Chandigarh, Feb. 2 -- In the Union Budget 2026-27, presented by Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday, Chandigarh had to make do with an allocation of Rs.6,545 crore, which is Rs.437.66 crore less than the 2025-26 allocation of Rs.6,983.18 crore. The administration, however, had sought nearly Rs.7,500 crore for the year. The reduction has been attributed to a decline in the energy-sector funding owing to the privatisation of the UT electricity department. The previous year's budget included Rs.6,185.18 crore for revenue expenditure, which includes salaries and other recurring operational costs, and Rs.798 crore for capital projects, such as developmental works and asset creation. For 2026-27, Chandigarh's revenue allocation is Rs.5,939.52 crore, while Rs.606 crore has been designated for capital expenditure. Following the privatisation of the UT electricity department, the budget provision of Rs.877.39 crore for the energy sector in 2025-26 was rationalised to Rs.156.95 crore, reflecting an adjustment of Rs.720.44 crore. Keeping this structural change in view, the budget estimates for 2026-27 show an effective increase of Rs.282.28 crore (4.63%), reflecting structural changes. In terms of sector-wise allocation, the education, and housing and urban development sectors have walked away with the lion's share while the health sector has seen its allocation fall by about 3%, from Rs.987 crore in 2025-26 to Rs.955 crore in 2026-27. For the education sector, a whopping Rs.1,295.38 crore has been set aside, which will be used for modernising schools, upgrading infrastructure for NCC programmes, establishing new polytechnics, and enhancing facilities at government polytechnic institutions for women and Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs). The housing and urban development has been allotted Rs.1,127.95 crore for land acquisition, road construction, stormwater drainage, electrification, IT Park development and other civic works. The sector also includes ambitious initiatives such as dam construction across Sukhna Lake and ensuring 24x7 pan-city water supply. The Rs.955.41 crore allocated to the health sector will go towards upgrading a 50-bed community health centre into a 250-bed facility, strengthening polyclinics and subsidiary health centres, and expanding coverage under schemes such as the Employees' State Insurance (ESI). The police force has received Rs.970.53 crore for modernisation and operational enhancement, while transport services have been allocated Rs.459.51 crore for purchasing new buses, replacing condemned vehicles, upgrading bus stands and modernising the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking through computerisation. Other sectors, including welfare, environment, forests and government housing, will share Rs.1,547.07 crore. This will include initiatives for women, children, senior citizens and the differently-abled, such as homes for the elderly and destitute, child protection centres, creches for children of working mothers, implementation of the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS), and support for national social assistance and disability rehabilitation programmes. For the energy sector, Rs.189.67 crore has been allocated, which is to go towards renewable initiatives and model solar city projects....