Introduction-

• Chandigarh city came into existence in 1952 when its foundation stone was laid.
• Chandigarh, the dream city of India's first Prime Minister, Sh. Jawahar Lal Nehru, was planned by the famous French architect Le Corbusier.
• Picturesquely located at the foothills of Shivaliks, it is known as one of the best experiments in urban planning and modern architecture in the twentieth century in India.
• Chandigarh derives its name from the temple of "Chandi Mandir" located in the vicinity of the site selected for the city. The deity 'Chandi', the goddess of power and a fort of 'garh' laying beyond the temple gave the city its name "Chandigarh-The City Beautiful".
• The gently sloping plains on which modern Chandigarh exists, was in the ancient past, a wide lake ringed by a marsh. The fossil remains found at the site indicate a large variety of aquatic and amphibian life, which was supported by that environment. About 8000 years ago the area was also known to be a home to the Harappans.
• Since the medieval through modern era, the area was part of the large and prosperous Punjab Province which was divided into East & West Punjab during partition of the country in 1947. The city was conceived not only to serve as the capital of East Punjab, but also to resettle thousands of refugees who had been uprooted from West Punjab.
• In March, 1948, the Government of Punjab, in consultation with the Government of India, approved the area of the foothills of the Shivaliks as the site for the new capital.
• The location of the city site was a part of the erstwhile Ambala district as per the 1892-93 gazetteer of District Ambala.
• The foundation stone of the city was laid in 1952. Subsequently, at the time of reorganization of the state on 01.11.1966 into Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, the city assumed the unique distinction of being the capital city of both, Punjab and Haryana while it itself was declared as a Union Territory and under the direct control of the Central Government.

Geology

• The Union Territory of Chandigarh is located in the foothills of the Shiwalik hill ranges in the north, which form a part of the fragile Himalayan ecosystem.
• It borders the states of Haryana and Punjab.
• It is occupied by Kandi (Bhabhar) in the north east and Sirowal (Tarai) and alluvial plains in the remaining part.
• The surrounding cities are Mohali, Patiala, Zirakpur and Roopnagar in Punjab, and Panchkula and Ambala in Haryana.
• The subsurface formation comprises of beds of boulders, pebbles, gravel, sand, silt, clays and some kankar.
• The area is drained by two seasonal rivulets viz. Sukhna Choe in the east and Patiala-Ki-Rao Choe in the west.
• The central part forms a surface water divide and has two minor streams. The stream passing through the central part is called N-Choe and the other is Choe Nala which initiates at Sector 29.

Climate

• Chandigarh falls under Koeppen's CWG category i.e. it has cold dry winter, hot summer and sub tropical monsoon.
• The city also receives occasional winter rains from the Western Disturbance originating over the Mediterranean Sea.
• Evaporation usually exceeds precipitation and the weather is generally dry.
• Winds are generally light and blow from northwest to southeast direction with exception of easterly to south-easterly winds that blow on some days during the summer season.

Ecosystem-

• Most of Chandigarh is covered by dense banyan and eucalyptus plantations. Ashoka, cassia, mulberry and other trees flourish in the forested ecosystem. The city has forests surrounding that sustain many animal and plant species.
• Deer, sambars, barking deer, parrots, woodpeckers and peacocks inhabit the protected forests. Sukhna Lake hosts a variety of ducks and geese, and attracts migratory birds from parts of Siberia and Japan in the winter season.
• The Parrot Bird Sanctuary Chandigarh situated in sector 21 of the city provides home to a large number of parrots. Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1998.

History-

• The city has a prehistoric past. Due to the presence of a lake, the area has fossil remains with imprints of a large variety of aquatic plants and animals, and amphibian life, which were supported by that environment.
• As it was a part of the Punjab region, it had many rivers nearby where the ancient and primitive settling of humans began. So, about 8000 years ago, the area was also known to be a home to the Harappans.
• Chandigarh was the dream city of India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
• After the partition of India in 1947, the former British province of Punjab was split between (mostly Sikhs) East Punjab in India and (mostly Muslim) West Punjab in Pakistan.
• The Indian Punjab required a new capital city to replace Lahore, which became part of Pakistan during the partition.  Therefore, an American planner and architect Albert Mayer was tasked to design a new city called "Chandigarh" in 1949.
• The government carved out Chandigarh of nearly 50 Pwadhi speaking villages of the then state of East Punjab, India.
• Shimla was the temporary capital of East Punjab until Chandigarh was completed in 1960.
• Government officials recruited Le Corbusier to succeed Mayer and Nowicki, who enlisted many elements of Mayer's original plan without attributing them to him.
• Le Corbusier designed many administration buildings, including the High Court, the Palace of Assembly and the Secretariat Building. Le Corbusier also designed the general layout of the city, dividing it into sectors.
• Chandigarh hosts the largest of Le Corbusier's many Open Hand sculptures, standing 26 metres high.
• The Open Hand (La Main Ouverte) is a recurring motif in Le Corbusier's architecture, a sign for him of "peace and reconciliation. It is open to give and open to receive."
• On 1 November 1966, the newly formed state of Haryana was carved out of the eastern portion of East Punjab, in order to create a new state for the majority Haryanvi-speaking people in that portion, while the western portion of East Punjab retained a mostly Punjabi-speaking majority and was renamed as Punjab.
• Chandigarh was located on the border of both states and the states moved to incorporate the city into their respective territories. However, the city of Chandigarh was declared a union territory to serve as capital of both states.

Administrators of Chandigarh-