Though Chandigarh’s 2031 Master Plan recommends that the city should retain the rural character on its periphery, villagers in the 12 panchayats still under the Union Territory are unsure of this. They fear that whatever is left of the rural ethos in their region will soon be lost forever.
The last nail in the coffin, they say, may well be the plan to bring the villages located within an 8 km radius of Chandigarh under the Municipal Corporation (MC) by mid-2016. Of the 23 villages, 10 are already under the MC.
Much of the land in the villages on the periphery of Chandigarh was acquired for building the city planned by Le Corbusier. “Whatever good is left of the ‘rural character’, especially the prevailing fraternity and
“Once the village falls under Municipal Corporation area, that land too will be acquired. Can one conceive of a village where there is no farming?” asks one of the village elders. “Only seven tractors are left, and with add-ons. They are used for transporting milk and water and other chores rather than ploughing the fields. What will be the use of these tractors, once every bit of land goes to the land mafia?”
Harbans Lal, a panchayat member, says the village body resolves disputes amicably, but when it ceases to exist, people will be forced to approach courts and those who cannot afford that will suffer.
The village Sarpanch, Paramjit Kaur, says she is worried about the safety of young girls and women. “Although incidents of chain-snatching or eve-teasing happen in Chandigarh almost on a daily basis, our village is still free of crime. But once it is urbanised after the MC takeover, who knows what will happen here.”
Right now all villagers have free access to the dharamshala (guesthouse) constructed in the village for social functions. They fear they may have to hire it for payment once it comes under the MC.
Prithpal Singh, Sarpanch of Khuda Lahora village, is very categorical that there will be no benefit to the village under the MC. For every small job, people will have to pay bribes. “The youth on Chandigarh’s periphery are already left with little land to cultivate. What will they do without it?” he asks.
Sarpanch of Daria Gram Panchayat, Gurpreet Singh points out that today a water or power connection is obtained without any hassle and the panchayat takes care of cleanliness. This may change.
Joginder Singh, former sarpanch of Burail village, which was brought under MC a decade ago, agrees with their sentiments. He says all promises of development have fallen flat and all the ills of urban life have visited the 10 villages that were brought under the MC. “If some of these villages today look like urban bastis or commercial hubs, the villagers with their lands gone can’t be blamed.”
Joginder is Chairperson of the Paindu Gram Sangharsh Samiti (village committee), which wants panchayati raj restored in the 10 villages and the scrapping of the plan to bring the other 12 under the MC.
The Samiti last month outlined a nine-point charter of demands.
“We gave up our land at throwaway prices for the sake of the city. The least the administration can do is reserve jobs for our youth, who have no land to till, and preserve the rural character.”
The writer is a senior journalist based in Delhi