Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill 2025 and Status of Chandigarh

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 2 – Issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure

Introduction

The debate around the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill 2025 is about bringing Chandigarh under Article 240, changing how the Union Territory and joint capital is governed. Today, Chandigarh is a UT and shared capital of Punjab and Haryana, administered by the Punjab Governor. Punjab’s political parties fear this will weaken their claim over Chandigarh as capital, while the Centre has now said it has no intention of introducing the Bill in the coming Winter Session.

Background

1. Search for a new capital after Partition: After Partition, Lahore went to Pakistan and Shimla became Punjab’s temporary capital. Jawaharlal Nehru supported creating a new planned capital for Punjab, leading to the selection of a site near the foothills of the Himalayas in March 1948.
2. Planning and construction of Chandigarh: Land, including 22 villages in Kharar, was acquired and Le Corbusier prepared the master plan. Chandigarh became Punjab’s capital in 1953 and was formally inaugurated later that year. It stood for a modern, post-Partition capital built on land taken from Punjab’s villages, shaping Punjab’s emotional and political link with the city.
3. Reorganisation and UT joint capital status: The Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 divided Punjab and created Haryana. Chandigarh, on the border of the two states, became a Union Territory and joint capital, with properties divided 60:40 between Punjab and Haryana and the city brought under Central control.
4. 1970 assurance and continuing dispute: In 1970, the Centre announced that the capital project area of Chandigarh should go to Punjab, while giving Haryana temporary office use in Chandigarh and financial help to build a new capital. Yet, Chandigarh still functions as joint capital. Punjab continues to see its claim over the city as “undisputed”, arguing that a city built by uprooting Punjab’s villages should belong to Punjab.
5. Repeated assertion of Punjab’s claim

• In August 2016, when the Centre tried to appoint former IAS officer K J Alphons as an independent Administrator, the Akali-led Punjab government, Congress and AAP opposed it.
• More recently, at the Northern Zonal Council meeting in Faridabad, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann again asserted that Chandigarh should be immediately transferred to Punjab.

Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill 2025

1. Core proposal under Article 240: Parliament bulletins mentioned a proposal to introduce the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill 2025 to include Chandigarh under Article 240 of the Constitution.
2. Power of the President under Article 240: Article 240 allows the President to make regulations “for the peace, progress and good government” of certain Union Territories such as Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and other listed territories, including Puducherry in specific situations.
3. Regulations as law for Chandigarh: These regulations can repeal or amend Acts of Parliament or other laws and have the same force as an Act of Parliament. Including Chandigarh would place it with Union Territories without legislatures and allow the President to issue direct regulations instead of Parliament passing separate laws.
4. Present administrative model of Chandigarh: Chandigarh is a Union Territory and shared capital of Punjab and Haryana. The Governor of Punjab currently functions as the Administrator of Chandigarh, reflecting its role as a common capital under the Punjab Reorganisation framework.
5. Possible shift to an independent Administrator: Placing Chandigarh under Article 240 is widely seen as paving the way for an independent Administrator or Lieutenant Governor, like in other Union Territories.

Impacts of Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill 2025

1. Impact on Punjab’s claim: Punjab leaders say an independent Administrator or L-G will weaken Punjab’s historical, emotional and political claim over Chandigarh, which they see as built on Punjab’s land and promised as its exclusive capital.
2. Impact on governance of Chandigarh: Including Chandigarh under Article 240 would place it with UTs without legislatures and allow the President to issue direct regulations instead of Parliament making separate laws. It is also seen as ending the current model where the Punjab Governor acts as Chandigarh’s Administrator.
3. Impact on federal balance: Political parties term the move anti-federal, argue it breaks past assurances on Chandigarh, and warn it could damage trust between Punjab and the Union government.
4. Political backlash: The proposal led to sharp protests from AAP, Congress and SAD, who called it a conspiracy to “take away” Punjab’s capital and demanded that the Centre withdraw the move.

Conclusion

The controversy over the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill 2025 shows how sensitive Chandigarh’s status remains. Punjab sees an Article 240-based independent Administrator as diluting its claim and federal spirit. The Home Ministry says the proposal only aimed to simplify law-making, and its decision to pause and consult means any change must rest on broad agreement.

Question for practice:

Examine how the proposed Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill 2025 could impact Chandigarh’s governance structure and Punjab’s claim over the city.

Source: The Indian Express