CHANDIGARH: The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC) has granted environmental clearance for land offered by Haryana to the Chandigarh Administration in exchange for land designated for a new assembly building complex. This could snowball into a major political slugfest between Punjab and Haryana. All political parties in AAP-led Punjab, including the BJP, oppose the move, saying Chandigarh is the capital of Punjab and Haryana has no right over it.Sources said that the MoEF on Tuesday issued a notification clearing a proposal for transferring 12 acres to Chandigarh in lieu of land allotted to Haryana for building its own assembly building.In July last year, Chandigarh Administration decided to allot 10 acres to Haryana in lieu of 12 acres adjacent to the tech park that falls in Haryana.The decision to allot land in Chandigarh to Haryana, which was carved out of Punjab in 1966, carries political symbolism. Any concession to Haryana is perceived in Punjab as a weakening of the border state’s influence over the UT.
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