Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari has submitted a consolidated set of objections to Chief Secretary H. Rajesh Prasad regarding the Chandigarh Administration’s draft amendments to the Master Plan-2031, raising concerns over procedural lapses, infrastructure deficiencies, and potential threats to the city’s heritage character under the Centre’s Deregulation 1.0 and 2.0 initiatives.
Tewari has objected to the constitution of the Expert Committee that recommended the amendments, noting that it comprises 11 government officials with no independent heritage experts, environmentalists, and public representatives. He argued that this violates Section 8.10 of the Chandigarh Master Plan (CMP)-2031, which mandates a multidisciplinary panel. He has demanded that the committee be reconstituted with at least six independent experts and two public representatives.
The Administration had invited objections within 21 days through the office of the Chief Architect, Department of Urban Planning. However, Tewari termed the consultation period inadequate given the scale of the proposed changes. Pointing out that CMP-2015 had provided a 60-day consultation window along with ward-level hearings, he has sought an extension of the objection period to 60 days and the holding of ward sabhas across all 35 wards.
The MP also highlighted the absence of any publicly disclosed Traffic Impact Assessment, Environmental Impact Assessment, utility load assessment, or heritage impact study to justify the proposed amendments. He questioned the rationale behind amending CMP-2031 before evaluating its implementation.
Density and height concerns
Among the specific objections raised are proposals allowing building heights of up to 30 metres, ground coverage of up to 40 per cent, and increases in Floor Area Ratio (FAR) to 2.5–3.0 across Phase-II and Phase-III sectors.
Tewari also flagged an inconsistency under which stilt floors are exempt from height calculations in Phase-II sectors but are counted towards height limits in Phase-III sectors, describing it as a “procedural loophole”.
Regarding the proposed Stilt+5 development in Manimajra, he warned that population density could rise to 250–300 persons per acre, while existing parking norms are designed for only 100 persons per acre. He argued that the resulting parking shortfall could create serious fire safety hazards.
Civic infrastructure blueprint sought
Citing the failure of the 24×7 water supply pilot project in Manimajra, persistent solid waste management issues at Dadumajra, and the shelved Sector 17 parking project, Tewari has demanded a publicly disclosed, ward-wise Municipal Civic Infrastructure Blueprint.
He has suggested that the blueprint be tabled before the Municipal Corporation General House before any increase in density or FAR is approved.
Conditional support, not blanket opposition
The submission isn’t an outright rejection:
Tewari has proposed conditional clearance for industrial FAR hikes, mixed land-use corridors and institutional enhancements, tied to fire safety NOCs, traffic studies, parking certification and phased rollout linked to infrastructure milestones. His ten recommendations include withdrawing the present draft, reconstituting the expert panel, publishing all technical studies, and reissuing amendments only after compliance with CMP-2031’s procedural requirements.
