Him-Chandigarh Township: Land Acquisition Status, Villages and Compensation

Acquisition model: consent-based pooling plus statutory backup

HIMUDA's approach for Him-Chandigarh is a hybrid one. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said three panchayats were willing to give land for a new, world-class township to be built at Shitalpur through land pooling. The HIMUDA Board separately approved the development of new colonies under a Land Pooling Policy with the consent of landowners.

For land where consent has not been secured, the state has kept the statutory acquisition route open. Of the identified land, around 1,500 bigha is government-owned, while the remainder falls under private ownership and will be procured after completing statutory procedures. The government, aware of growing concerns over displacement, says it intends to ensure consensus-driven development at Shitalpur with proper safeguards for affected families, projecting "balanced development" and "minimal livelihood disruption" as guiding principles.

Officials have also indicated forest land could be drawn in. Industries Minister Harshvardhan Chauhan had told the media that additional private or forest land would be acquired for the township project near Chandigarh.

Compensation rates

No official per-bigha or per-acre compensation rate for Him-Chandigarh has been published in government notifications or media reporting found as of March 2026. What is documented is the acquisition quantum, not the price: the cabinet approved the acquisition of an anticipated 3,400 bigha of land, with landowners' consent largely secured, and up to 3,700 bigha may ultimately be acquired to meet planning requirements.

Farmers have pointed to past experience on nearby projects as a reference point for their expectations, without a rate being confirmed for this project. They noted that a large chunk of land had already been acquired for the railway line at Baddi and for four-laning the highway, and that they had to toil hard to get appropriate compensation on those projects. Until HIMUDA or the state Revenue Department notifies a rate schedule (typically via a Section-11 or collector's award under land acquisition/pooling rules), any figure quoted elsewhere should be treated as unconfirmed.

Villages and districts covered

All reported land for Him-Chandigarh lies within a single district — Solan — in the Baddi belt. Him-Chandigarh is a planned township declared by the Government of Himachal Pradesh in the Shitalpur-Baddi region near the Chandigarh border, located in Solan District.

Early reporting identified the affected area by patwar circle and panchayat. The township would be spread across three patwar circles of Baddi, Sandholi and Bhud, with both private and government bigha being covered under it as per the initial proposal. Protests specifically named the residents of Malpur and Sandoli panchayats in Baddi, who met at Shitalpur to register their objections. Reporting has also flagged three key villages — Shitalpur, Malpur and Sandoli — as the core land boundary near Baddi and New Chandigarh.

A later, larger-scale version of the project names two further panchayats. The proposed Him Chandigarh township on 10,000 bigha in Baddi's Shitalpur area is planned to be developed on the government land of the Shitalpur, Malpur, Kishanpura and Manpura panchayats. No village-count breakdown for any other district has been reported — the project remains confined to Baddi tehsil in Solan district.

Budget

No dedicated, project-specific land-acquisition budget for Him-Chandigarh has been disclosed. The township is mentioned inside the state's broader annual budget rather than as a standalone costed acquisition plan. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu presented a Rs 54,928-crore state budget for 2026-27 that also announced three modern townships, including Him Chandigarh in the Sultanpur/Shitalpur area of Baddi bordering Chandigarh, with each planned on roughly 10,000 bigha. This is a statewide budget figure, not a Him-Chandigarh-specific land-acquisition allocation, and no separate crore-figure for compensation payouts or infrastructure spend on this project has been reported.

For comparison, HIMUDA's other current township — Jathia Devi near Shimla — does have a disclosed first-phase investment figure, but this applies to that separate project, not Him-Chandigarh: in the first phase of the Jathia Devi project near Shimla, HIMUDA will develop 919 residential units on 21 bighas of land with an estimated investment of Rs 1,327 crore. No equivalent figure has been published for Him-Chandigarh.

Farmer opposition and disputes

Opposition has been the most consistent, well-documented feature of this project's land-acquisition process. Residents of Malpur and Sandoli panchayats protested against the new township at a meeting held in Shitalpur, unanimously warning to launch an agitation if the government forcibly imposes the proposal, and vowing to take legal recourse if the government remains adamant on acquiring village land.

Farmers argue the area is their last viable agricultural and dairy land. A former pradhan of Sandoli panchayat said the main occupation of the people here is farming and milk production, and that if there is no land left, both occupations will end and locals will become landless. Residents from Malpur and Sandoli have voiced strong opposition, arguing the project will displace them, leaving farmers and milk producers without essential land.

A dedicated protest structure has formed. A sangharsh committee led by Bhag Singh, with vice president Gagan Singh, Pawan Kumar and others, was constituted for this purpose and led the protest march. Residents including Sanjiv Kaushal and Nirmal Sharma said they would not permit acquisition of shamlat land meant for village development, terming it a move to earn crores by selling land to realtors.

Environmental and process objections have also been raised. Villagers said the Baddi industrial cluster already suffers heavy pollution and that the lone green area left has been identified for an urban sprawl that will compound their woes. They resented the government's sudden announcement, saying it was made without consultation, and stated: "We do not want a city that is built by displacing locals."

The government's position is that most landholders are cooperating. Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan said villagers in the Shitalpur region have largely shown willingness to cooperate, signalling fewer hurdles compared to earlier resistance elsewhere.

Current stage (as of March 2026)

The project has moved from cabinet clearance to institutional approval, but land assembly is not complete and the scale itself has been revised upward. Timeline of confirmed steps:

• The state Cabinet gave its nod to acquire 3,400 bighas of land at Shitalpur near Baddi for a modern city on the lines of New Chandigarh, with HIMUDA set to develop it.
• CM Sukhu said three panchayats had agreed to provide land through pooling, that the Cabinet had approved transfer of 3,400 bighas to the housing department, and that more land would be acquired over the following six months, with consultants to be appointed.
• The HIMUDA Board of Directors formally approved the proposed Him-Chandigarh Township at Sheetalpur in Baddi, with plans to develop it in a phased manner with residential, commercial and civic infrastructure.
• By March 2026, reporting described the township as proposed on 10,000 bigha of land in Shitalpur, to be developed on government land of the Shitalpur, Malpur, Kishanpura and Manpura panchayats.

As of this reporting, no compensation notification, RERA project registration, or dedicated acquisition budget has been published, and the private-land component remains contested by farmer groups in Malpur and Sandoli.