Process set in motion to make Chandigarh an educational, commercial hub: Adviser

Process to transform Chandigarh Beautiful into an educational, healthcare and commercial hub of the region has been set in motion.

New facilities and infrastructure will be created in the city to attract educational, health institutions and opportunities for trade and commerce.

Confirming the development, UT adviser Dharam Pal, said, “There are three areas where we are focusing on. Making the city a commercial centre in the region besides converting it into an educational and healthcare hub.”

The adviser would review the previously planned project of ‘Edu City’. “I will also visit the area where the Edu City was planned for better assessment of the potential and aspects,” Pal said.

“Trading can take place even as firms keep their manufacturing units in neighbouring cities like Panchkula. There is no major scope or intention to expand manufacturing in the city. But the trading and commerce part can be centered here,” he added.

The city was earlier considered as the educational hub in the region, but in the past few years, Mohali has slowly emerged as a major alternative with a number of private and public-sector educational institutions of national and international stature attracting students from the region.

While City Beautiful leads in premium public health infrastructure such as the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Mohali has seen mushrooming of multiple options in the medical education and healthcare sector.

“Mohali is being projected as a destination for health tourism with its many private hospitals. Previous attempts of the Chandigarh administration to expand the health infrastructure in the city has failed to take-off,” said a UT official.

The administration is looking to overcome the constraint of availability of land through introduction of a land pooling policy. “Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Human Settlement has been entrusted with the task of formulating a land aggregation and pooling policy. This is expected to bring forth surplus land for development works,” Pal said.

Most of the potential vacant land is locked in different pockets predominantly in villages. A major chunk of this land is facing serious threat of encroachments and illegal constructions. “A village development plan is in works which will allow integration of villages in the sectoral plan of the city. It is a challenging task, but will pave way for better development opportunities,” the UT adviser said.

International meet in collaboration with UNDP

In one of the steps to realise these objectives, the UT administration will hold an international-level meet in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to formulate ‘Chandigarh Vision 2050’. The two-day event is planned to be held within this month.

“We will bring in international experts in urban planning, transport, civic and municipal issues on a common platform. Intensive brainstorming sessions will be held to gauge how well we are doing, how to meet future challenges and what is the vision for city’s future,” said Pal. The event will be comprising workshops and seminars on six sectors.

As per UT officials, this is the first time when administration is planning such endeavours for the city’s future. ‘Chandigarh Master Plan 2031’ was finalised nearly seven years ago, but a little progress has been made in achieving the goals set therein. Issues related to it will also be delved upon during the meet.