134 vacant plots: Chandigarh’s scarce residential land comes at a premium

In a city where residential land is at a premium, only 134 residential plots remain vacant, according to the latest data compiled by the Chandigarh Administration. Deputy Commissioner Nishant Yadav said the vacant plots vary widely in size, from one marla (25 square yards) to one acre.

“The city has around 24,035 residential plots in all and 134 are vacant,” Yadav said, adding that the Administration would auction the sites in phases over the coming years. “We plan to auction them in coming years,” he said.

Yadav said the phased approach was aimed at staggering government receipts instead of generating the entire revenue from the properties at one go. “Auctions are being done in a phased manner.

We don’t want to realise all the revenue at once,” he said. The distribution of the 134 vacant sites is uneven. Sector 40 has the highest number, with 38 vacant residential plots, followed by Sector 38 with 30.

Together, the two sectors account for 68 sites, more than half of the total vacant plots identified in the city. Sector 37 has 12 vacant sites, followed by Sector 44 with nine. Sector 19 has seven, while Sectors 15, 23, 33 and 46 have five each.

Sectors 20 and 21 have four sites apiece. At the lower end, Sectors 8, 27, 28 and 35 have two vacant sites each, while Sectors 30 and 32 have one each. The remaining sites are spread across 13 other sectors.

With 134 vacant sites among around 24,035 residential plots, the inventory represents well below one per cent of the city’s residential land. Chandigarh’s property prices have long reflected the city’s acute shortage of land, with residential plots in its original sectors commanding a premium.

According to the latest Collector Rates, applicable from April 1, 2026, residential land in Sectors 1–12 is valued at Rs 2.37 lakh per square yard. The rate is Rs 1.81 lakh per square yard in Sectors 14–37 and Rs 1.33 lakh per square yard from Sector 38 onwards.

Market prices, however, are substantially higher and vary depending on the sector, location, frontage and condition of the property. A two-kanal residential plot measuring 1,000 square yards in the prime Sectors 1–12 has a Collector Rate value of nearly Rs 23.7 crore, while its market value can be considerably higher.

The premium commanded by residential property was evident in a recent auction, where a one-kanal house in Sector 21 fetched Rs 18.8 crore in June this year.