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Chandigarh: Chandigarh, the “City Beautiful”, widely considered among India’s most liveable places, presents a paradoxical picture of striking affluence alongside persistent administrative and security concerns, as reflected in several official surveys and assessments.

Its planned layout, tree-lined boulevards, robust infrastructure and civic discipline offer a standard of urban life few Indian metros can match, even as this framework remains hampered by bureaucratic bottlenecks in governance and regulatory processes and by emerging concerns over rising crime and suicides.

And, as the Union Territory of Chandigarh, which also serves as the shared capital of Punjab and Haryana, marks the diamond jubilee of its founding in 1951, data from the latest 2023–24 National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) point to higher-than-average consumption of food, water and electricity among city residents, compared with national averages.

The NSSO, which undertakes large-scale socio-economic household surveys, revealed that Chandigarh’s average household daily caloric intake – at 2,712 kilocalories (kcal) in urban areas and 2,410 kcal in its rural belt – is significantly higher than the national medians of 2,240 and 2,212 kcal, respectively. Both statistics are also higher than those of the neighbouring agrarian states of Punjab and Haryana.

Daily water availability of 252 litres per person is likewise well above the national benchmark of 135 litres, while monthly milk consumption of 14.2 litres per capita exceeds both national and regional levels. Electricity usage reflects the same pattern of affluence, with annual per capita consumption reaching around 1,702 kWh in 2023–24, driven by dense urban demand and widespread appliance penetration.

The City Beautiful also enjoys higher income levels and substantial vehicle ownership compared with much of the country, reflecting a distinctly consumption-heavy economy. It presently has more vehicles than people – 14.27 lakh for a population of 13 lakh – with more cars registered in recent years than motorised two-wheelers, underscoring the extent to which private transport has become a defining feature of the city’s daily existence.

Moreover, Chandigarh’s rapid shift towards cleaner mobility is evident in its 12% electric vehicle penetration in 2025–26 – the third highest in India after Tripura (16.9%) and Assam (14.3%). It also topped NITI Aayog’s transport electrification index with a score above 90, more than three times the national average of 37.

But beneath this seemingly utopian image lies an underside that dents the city’s burnished reputation, centred on concerns over law and order.

In recent years, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has recorded a rise in serious offences in Chandigarh, including murder, rape, kidnapping, dowry deaths, theft and cyber fraud – many involving senior citizens. The latest NCRB data for 2024 reveals that Chandigarh has the second-highest crime rate among UTs, at 290.4 cases per lakh population, above the national average of 237.4. Crimes against women also rose to 452 cases, including 96 rapes, while suicide rates have likewise burgeoned, adding another layer of concern that contrasts with the city’s carefully curated image of order and........

© The Wire