UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria Tuesday announced that he was working to increase the tenure of the Chandigarh Mayor from the current one year.
Addressing the House meeting of the Municipal Corporation, Kataria said: “I will certainly make efforts to change this one-year term so that the mayor has sufficient time to work for the public. For this, if I have to meet the union Home Minister, I will do so and will try to ensure the tenure is extended. The mayoral term may be five years or 2.5 years — whichever duration the Home Minister agrees to.”
Kataria’s statement came just days after the union Ministry of Home Affairs informed the Lok Sabha that “there is no proposal with us to increase the mayor’s term in Chandigarh to five years”.
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The ministry’s response was to a query raised by Chandigarh Member of Parliament Manish Tewari, who asked whether the central government was considering any proposal to extend the mayor’s tenure from the present one year to a fixed five-year term. Responding to Tewari’s query, Nityanand Rai, Minister of State for Home Affairs, said that “at present, no such proposal is under consideration with regard to the mayor’s term or related issues”.
However, official sources in the Chandigarh Administration had already told The Indian Express that the Administration is preparing to approve an extension of the mayor’s term to five years, and the Administrator has already directed UT officers to prepare a report on the matter.
In the Municipal Corporation House meeting on Tuesday, the UT Administrator also explained the advantages and disadvantages of a five-year mayoral tenure. Kataria said: “The advantage is that there will be sufficient time to perform. But sometimes the mayor does not form committees for the entire five-year tenure, and all powers remain concentrated with him. In such cases, a good idea may turn out to be harmful for us.”
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A mayor in Chandigarh is elected from among the councillors for a one-year term. Elections are held every January in the ‘City Beautiful’. In contrast, Panchkula and Mohali already have a five-year mayoral term.
On the issue of direct elections for the post of mayor, Kataria said: “Sometimes we consider direct elections. But after direct elections, the municipal councillors become very weak. The mayor gains strong powers as he is the representative of the city’s public. This raises the question of whether he will be able to get work done with his team or not. So, this idea too has its own advantages and disadvantages.”
He also supported electing the mayor by a show of hands instead of a secret ballot, insisting that “the election should be fair”.
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The the UT Administrator emphasised that Chandigarh’s development — particularly in water supply, sanitation, infrastructure, and public services — must remain a top priority. He stressed the importance of robust revenue generation, sound budget management, and disciplined financial planning to ensure uninterrupted civic services.
Highlighting the need for efficient use of grants, including the additional ₹25 crore support provided to the Municipal Corporation, Kataria encouraged innovative approaches to revenue generation while maintaining strict transparency and accountability in financial management.
He advised the councillors to actively raise and deliberate on development works related to their wards in the House. He underlined the importance of proper planning of community centres based on area-specific requirements and population needs, ensuring facilities are created where genuinely required. He emphasised identifying areas needing focused development and prioritising projects that directly benefit citizens.
