Punjab Government Declares Resettlement Areas for GMADA Sector 87 Commercial Hub and Sector 103 Industrial Park

What Was Decided

The Punjab Department of Housing and Urban Development issued two related notifications declaring specific resettlement (rehabilitation) areas for families losing land or livelihood to GMADA's acquisition drives in Sector 87 and Sector 103, SAS Nagar. In a separate notification, the department has also declared 196.4 acres in Manakmajra, Nanumajra, Sohana and Sambhalki villages as a resettlement area for setting up commercial infrastructure in Sector 87, Mohali. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has declared 171 acres in Dhurali and Saneta villages as a resettlement area for acquiring land to develop an Industrial Park in Sector 103, Mohali.

This is a rehabilitation-area declaration, not a fresh land acquisition notice — it fixes where and how affected families will be resettled, following on from the acquisition process already under way for these two projects.

The Two Resettlement Areas

Sector 87 is being developed as a new commercial hub in central Mohali, in the mould of Chandigarh's Sector 17. The proposed new commercial Sector 87 — which the state plans to develop on the pattern of Chandigarh's iconic Sector 17, the region's premier commercial and cultural hub — along with the new industrial Sectors 101 and 103, covering a combined 509 acres, have progressed to the Section 11 stage after the mandatory social impact assessment was completed and cleared by the expert committee.

The Sector 87 acquisition itself spans just under 197 acres across four villages. Close to 196.4438 acres is being acquired: 157 kanal from Manak Majra, 891 kanal from Nanu Majra, 520 kanal from Sohana and 1 kanal 12 marla from Sambhalki. Sector 103, meanwhile, is earmarked as an industrial park, with its resettlement area covering Dhurali and Saneta villages.

Compensation and Rehabilitation Terms

Both notifications apply the same rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) scheme, approved earlier in 2026. The rehabilitation and resettlement scheme, approved on May 8, 2026, mandates choice of annuity or a one-time payment the lump sum rate of Rs 5 lakhs to each affected family and a resettlement allowance of Rs 50,000 only to the family whose livelihood is affected.

• Compensation choice: annuity or a Rs 5 lakh lump sum per affected family.
• Livelihood support: Rs 50,000 resettlement allowance for families whose livelihood is affected.
• Farm labour: Loss of livelihood of farm labour would be compensated under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
• Houses on farmland: Residential houses constructed on agricultural field would be given plots in developed sectors according to the Punjab Government's relocation policy.
• Paperwork costs: Officials said the acquiring body would bear the stamp duty and registration charges for land or houses allotted to the affected family.

Regulatory Timeline: Section 11 to Final Notification

The Sector 87 resettlement declaration is the latest step in a process that began earlier in 2026. The notification for the Sector 87 project was published in the Punjab Government Gazette and uploaded on the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) website on March 9, 2026.

A statutory hearing of objections followed months later: the Land Acquisition Collector, SAS Nagar has scheduled a public hearing on 08.06.2026 at 10:00 AM at PUDA Bhawan, Sector-62 under Section 15 of Punjab Regional & Town Planning and Development Act 2013, concerning land acquisition for commercial infrastructure development in Sector 87, SAS Nagar, following a notification dated 09.03.2026. A parallel Section 15 hearing for the Sector 101 industrial park was held the next day, on 9 June 2026, at the same venue. With objections heard, the government has now moved to declare the resettlement areas and lock in compensation terms — the stage immediately preceding award and physical handover of land.

Landowners retain a statutory window to raise claims once a gazette notification is published: landowners and other stakeholders may submit objections within next 30 days, with land plans available for inspection. Officials said the land plans are available on the GMADA website or at the office of the Land Acquisition Collector, Urban Development, PUDA Bhawan, Sector 62, Mohali.

Practical Effect

For affected families in Manak Majra, Nanu Majra, Sohana, Sambhalki, Dhurali and Saneta, this notification means the compensation framework and resettlement locations are now formally fixed, moving the projects toward the award and handover stage. It does not by itself transfer possession — that follows once individual awards under the land acquisition process are finalised.

For investors and residents tracking the corridor, the declaration confirms that Sector 87 (commercial) and Sector 103 (industrial) remain active, government-backed projects rather than shelved proposals, and it clarifies who bears the transaction costs (GMADA) on any land or housing allotted in lieu of cash compensation.

These two projects sit within a much larger Mohali/New Chandigarh expansion plan. The Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) will develop new sectors 84, 87, 103, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124 and part of 101. Sector 84 would be developed as an institutional area, Sector 87 as commercial, Sector 101 and 103 as industrial while all other — Sector 120 to 124 and Sector 76 to 80 — would be developed as residential pockets.