25032026-CT-01.qxd 3/25/2026 12:48 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune CITY’S UNSUNG BUILDERS FINALLY GET RECOGNITION HC SLAPS ~40K COSTS ON MC OVER WASTE COVER-UP BADSHAH, ACTOR-MODEL ISHA RIKHI TIE THE KNOT 12 Indian architects, engineers and administrators, who built Chandigarh from the ground up, felicitated. P2 Garbage was buried under rubble and mud at Manimajra to make area appear clean. P3 News surfaced after Isha's mother, Poonam Rikhi, shared glimpses from the ceremony on social media. P4 » » AIR QUALITY INDEX CHANDIGARH 78 PANCHKULA 66 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD Lowest bid of ~674 crore; work award subject to HC verdict on petition THE TRIBUNE SPECIAL Nitin Jain Tribune News Service WHAT’S ON APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 15, 40, 46 Panchkula: Sector 25 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com Anti-gangster task force in UT Chandigarh, March 24 The Chandigarh Police have reportedly formed an AntiGangster Task Force. Sources said two inspectors had been assigned a 15-member team each. The teams, headed by Inspectors Satvinder Duhan and Harinder Singh Skekhon, will operate from the Sector 11 police station, claimed sources.Recently, a 31-year-old realtor was shot dead in Sector 9 in broad daylight. –TNS Chandigarh, March 24 Pressing ahead with its ambitious Mohali Next Generation Roads Programme despite a pending High Court petition, the Punjab Government has opened financial bids for the project. Gawar Construction Limited has emerged as the lowest bidder at Rs 673.99 crore, marginally above the revised project estimate of Rs 666.41 crore. According to official records accessed by The Tribune, the financial bids were opened, with four of the five bidders qualifying after technical evaluation. The fifth bidder, VRC Constructions (India) Limited, was rejected at the technical stage as non-responsive. Confirming the development, a senior government official told The Tribune on Tuesday that four of five bidders qualified for financial bids, which have been opened, and the award of work to the lowest eligible bidder is now underway. The award of work, however, will be subject to the Road carpeting underway in Sector 71, Mohali. FILE PHOTO BIDS RECEIVED Gawar Construction ~673.99 Limited crore KCC Buildcon ~759 Pvt Ltd crore Ceigall Infra ~954 Projects Pvt Ltd crore CDS Infra ~1,009 Projects Limited crore Rejected: VRC Constructions(India) Ltd decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the pending writ petition in the matter, which is fixed for resumed hearing on April 1. The lowest bid of Rs 673.99 PROJECT SNAPSHOT Revised project ~666.41 estimate crore Original ~783.46 estimate crore Road 83.4 length km Concession 10 period years Model: Hybrid annuity crore exceeds the revised project estimate of Rs 666.41 crore. The opening of financial bids and the move to award work come against the backdrop of a clear judicial caveat. c m y b On February 27, a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court comprising Justice Lisa Gill and Justice Ramesh Chander Dimri had ordered that any allotment of work shall remain subject to the final decision in the writ petition. The Bench had also directed the state to file a detailed para-wise reply after GMADA’s (Greater Mohali Area Development Authority) short reply by affidavit failed to address the core issues raised by the petitioners, and adjourned the matter to April 1 for further proceedings. Plan under sustained fire The Mohali Next Generation Roads Programme has been under scrutiny since The Tribune first reported it on January 18, triggering sharp public debate over the unprecedented cost of nearly Rs 10 crore per kilometre and a decade-long outsourcing arrangement. The writ petition, filed by the GMADA Contractors Association and others, challenges the tender notice dated January 11, 2026. The petitioners claim Continued on page 2 MAX 31°C | MIN 16°C YESTERDAY MAX 29.4°C | MIN 14.9°C SUNRISE THURSDAY 6.21 AM /THETRIBUNECHD Punjab presses ahead with Mohali road infra project PARTLY CLOUDY SUNSET WEDNESDAY 6.37 PM » WEDNESDAY | 25 MARCH 2026 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Property transactions to get costlier in city from April 1 Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 24 Property transactions in Chandigarh are set to become significantly costlier from April 1, with the Administration notifying a sharp upward revision in Collector rates across residential, commercial, agricultural and village categories for 2026-27. The revised rates, applicable till March 31, 2027, replace the existing structure in force since April 1, 2025, and will directly impact stamp duty calculations, pushing up the base cost for buyers. Deputy Commissionercum-District Collector Nishant Kumar Yadav, who is also the Estate Officer, said the revised schedule had been notified and would come into force from April 1. “All stakeholders, including property buyers, sellers and UT Admn revises collector rates the general public, are advised to take note of the revised Collector rates for any property-related transactions from the effective date. The detailed schedule is available on the admn website,” he told The Tribune. Residential property sees steepest hike The sharpest increase has been recorded in the premium residential belt. Collector rates in Sectors 1 to 12 have been raised from Rs 1.78 lakh to Rs 2.37 lakh per square yard — a jump of 33.2%. Sectors 14 to 37 have seen a 22.8% rise (Rs 1.47 lakh to Rs 1.81 lakh per sq yd), while sectors beyond 38 have been revised upward by around 4% to Rs 1.33 lakh per sq yd. Independent dwelling units have been hiked by 21.8%, while “cheap house” category properties have seen a 24.3% increase, taking their benchmark value to Rs 78.26 lakh. Elante ground floor charges doubled The commercial segment has witnessed headline-grabbing revisions. Ground floor rates in Elante Mall have been doubled from Rs 15,600 to Rs 31,200 per sq ft — the steepest jump in the entire schedule. The SCO/SCF rates in Sector 17 has risen 6.8% to Rs 5.92 lakh per sq yd. Motor Market booths in Manimajra have gone up by over 15% to Rs 2.33 lakh per sq yd, while booth rates across key sectors have seen increases ranging between 8% and 12%. However, a few pockets Continued on page 2 Tewari raises ‘~125-cr Smart City scam’ Ramkrishan Upadhyay Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 24 Alleging serious “financial irregularity” in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation with regard to the transfer of funds from Chandigarh Seeks forensic audit of all transactions Smart City Limited (CSCL), MP Manish Tewari raised the issue in the Lok Sabha today. Tewari told the House that as per recent reports, an internal inquiry had revealed irregularities to the tune of Rs 120–125 crore in the transfer of CSCL funds to the Municipal Corporation. “Alarmingly, three fraudulent Continued on page 3