Chandigarh Submits Revised High Court Expansion Plan to UNESCO, Gets Positive Response

Chandigarh — The Chandigarh Administration has submitted a revised expansion plan for the Punjab and Haryana High Court to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The proposal was presented on September 6, 2025, at a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, attended by Chief Secretary Rajiv Verma, Chief Architect Rajiv Kumar Mehta, and Senior Architect Sangeeta Bagga.

According to officials, the holistic development plan now limits the construction area to 2 lakh sq ft, significantly reduced from the earlier proposal. The new design includes 16 additional courtrooms, lawyers’ chambers, cafeterias, administrative blocks, and parking facilities, all to be built within the existing premises but away from the heritage structures. To manage space constraints, multi-storey buildings have been proposed to handle the daily footfall of nearly 10,000 lawyers, 3,300 employees, thousands of litigants, and about 10,000 vehicles.

Officials claimed that the UNESCO team responded positively to the presentation. The minutes of the meeting are expected in about 20 days, after which further steps will be taken.

This revision follows UNESCO and ICOMOS objections, which flagged that the earlier proposal could endanger the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the Capitol Complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Plans like underground parking and an AC chiller plant were also stalled earlier due to heritage concerns.

To address these objections, the administration carried out a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) to study the expansion’s effect. The 2023 ICOMOS review stressed the importance of preserving the green belt and open spaces behind the High Court, while also acknowledging the urgent need for expansion.

Last month, while hearing a PIL, the High Court asked the administration to clarify whether the revised plan had the approval of both the administration and the heritage committee, especially since the number of proposed courtrooms was reduced.

Earlier, the administration had proposed 48 acres in Sarangpur village for a new High Court complex due to its higher floor area ratio and connectivity via a 200-foot-wide road and proposed elevated corridor. However, the IT Park land was ruled out since it was allotted only for IT and allied services, making land use change unfeasible.