Chandigarh tri-city

Abstract

The chapter explores the dynamic relationship of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali, colloquially known as the Chandigarh tri-city, from the 1960s to the present. The tri-city straddles federal inter-state borders of Chandigarh Union Territory, Punjab and Haryana and is marked by similarities with, as well as departures from, the norm with regard to intranational Indian twin-city development. Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali resulted from conscious planning, with Chandigarh as the dominant sibling. Contiguous with Chandigarh, both Mohali and Panchkula became vessels to absorb Chandigarh’s spill-over. The relationship among the three evolved to move from dysfunctional conflict to complementarity, with each city developing a specific character. While Chandigarh continues enjoying its political, administrative, socio-economic and cultural centrality as the capital of both Punjab and Haryana, Mohali has become an educational hub, a sports hub and a centre for medical facilities in its own right. In turn, Panchkula developed high-quality residencies, warehousing infrastructure and private healthcare centres. Their inability to cooperate on mutually beneficial joint planning ventures, however, remains a hindrance to comprehensive and cohesive development at the supra-regional level. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the realities of their spatial and socio-economic interdependencies and integration as well as the lack of inter-city coordination. © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Ekaterina Mikhailova and John Garrard;individual chapters, the contributors.