CHANDIGARH, May 16 – To boost up the financially ailing Municipal Corporation (MC), the Chandigarh Administration has granted approval for the auction of a 7-acre land parcel in Manimajra on a freehold basis for a residential project, potentially generating over ₹400 crore in revenue for the civic body.
The land, located in Pocket 6 near Panchkula, will be auctioned once pending clarifications are addressed.
“We have received a formal letter from the Administration. Certain queries have been raised, and the auction will commence once we receive the clarifications,” said MC Commissioner Amit Kumar.
Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla, who has been actively pursuing the matter, confirmed that she had recently discussed the proposal with UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria.
“The auction will help the MC overcome its current financial crisis,” she said.
Sources revealed that the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning has already approved the zoning plan for the residential site in accordance with Chandigarh’s Master Plan.
This is not the first time the MC is leveraging its land assets. In 2005, the corporation sold a 5.39-acre site in Manimajra to Delhi-based Uppal Housing for ₹108 crore.
The project, comprising over 160 flats, was developed on a freehold basis and received a strong response.
A year later, the MC also auctioned a hotel site in Sector 35 for ₹101.37 crore on a leasehold basis.
In addition to the land auction, Mayor Babla has requested that the Administration allocate at least 50% of the budget collected through the Registering and Licensing Authority (RLA) for city infrastructure maintenance, especially roads and parking facilities.
She pointed out that under the Municipal Corporation Act, 1976—applicable to Chandigarh—the civic body is entitled to a share in road tax, which it has not been receiving.
“I’ve raised the issue with the Administrator, who has assured that ₹238 crore will be released to the MC,” she said.
With no funds currently available for development works, the civic body is grappling with one of its worst financial phases in recent years.
The land auction, officials say, may provide the crucial relief needed to resume stalled civic projects.
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