India, Dec. 7 -- The recently tabled Constitution 131st Amendment Bill 2025 proposes placing Chandigarh under Article 240 of the Indian Constitution and introducing a lieutenant governor for the Union Territory. The development has revived long standing debates about how the city should be governed and what kind of administrative spine best suits a place that was planned with unusual clarity. Chandigarh's design has always depended on intention rather than improvisation. Any shift in its governing structure naturally invites questions about how its identity will evolve.

A constitutional change with civic weight

The most visible provision of the Bill is the introduction of a lieutenant governor in place of the current administrator who i...