Urban and Rural settlements, are known for their distinct characters duly marked by; population, size, planning, concentration, infrastructures, services, amenities, traffic& transportation, economy, operational efficiency, governance, employment etc. They are known to work and operate at different levels, catering to different human environment and sectors of economies. They remain different and distinct. If rural society is governed by informal social fabric, urban settlements promote formal culture. While visibility remains the hall mark of rural living, anonymity remains the basic character and underlying principle of urban living. They represent different culture and civilization and remain anti-thesis to each other. Mixing the two have been found to yield disasters. Planners have done the greatest disservice to the cities by making villages coming in the urban areas as the urban villages. The concept of urban village has destroyed the basic fabric of the villages and has made them hotbeds of speculation, illegal sub-division, poor quality of life, haphazard and unplanned development. Not only village and native residents suffer irreparable social damage but the concept has also made urban development most vulnerable. Based on the decision taken, all the 22 remaining villages falling in the periphery has been made part of the Chandigarh municipal Corporation. Bringing all the remaining villages within the fold of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, defies all logic and rationale of urban planning, development and management and goes against the very concept of Chandigarh planning. In order to protect the city from unplanned and haphazard development, to provide space for future development and for creating options for meeting basic day-to-day needs of the city, 8/16 Kms periphery as created. Corbusier, father of the city, had said that functions of city and periphery are different and distinct and no decision should be made to mix the two; if it ever happens, there shall prevail an environment of anarchy and chaos.Considering the maxima, all the villages falling in phase-1 of the city development were acquired. Villages left in the second phase have already destroyed the very fabric and culture of planned development in the second phase of the city. The decision of adding all the villages in the city corporation, making all villages as urban villages needs to be reviewed, revised and redefined , both objectively and rationally, considering its wider and far-reaching implications for the capital city of Chandigarh. Decision will not only lead to eliminating the existence of the very concept/area of the periphery but will also lead to emergence of numerous problems and threats which cannot be visualised immediately. Making rural settlements as urban, without a planning are known to have major implications, that will lead to fast emergence of slums; large scale land speculation, haphazard and unplanned development, besides putting enormo

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JIT KUMAR GUPTA
EMERGING SCENARIO OF CHANDIGARH
DEVELOPMENT BY MAKING VILLAGES FALLING
IN PERIPHERY PART OF CHANDIGARH MUNICIPAL
CORPORATION
 Jit KumarGupta;
 jit.kumar1944@gmail.com
As a resident of Chandigarh and as a professional watching, studying, analysing and valuing
Chandigarh for more than 56 years, I feel confused by the decision of the Chandigarh
Administration to bring all the villages within the jurisdiction of Chandigarh. This decision has
far reaching implications for the future of this most valued city.
Chandigarh was planned, by the globally known French Architect & Planner Mons Le-
Corbusier, as a capital city with a well-defined vision and a distinct philosophy, which
underlined and clearly distinguished between the role of city and periphery, with city providing
basic amenities, infrastructures and services for the residents of the capital city to provide
quality of life , even to the poorest of poor of citizens to lead a dignified life, whereas periphery
was to take care of the day to day needs of the citizens in terms of food, horticulture, dairy,
fruit , eggs, vegetables, milk etc. Periphery was also mandated to protect the city from the
onslaught of haphazard and unplanned development besides growth of slums and shanty towns.
Accordingly, periphery was never to be urbanised and no urban function were allowed to be
located in the periphery. In addition, Corbusier also mandated that functions of periphery and
city must not interchange; otherwise chaos and anarchy will prevail.
In view of these basic postulates; the decision of Chandigarh Administration to bring all the 22
villages forming periphery of the city, in the fold of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, is
fraught with danger which will destroy the basic fabric and will have far reaching implications
for the future planning, growth and development of the city. Decision to merge villages will
destroy the basic identity of the capital city, which has made Chandigarh an icon and role model
of urban planning and modern urbanism, not only locally but also globally. Accordingly,
decision to merge villages in the Municipal corporation, needs to be looked into, both critically
and objectively, taking into account to its larger and far reaching implications on the growth,
development and functioning of the city beautiful.
Decision will lead to;
● Converting entire area of 44 square kms under periphery into an urban mass, which is
primarily and essentially against all the basic principles of planning of Chandigarh city.
● Once the area becomes urban, there will emerge demand for using the area for urban
purposes including residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, leisure etc.
● This will call for re-defining the entire physical framework of Chandigarh, which will
not fit into the initial framework evolved for Chandigarh.
● Ultimately all the 22 Villages will become urban villages and will be subjected to large
scale illegal, sub-standard, haphazard and unplanned urbanisation on the pattern of

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JIT KUMAR GUPTA
existing urban villages of Burail, Attawa, Kajheri and Palsora, causing enormous
damage to the city fabric, structure and planned development.
● Urban Villages are known, globally and locally, for their dubious role, power and
strength to destroy planned development and promote unplanned and sub-standard
development in the urban context.
● Once periphery gets recognition as an urban area, it will be practically impossible for
authorities to check sub-division of land and unauthorised construction, both legally
and illegally.
● Chandigarh will tend to become one monolith development of 114 square kms, where
it will become difficult to distinguish between city and periphery.
● Population of the Chandigarh will go beyond 20 lakhs, which will make it another city
with planned core and unplanned & sub-standard fringe.
● City will face enormous shortage of basic amenities and services and will face the threat
of slums overtaking the basic fabric of the city.
● Traffic and transportation will become another major issue, which would be difficult to
handle due to large scale development around the city.
● City will not be able to meet the basic needs of the water and shelter and Chandigarh
will disintegrate as unplanned city.
● Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh has no capacity, capability, understanding,
expertise, manpower and resources to deal with the rational, planned and orderly
growth and development of villages. They have also no understanding of what went
into making and planning of Chandigarh. They have already messed up the
development of 4 villages falling in the urban areas with their free for all approach.
How can we now expect that they will do a great job of integrating rural area with the
planned urban area?
● Chandigarh will lose large tract of greenery surrounding it and will become a concrete
jungle, adversely impacting quality of life of urban residents. City will lose its hard-
earned status of city beautiful.
● In view of the above, the decision of bringing all the remaining villages within the fold
of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, which defies all logic and rationale of urban
planning, development and management, needs to be reviewed and revised, both
objectively and rationally, considering its wider and far reaching implications for the
capital city of Chandigarh. Decision will lead to emergence of numerous problems and
threats which cannot be visualised now. Making rural land as urban, without a planning
and development framework, are known to have major implications, that will lead to
fast emergence of slums; large scale land speculation, haphazard and unplanned
development, besides putting enormous pressure on city infrastructure, services and
quality of life of Chandigarh. It will prove to be both counter-productive, suicidal and
an attempt to destroy the beautiful city and its basic fabric.