Chandigarh: The Chandigarh Administration is now making changes to the 75-year-old Master Plan of Chandigarh to meet public needs. Before finalizing these changes, the administration has decided to hold a private hearing from June 25th to June 28th. This hearing will be held at the UT Guest House, Sector 6, Chandigarh.
Those who have submitted suggestions or objections in this regard and wish to speak in person will be given an opportunity to be heard. The administration has also scheduled times for the hearings. Hearings will be held on all four days from 10:30 am to 1:30 pm and from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm.
The administration will hear the case for 4 days.
The administration has designated different days for different areas to avoid inconvenience to residents. This schedule has been created accordingly.
June 25: Suggestions and objections related to residential and commercial matters will be heard.
June 26: Suggestions and objections related to industrial and public/semi-public matters will be heard.
June 27: Matters related to periphery area and applications will be heard.
June 28: Those who, for some reason, are unable to attend at their scheduled time will be given a second and final opportunity to present their views on this day.
People have sent in over 100 suggestions.
Public suggestions were sought for amendments to Chandigarh’s Master Plan. Over 100 people have submitted suggestions. The administration will consider these.
Opposition to high-rise buildings: Heritage experts and local residents have demanded withdrawal of the proposal to increase the height of buildings to 30 metres and increase FAR.
Concerns over infrastructure: RWAs say it would not be appropriate to increase population density without increasing the capacity of sewerage, water and educational institutions.
Parking and fire safety: People have warned that the increasing population will worsen the parking crisis and may affect the movement of fire brigade in case of emergency.
Support from trade organisations: The decision to divide industrial plots and increase the mixed land use area has been welcomed by industry and trade organisations.
Local suggestions: Residents of several areas, including Manimajra, have demanded construction of multi-level parking, green belts, playgrounds and alternative link roads for traffic.
MP Tiwari had raised questions
While the administration was hearing the matter, the MPs also criticized the 21-day deadline for submitting suggestions and objections as insufficient. They argued that proposals with such broad and far-reaching implications should be given more time for discussion and review.