Punjab decides to acquire more land in Chandigarh

Saturday, 06/10/2012

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121006/punjab.htm#14

Chandigarh : In what could be called a bid to reiterate its claim on Chandigarh, the Punjab government is working on modalities for acquiring more space for the centralised offices of many of its departments.

The state government is learnt to have written to all Financial Commissioners, Principal Secretaries and Administrative Secretaries to draw up a requirement map for “acquiring land in the Union Territory”. The land is being sought for common offices of ministers, secretaries and board heads and their staff.

At present, offices of the state government are scattered all over the Union Territory, mainly in Sectors 22, 34, 7, 35 and 8, besides other locations. The government is paying crores of rupees as rent for this. A sizeable number of offices are stuck up in settling differences with their landlords over the issue of increased market rents.

”We are paying Rs 4 lakh per month as rent and the SCO owner is demanding more,” said head of a state government department based in Sector 34.

In an official communication, the Punjab government has said that it was working with the Chandigarh Administration for acquiring land for its offices. Commissioners and secretaries have been asked to provide details regarding specific land requirement for the offices of ministers concerned and their staff, commissioners or secretaries and their staff, department heads and commissioners or heads of board of the department.

VK Singh, UT Finance Secretary, said, “The matter for providing more land to the governments of Punjab and Haryana were under consideration. We have asked for details of their requirements and will try to give them maximum space possible out of limited land resources at our disposal.”

A senior UT Administration official said, “It sounds very illogical why Punjab and Haryana are eyeing land in an already congested Chandigarh. Punjab has built several offices in Mohali and the township has an open area around it. Therefore, the state government should consider shifting offices there. Chandigarh might soon be crying for a breathing space in case more housing societies are allowed and elaborate complexes for offices too come up. Similarly, Haryana should make offices in Panchkula.”

In a restructuring bid, all the offices concerning Punjab state education will be shifted to the building of the Punjab School Education Board in Mohali.