08012026-CT-01.qxd 1/8/2026 12:50 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune TOURISM DEPT GETS REVAMPED WEBSITE NEW ACADEMIC SESSION BEGINS AT PGIMER DHURANDHAR GROSSES OVER ~831 CR, SETS BENCHMARK Showcases 13 specially curated tourist itineraries, lists upcoming events in city. P3 The occasion was graced as the chief guest by Padma Shri recipient Ajeet Bajaj, a renowned mountaineer. P3 Ranveer Singh-starer Dhurandhar has become the only Hindi film ever to gross over ~831 crore. P4 » » /THETRIBUNECHD AAP to go solo, rules out tie-up with Cong Ramkrishan Upadhyay Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 7 The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday said it would go solo in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation Elections scheduled for December this year. The statement comes weeks before the mayoral polls in the city and a day after senior AAP leader Jarnail Singh accused the Congress of having an understanding with the BJP for “power-sharing”. The party also sought to rule out an alliance with the Congress in the next civic body elections, saying AAP was no longer part of the INDIA bloc, a grouping of Opposition parties that had contested the Lok Sabha elections against the BJP-led NDA in 2024. The remarks were made by Sunny Singh Ahluwalia, co-incharge of the Chandigarh AAP Both AAP and . the Congress had an “adjustment” for the mayoral poll last year. On Tuesday, Jarnail Singh, in-charge of the Chandigarh AAP had accused the Con, gress of having an “internal” pact with the BJP . AIR QUALITY INDEX CHANDIGARH 148 PANCHKULA 178 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD WHAT’S ON CHANDIGARH FRENCH CLASSES: Registration begins for French classes for beginners; Alliance Francaise, Sector 36-A APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 34, 56 and Ram Darbar Panchkula: Sector 5 Mohali: Sec 88 and Phase 8 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com INBRIEF MAN STABS WIFE Chandigarh: Rakesh, a resident of Dhanas, has lodged a complaint against his father for allegedly stabbing his mother. The police have registered a case under Sections 115(2), 118(1), 351(2) of the BNS. The victim has been admitted to the Sector 32 hospital. TNS 3 HELD FOR THEFT Chandigarh: The police have arrested three persons and recovered copper cables and articles stolen from near the Sector 34 BSNL office. The accused have been identified as Lovepreet, Mohammed Ashiq and Mohammed Mahfooz Alam. A case under Sections 303(2) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita has been registered. TNS BJP has edge in mayoral elections Talking to The Tribune, Ahluwalia said the alliance with the Congress had ended the day AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal announced that the party was no longer part of the INDIA bloc. Ahluwalia said Kejriwal had made the statement soon after the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. He said their alliance was only for the parliamentary elections and the party had no tie-up with the Congress in Chandigarh also. He said AAP would contest the Municipal Corporation alone, exuding confidence that it would emerge as the biggest party. The AAP leader also accused the BJP of indulging in the horse trading in every election, saying it had been inducting councillors of the other parties “using money and muscle power”. “They are not doing politics but indulging in foul play,” he said, adding that in the last civic body polls, only 12 BJP leaders were elected. “But now, their number has increased to 18. They don’t believe in honest politics,” he alleged. Ahluwalia alleged that the BJP inducted councillors of other parties to get its “illegal agendas” passed. He also claimed that the BJP had “done nothing” for the development of Chandigarh. The city’s rank has fallen in sanitation. The BJP wanted to sell the prime land in Manimajra, which was opposed by the AAP councilors,” he claimed. The AAP leader said the project to supply round-the-clock water in Manimajra was an “example of corruption”. He also claimed that his party believed in corruption-free governance and transparency. On the question whether AAP would field a candidate for the mayor’s post, Ahluwalia said that the decision was yet to be taken. “The party will decide before the last date for nominations,” he said. The Chandigarh MC House has 35 members. The Chandigarh MP also has the voting