Chandigarh, August 22: Chandigarh’s top bureaucracy has not replied to repeated queries from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on issues raised by local MP Manish Tewari, despite two official letters from the Centre in less than two weeks.
According to documents shared by Tewari, the MHA first wrote to the Union Territory’s Chief Secretary on July 22, referring to the Congress leader’s July 8 representation on long-pending matters. When no response came, a follow-up letter dated August 4—marked as a “reminder”—again pressed the administration for answers.
“This obviously means the earlier communication was ignored,” Tewari, a former Union minister, remarked. “After over 14 months of persistently raising these matters in Parliament and with the Home Minister, I am pleased that the Union Home Ministry has formally directed the Chandigarh Administration to respond to the issues I have flagged.”
The August 4 letter, signed by MHA Under Secretary Prabhat Nigam, reiterated that “the requisite information is still awaited” and instructed the UT Chief Secretary to provide comments by August 5. Among the matters on which feedback was sought are:
- Share-wise sale of property, prohibited by a Supreme Court judgment and its interpretation by the Chandigarh Administration.
- Ownership rights for residents of resettlement colonies across the city.
- Extension of lal dora (red line) limits in 22 villages now under the Municipal Corporation.
- Need-based changes to Chandigarh Housing Board dwellings, which require regularisation.
- Long-pending disputes involving cooperative and group housing societies, many of which have remained unresolved for over a decade.
Tewari urged the administration not to delay further. “I do hope the Chandigarh Administration responds positively with solutions to these problems and not explanations for why they cannot be resolved,” he said.
Repeated attempts to reach Chief Secretary Rajeev Verma for comment did not succeed.
