Chandigarh, March 3 -- Amid growing outrage over the demolition of a wall at the iconic Rock Garden for a road widening and parking project, it has come to light that the UT engineering department awarded the tender on December 24, 2024-well before the green ministry approved the diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes on January 16, 2025.

A month later, demolition work began on February 22, triggering public outcry. But after protests by residents, the UT administration is now claiming that the wall is not an integral part of Rock Garden.

RK Garg, a core member of the "Saving Chandigarh" group, questioned how the UT engineering department floated tenders before receiving approval from the Union ministry of environment, forest ...