right. The BJP has 18 members, the Congress six and AAP 11. To win the mayoral poll, the BJP needs one more vote. MOSTLY CLOUDY MAX 13°C | MIN 8°C YESTERDAY MAX 13°C | MIN 7.6°C SUNSET THURSDAY 5.38 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 7.20 AM » THURSDAY | 8 JANUARY 2026 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Sun breaks through, cold loosens grip on Tricity Moderate sunshine brings brief relief as fog lingers | orange alert issued for today Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 7 The Tricity region witnessed moderate sunshine on Wednesday, bringing some relief from the cold wave conditions. While sunshine helped ease the daytime chill marginally, temperatures largely remained on the lower side and fog continued to engulf several places. An orange alert has been sounded for dense to very dense fog at few places and cold wave at isolated places on Thursday. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the maximum temperature in Chandigarh dipped slightly to 13.0°C, about 3.2 degrees below normal, despite intermittent sunshine. Night temperatures, however, stayed relatively milder, with the minimum recorded at 7.6°C, which is 1.1 degree above normal, indicating the continued influence of cloud cover and moisture. Weather across the Tricity remained dry during the period. Fog conditions persisted in varying intensity, with dense to very dense fog reported at isolated places in Punjab and dense fog at a few places in both Punjab and Haryana. Cold day and even severe cold wave conditions were observed Elderly persons soak in the sun on the roadside at Hallo Majra in Chandigarh on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR at isolated places in Haryana. Relative humidity levels in Chandigarh remained high, ranging between 93% and 74%, creating favourable conditions for fog formation during late night and early morning hours. Across the region, Faridabad in Haryana recorded the highest maximum tempera- ture at 17.4°C, while Pathankot emerged as the warmest spot in Punjab with 17°C. On the colder side, Bathinda recorded the lowest minimum temperature in Punjab at 4.6°C, while Narnaul in Haryana was the coldest spot in the state at 4°C. The IMD forecast indicates that the Tricity will continue to experience mostly cloudy sky with dense fog over the next few days. An orange alert has been sounded for dense to very dense fog at few places and cold wave at isolated places on Thursday, followed by yellow alert, warning of dense to very dense fog and cold wave at isolated places from Friday till next Tuesday. Weather is expected to stay dry. Maximum temperatures are likely to hover between 13°C and 15°C, while minimum temperatures may dip by another 2 to 3 degrees over the next three days, with no major change thereafter. Despite HC order, 5 trees axed in Dera Bassi Park near Mohali MC office paints picture of civic apathy Tribune News Service Mohali, January 7 Despite the Punjab and Haryana High Court issuing a stay on cutting of trees across the state, fully grown trees are being cut on the Sewage Treatment Plant premises at Shivpuri Mohalla, Dera Bassi. Eyewitnesses said five trees were cut today. Further felling stopped as residents expressed resentment. As the issue came to light, Forest Department officials reached the spot and stopped the cutting of trees. There are around twenty trees in this complex. Residents said that the Municipal Council (MC) had issued a contract to cut these trees. The contractor pres- Gaurav Kanthwal Tribune News Service The axed trees at the sewage treatment plant in Shivpuri Mohalla, Dera Bassi. ent said he had secured the contract in an open bid by the council. Forest Department official Jai Singh said, “The Dera Bassi Municipal Council had taken the permission before the High Court order. He have stopped the cutting of trees here. Of the two dozen trees, five trees have been cut so far.” Mohali, January 7 Public utilities, swings and the fountain at City Park, Sector 68, have been lying broken for many months. The park is the closest public space near the Municipal Corporation office and is situated in the heart of the city, yet it has not been able to catch the eye of MC officials and councillors. Residents said they had pointed out the dilapidated condition of the fountain. Having not been in use for long, it now stands covered by algae. Women and children at the park said the swings and benches were broken. “There is always a risk of A broken slide at City Park in Sector 68, Mohali. