CHANDIGARH: With 14 months left for the Punjab Assembly election and to avoid another controversy, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has declined the Haryana government’s proposal to construct a separate assembly building in Chandigarh.

Highly placed sources said the MHA has advised senior Haryana officials not to pursue the matter further. The officials had recently approached the ministry, which categorically directed them not to take the proposal ahead with the Chandigarh Administration.

At present both Punjab and Haryana share the assembly building located in the Capitol Complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where new construction is not permitted. Political parties in Punjab have consistently opposed the Haryana government’s demand for a separate building.

Sources stated that such a land swap may not fall within the purview of the Capital of Punjab (Development and Regulation) Act, 1952, which governs land use in Chandigarh. It may also be challenged as a violation of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, the law that restructured the old Punjab into present-day Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh.

The Chandigarh Administration had earlier agreed to allot a 10-acre plot to Haryana for constructing its separate assembly building and a piece of land was identified near the IT Park in the city.