Chandigarh's slum demolitions: Urban order or displacement dilemma?

Hindustan Times

11-05-2025

When Chandigarh was envisioned by Le Corbusier and his team in the 1950s, it was meant to embody a vision of organised, humane living—free from the chaotic sprawl of older Indian cities. Yet seventy years later, the city's ongoing issues with informal settlements, and their recent demolition, reveal the persistent gap between idealistic planning and the messy, evolving realities of how cities actually grow.
In recent weeks, Chandigarh witnessed a wave of demolitions targeting slum clusters, particularly in Sector 25 and parts of Dhanas. The drive, undertaken by local authorities following high court orders, displaced hundreds of families. The situation calls for an analytical look—at planning intentions, legal mandates, and the pathways Chandigarh must now consider if it wishes to remain both a model city and a compassionate one.
The planning ethos & its frictions
Chandigarh's original master plan was rooted in ideals of functionality, hierarchy of movement, and clear segregation of spaces based on land use and income group. The city included earmarked zones for economically weaker sections (EWS), with modestly designed homes meant to accommodate essential service providers—those whose labour was indispensable to the functioning of the city.
However, over time, the influx of migrants far outpaced the capacities envisioned in the original blueprint. Many of these migrants arrived in search of construction jobs, domestic work, or informal trade opportunities but found formal housing either unaffordable or entirely unavailable. As a result, informal settlements gradually took shape along the city's margins, often occupying vacant parcels of government land.
The emergence of these settlements highlighted a fundamental mismatch between Chandigarh's rigid, top-down planning model and the dynamic, improvisational nature of real human settlement. Despite repeated attempts at relocation and rehabilitation through schemes like the EWS Housing Plan and the Chandigarh Small Flats Scheme, the cycle of encroachment and eviction continued. The latest demolitions are not a new chapter, but rather a continuation—one shaped by decades of unresolved urban pressures.
Demolitions: Legal frameworks vs human realities
The recent eviction operations were carried out under directives from the Punjab and Haryana high court, which emphasised the need to clear unauthorised constructions from public lands. Authorities justified the action on the grounds of city aesthetics, public safety, and the right to planned development.
From a legal standpoint, the demolitions are consistent with principles of planned urbanism and the safeguarding of government-owned land. Chandigarh's unique status as a Union Territory gives its administration direct accountability to the central government, increasing pressure to comply strictly with judicial directives.
Yet from a human and sociological lens, the situation becomes far more layered. Many of those evicted had lived in these areas for years—sometimes decades—contributing to Chandigarh's labor force and social infrastructure. Voter ID cards, ration cards, and other official documentation had, in many cases, validated their presence and blurred the line between illegal occupation and de facto residence.
While the administration stated that eligible residents would be considered for rehabilitation under existing welfare schemes, ground reports suggest that many were left homeless with little notice. The absence of immediate alternative housing or livelihood options raises difficult questions about the ethics and effectiveness of implementation—especially when legal justification exists but humane execution falters.
A case for inclusive urbanism
As Chandigarh continues to expand its infrastructure and economic ambitions, it must confront a deeper, more existential question: who gets to claim space in the 'City Beautiful'?
There is an urgent need for policy frameworks that recognise informal urbanism not just as a problem to be erased, but as a reality to be understood and integrated. Planned cities may begin with geometry and order, but they endure through the lives that unfold within them.
Future strategies might include in-situ upgrades, development of affordable rental housing, and participatory planning models that center the voices of the marginalised. Chandigarh now has a chance to evolve from blueprint to belonging—a shift that honours both its legacy and its future.
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(The writer is a Chandigarh-based architect & interior designer)