A core group of former chief town planners (CTPs) has urged the state government to prepare a comprehensive regional development plan to transform the holy cities of Anandpur Sahib, Damdama Sahib (Talwandi Sabo), and the Galiara area around the Golden Temple in Amritsar into world-class spiritual and cultural centres.“The three revered Sikh sites linked to Guru Tegh Bahadur’s 350th martyrdom anniversary call for a bold, regional vision that transformational plan that goes beyond merely implementing the ban on meat, liquor, and tobacco in the holy cities,” said Manjit Singh, former head of Guru Ramdas School of Planning, GNDU, Amritsar.Referring to the recent approval of legislation for Guru Tegh Bahadur World-Class University at Anandpur Sahib to commemorate the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur, Aujla, a former CTP, said that to safeguard the sustainable development of the eco-sensitive Anandpur Sahib Doon area, the government’s announcement for the holy city must be backed by concrete technical and governance measures.The core group of the former CTPs, also aligned with the Institute of Town Planners, said the regional plan under the Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Act, 1995, required comprehensive urban upliftment, infrastructure development, tourism promotion, and job creation for the state’s youth.The experts have recommended formulating a regional development plan under the Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Act, 1995.Gurpreet Singh, former CTP, Punjab, said much has changed on the ground years after the area around the Golden Temple in Amritsar underwent significant beautification and upliftment.Similarly, during the 300th anniversary of the Khalsa’s formation in 1999, Anandpur Sahib received major projects, including Virasat-e-Khalsa, a widened road from Sisganj Sahib to Keshgarh Sahib, a world-class hotel site, and similar development happened around the Damdama Sahib.Another ex-CTP, HS Bhogal, said the need of the time was a regional planning approach that focused on creating “plug and play” industrial or commercial zones to generate employment opportunities for Punjab’s youth, alongside massive improvement in tourism infrastructure so that the holy cities can turn into a lasting legacy of holistic development rather than a mere regulatory measure.While welcoming the symbolic recognition, experts stressed that preserving the sanctity, heritage, historical, and spiritual fabric of the area requires updates to land use planning and long-term governance mechanisms.The core group of experts has urged the governments of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to jointly restore the historical township of ‘Guru Ka Lahore’ — established and developed by Guru Gobind Singh as a model of urban planning — along with the Naina Devi shrine and other inter-state historical, heritage, and religious sites.