Infrastructure limits and Master Plan norms keep long-pending proposals off reform agenda.

Chandigarh Administration Rejects CLU, Industrial Plot Conversion Demands

The Chandigarh Administration has ruled out long-pending demands to permit change of land use (CLU) in villages and to convert industrial plots into retail or commercial properties. Officials said these proposals are not part of the current reform agenda due to planning, infrastructural, and financial constraints. A senior UT official said there is an internal consensus that CLU in villages and conversion of plots in the Industrial Area are not feasible at present. Chandigarh’s villages lack large contiguous land parcels, making CLU-based development unviable. Developing infrastructure on small land holdings would significantly increase costs and land prices, rendering projects financially impractical. Officials also cited restrictions under the Periphery Control Act, 1952, and the Chandigarh Master Plan-2031, which strictly regulate land-use changes. The conversion of industrial plots was rejected because it violates the Master Plan and could worsen traffic and parking issues. Despite existing misuse, authorities have intensified enforcement, issuing hundreds of notices to violators in Industrial Area Phase-II.