GMADA Eco City 4: Punjab Acquires 526 Acres in New Chandigarh

The Punjab government has moved to acquire more than 526 acres of land in New Chandigarh for a fourth residential township phase under the GMADA Eco City brand. The Punjab government has set in motion acquisition of land across four villages — Kartarpur, Kansala, Rajgarh and Boothgarh — in Majri sub-tehsil under Kharar tehsil of Mohali district, for the development of the Eco City-4 residential scheme. On June 2, 2026, the state issued a notification under Section 4(1) of the LARR Act to compulsorily acquire 526.03 acres across four villages in Majri sub-tehsil of Kharar tehsil, Mohali district: Kartarpur, Kansala, Rajgarh, and Boothgarh.

The village-wise split gives a clearer picture of where this new township will sit. The proposed acquisition covers 172.75 acres in Kartarpur, 183.59 acres in Kansala, 9.90 acres in Rajgarh, and 159.79 acres in Boothgarh, as per the approved Master Plan of New Chandigarh dated December 28, 2015. As with the earlier Eco City phases, the project has been entrusted to the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA), a special development authority constituted by the Punjab Government for planned development of New Chandigarh.

On the legal process, the notification classifies this as government-led planned development rather than a negotiated land pool. The notification states that since the project falls under Section 2(1)(e) — planned development — the mandatory consent of gram sabhas or landowners under Section 2(2) of the Act is not required, however, the entire Social Impact Assessment shall be carried out in full consultation with the concerned panchayats and landowners. That means the Social Impact Assessment, public hearing, and Section 19 compensation award still lie ahead before any possession or plot allotment can happen — a process that took roughly a year for the preceding Eco City 3 phase.

Eco City 4 does not exist in isolation; it is the latest link in a rapidly expanding chain of GMADA townships around New Chandigarh. Eco City 1 and 2 together cover about 806 acres combined in New Chandigarh, developed and allotted by GMADA — Eco City 1 covers roughly 419 acres around Mullanpur Garibdas and adjoining villages, while Eco City 2 covers roughly 387 acres in Hoshiarpur and Takipur. Eco City 1 remains one of GMADA's biggest success stories: the 2011 launch for 836 residential plots received around 4,50,000 applications from across India. The next phase, Eco City 3, is further along the pipeline: the acquisition covers 716 acres from nine villages — Kansala, Kartarpur, Rajgarh, Takipur, Hoshiarpur, Rasulpur, Dhodemajra, Majra, and Salamatpur, with compensation announced at ₹3,690 crore, rates touching ₹6.46 crore per acre in certain villages, and the Section 19 award declared in December 2025, legally clearing the path for GMADA to take possession and begin infrastructure. Notably, three of the four Eco City 4 villages overlap with Eco City 3's footprint, since Punjab's revenue villages are large, with hundreds of khasra numbers spread across significant land areas, and GMADA acquires specific khasra numbers rather than entire villages at once.

The timing of the Eco City 4 notification is closely tied to how the Eco City 3 acquisition was resolved. The Eco City 4 notification follows the resolution of a significant farmer protest — the state returned in November 2025 with a revised, optional Land Pooling Policy, offering farmers a free choice between developed plots under the policy or statutory cash compensation. The optional model gained wider acceptance, with a majority of affected village panchayats passing resolutions endorsing the acquisition. As part of the settlement, the government also committed to completing all development works within three years of award and possession, and to integrating village sewerage, water, and road infrastructure with GMADA systems.

Homebuyers and investors tracking New Chandigarh should treat this as an early-stage signal rather than a launch. The Section 4(1) notification is the first step, triggering the Social Impact Assessment study — it brings the affected parcels under acquisition proceedings but does not yet constitute a compensation award or transfer of possession, with the Social Impact Assessment, public hearing, Section 11 preliminary notification, Section 19 declaration, award of compensation, and physical possession all still ahead. Multiple local property consultants tracking the region are equally clear that no public launch is possible for years and no authorised pre-booking exists.

The broader trend, however, is unmistakable: GMADA is stacking township phase upon phase around New Chandigarh faster than any single phase can be delivered. The Aerotropolis Extension in the Banur belt alone covers 2,489 acres notified, and taken together, in 2026, GMADA is simultaneously developing or planning over 11,000 acres across seven major township projects. For homebuyers evaluating the Mohali–New Chandigarh corridor — including branded private developments such as M3M's residential project in Mohali — this scale of government-backed land activation is a strong indicator of long-term infrastructure and demand growth in the wider Tricity real estate market, even though Eco City 4 itself remains several years from any plot scheme or possession.