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VICKY children falling off or getting injured while playing here. If these cannot be repaired or replaced, at least they should be removed so that no one gets injured,” Deepali Shar- ma, a local resident and a mother of two, said. The sad conditions here dissuade visitors but MC officials are not bothered, KS Walia, a senior citizen, said. Chandigarh earned ~145.67 crore from property auctions in 2025 Logged highest earning in five years as auto-mutation drove record property transfers, ended red tape THE TRIBUNE SPECIAL A DECISIVE SHIFT ❝ Together, the record auction revenue and the mutation reforms underline a decisive shift in Chandigarh’s property governance — combining strong market confidence with technology-driven administrative efficiency. Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 7 Chandigarh’s Estate Office clocked a landmark year in 2025, with the UT earning a record Rs 145.67 crore from the auction of 13 properties and registering the highest number of property mutations in the past five years, reflecting both a buoyant realty market and a major leap in ease of governance. Deputy Commissionercum-Estate Officer Nishant Kumar Yadav told The Tribune that Chandigarh auctioned 13 properties in 2025 — 12 residential and one commercial — generating Rs 145.67 crore against a combined reserve price of Rs 67.10 crore. This translated into an excess realisation of Rs 78.57 crore, or over 117 per cent above the reserve price, making it the highest auction rev- ❞ — GULAB CHAND KATARIA, PUNJAB GOVERNOR AND UT ADMINISTRATOR << People at the property registration office in Chandigarh. PRADEEP TEWARI enue year since 2021. In category-wise terms, residential properties alone fetched Rs 125.30 crore against a reserve price of Rs 52.51 crore, yielding an excess of Rs72.79 crore. The lone commercial property earned Rs 20.37 crore against a reserve price of Rs 14.59 crore. No industrial or mixed land use properties were auctioned in 2025. Over the past five years, auction activity has been uneven. In 2021, no properties were auctioned. In 2022, the administration auctioned c m y b 13 properties — eight residential, two commercial and three mixed land use (nursing home sites) — generating Rs 85.07 crore against a reserve price of Rs 51.98 crore. Residential auctions in 2022 earned Rs 44.79 crore (reserve Rs 28.30 crore), commercial sites fetched Rs 4.16 crore (reserve Rs 3.32 crore), while mixed land use nursing home sites brought in Rs 36.12 crore against a reserve price of Rs 20.36 crore. There were no auctions in 2023 and 2024. Overall, between 2021 and 2025, the UT earned over Rs 230 crore from property auctions, with 2025 emerging as the single biggest contributor. In terms of scale, the Estate Office had put 32 properties on auction in 2025 — 13 residential, 17 commercial and two mixed land use sites — of which 13 were sold. In comparison, 35 properties went under the hammer in 2022, while auction activity remained negligible in other years. The year also saw the highest-ever bids for individual properties in recent times. The top residential bid in 2025 was received for House No. 1388, Sector 33-C, which fetched Rs 33.41 crore against a reserve price of Rs 14.96 crore at the September 4, 2025 auction. On the commercial side, SCO Site No. 89 in Sector 8-C was auctioned the same day for Rs 20.37 crore, above its reserve price of Rs 14.59 crore. These figures underline the sustained premium commanded by Chandigarh’s limited land inventory. Officials noted that these auction results complement the city’s broader real estate boom. Chandigarh’s highest-ever registered property transaction — a Sector 9-A bungalow sold for Rs 126 crore in 2025 — continues to remain the topvalue land registration in the city, reinforcing the strong demand for prime sectors. Alongside auctions, property mutations also touched a new high in 2025, with 2,835 mutations recorded — the highest in five years. This included 1,860 residential, 838 commercial and 137 industrial mutations. By comparison, total mutations stood at 2,168 in 2024, 2,544 in 2023, 1,766 in 2022 and just 75 in 2021. A major driver behind the surge has been the introduction of auto-mutation of properties, rolled out from July 7, 2025, which officials say has Continued on page 2