). But the transfer of the land in Panchkula did not receive environmental clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

On Wednesday (November 13), Haryana claimed to have obtained environmental clearance that would help get the construction of its new Vidhan Sabha complex started. This riled up parties across the political spectrum, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee, and Punjab farmer unions who claim that Chandigarh rightfully belongs to Punjab.

The Chandigarh story

During British rule, Lahore used to be the capital of the erstwhile Punjab province. After Partition, when the city went to Pakistan, Shimla was made the temporary capital of Indian Punjab.

But then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru envisioned a modern city as the capital of the northern state — giving the birth to the idea of Chandigarh. In March 1948, both the Centre and the state government chose a location next to the foothills of the Himalayas for the construction of the planned city. As many as 22 villages in Kharar were acquired for the construction.

The master plan for the city was developed by Le Corbusier, recognised universally as one of the pioneers of modernist architecture. “The City of Beauty” officially became the capital of Punjab on September 21, 1953. Then President Rajendra Prasad inaugurated the new capital shortly after, on October 7 that year.

Dispute between Punjab & Haryana

Punjab faced another division when the Hindi-speaking, Hindu-majority state of Haryana was carved out under The Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966.

Chandigarh, which lay at the border between the newly-carved state and Punjab, and became the common capital of both the states with properties divided in a 60:40 ratio between Punjab and Haryana. It was also given UT status, which brought the city under direct control of the Centre.

At that time, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had announced that Haryana would get its own capital. There was even a brief proposal to divide Chandigarh into two parts, which was eventually rejected.

On January 29, 1970, the Centre announced that “the capital project area of Chandigarh should, as a whole, go to Punjab.” The government of the day was forced to make this announcement when Fateh Singh, leader of the Punjabi Suba movement, threatened self-immolation if Chandigarh was not transferred to Punjab.

But Haryana was given temporary accommodation for running offices in Punjab’s civil secretariat and also space in Punjab’s Vidhan Sabha. The state was told to use the office and residential accommodation in Chandigarh for five years until it built its own capital. The Centre offered Haryana a grant of Rs 10 crore and a loan of the equivalent amount to Haryana for building a new capital.

Haryana’s refusal to budge

But 58 years have passed since Haryana was carved out, and Chandigarh remains the joint capital, much to the displeasure of Punjab which has long maintained that its claim over the entirety of the city is “undisputed”.

As many as seven resolutions reiterating Punjab’s claim over the city have been passed in its Assembly, most recently in 2022 by the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party government of Bhagwant Maan. And there is consensus across party lines on this matter — as seen by the Congress, AAP, Shiromani Akali Dal, and even the BJP criticising Haryana’s latest move.

Haryana, on its part, has always found ways to sidestep Punjab’s claim. Reacting to the outcry on Thursday, Haryana minister Anil Vij said that Chandigarh will only be Punjab’s if the state transfers “the Hindi-speaking areas [in the city] to Haryana” and gives completes the construction of the “Satluj Yamuna Link canal”, the waters from which would immensely benefit Haryana.

In 2022, then Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had said that “Chandigarh is the capital of Punjab and Haryana…aur dono ki hi rahegi (and it will remain the capital of both).”