Award-Winning Journalist Hina Rohtaki: A Decade of Investigative Reporting in Chandigarh
Hina Rohtaki, Special Correspondent at The Indian Express based in Chandigarh, has established herself as one of the most prominent journalists covering the Chandigarh Administration, civic issues, and the unique political status of the Union Territory. With over a decade of experience, she is known for her investigative reporting on administrative waste and urban governance.
Rohtaki is a recipient of the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award, presented by the President of India in January 2020. She also received the Jethmalani prize (The Will of Steel Awards) in 2025 in the Empowerment category for a series of articles highlighting the struggles of Covid widows.
Her primary beat focuses on Chandigarh's administrative structure, financial management, and urban development projects. Recent notable articles from late 2025 cover government accountability, administrative expenditures, and civic trends.
Among her investigative reports are 'Fuelling power: Senior UT IAS officers guzzled petrol worth Rs 30 lakh in 2 yrs' (Dec 14, 2025), detailing high fuel bills of top bureaucrats, and 'Admn spends Rs 1.5 crore on dismantling road railings and fixing again after increasing height' (Dec 8, 2025), highlighting administrative waste. She also reported on Chandigarh’s finances coming under ministry watch (Nov 27, 2025).
On governance and constitutional status, she wrote about the potential implications of Chandigarh being brought under Article 240 (Nov 24, 2025), MP Manish Tewari’s Bill for a directly elected Mayor (Dec 6, 2025), and the Centre’s response on mayoral term (Dec 10, 2025).
In urban infrastructure and environment, she reported on the Chandigarh administration cutting power to India’s tallest air purifier (Nov 17, 2025), the UT rethinking 24/7 water supply project (Nov 26, 2025), and the Centre’s handling of Dadu Majra dump deadlines (Dec 12, 2025).
Her lifestyle features include 'Chandigarh turns into a Thar city as women fuel the surge' (Dec 2, 2025) and 'After fivefold spike in 2023, EV sales struggle to pick pace in Chandigarh' (Dec 2, 2025).
Rohtaki is known for meticulous use of RTI data to expose administrative inefficiency. Her 'Ground Zero' reporting on the Dadu Majra garbage dump and scrutiny of Smart City projects have made her a key figure in civil society discourse.
