Centre okays Chandigarh 1,263‑km revamp

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has given in-principle approval to rebuild Chandigarh’s 1,263-km sewerage network, much of it laid five to six decades ago. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) Chandigarh Municipal Corporation has put the project cost at about ₹1,000 crore and said it presented the plan to Union housing minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) The first phase would rehabilitate about 125-150 km of trunk sewers. A second phase would cover more than 1,100 km of smaller lines running through inner parts of the city. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) The pipes were installed between 1950 and 1980, and the city told the Centre the old network now suffers from silt buildup, cracks and leaks that worsen in the rainy season. (tribuneindia.com) Municipal officials also said the ageing system was designed for a much smaller population, adding to overflows, groundwater contamination and a rising maintenance burden. (tribuneindia.com) (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) The financing model is as important as the engineering plan. Under the Urban Challenge Fund, the Centre can cover 25% of project cost if at least 50% is raised from market sources. (pib.gov.in) (ucf.mohua.gov.in) Chandigarh officials told The Times of India the corporation would contribute another 25%, while the remaining half could come through a public-private partnership or a hybrid annuity model with long-term operation and maintenance. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) That is a break from the city’s recent stopgap approach. In March 2023, Chandigarh received ₹21 crore for limited sewer overhauls, and in December 2025 another ₹24.17 crore package cleared upgrades in selected sectors and colonies. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com 1) (timesofindia.indiatimes.com 2) The corporation now says it will hire expert agencies to prepare a detailed project report, including a revenue model that can fund long-term upkeep instead of repeated emergency repairs. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) If that report holds up, Chandigarh would move from patching broken brick sewers to replacing a citywide system that has been straining since the city’s earliest build-out. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) (tribuneindia.com)