Big on plans, slow on implementation
Critical infra projects in tricity are either progressing at a snail’s pace or have hit roadblocks.
Several crucial infra projects in tricity have been stalled mainly due to bureaucratic inertia and administrative delays. These initiatives, intended to alleviate traffic congestion, improve parking woes, sanitation, and provide education and healthcare, are now mired in administrative complexities. Among the affected projects are flyover project, underpass and bypass, smart parking, underground power project, MC building, and animal carcass and compressed biogas plants.
Tribune Flyover project
Conceived in 2019
Current states: Revised plan has been sent for MoRTH nod
Project cost: ₹200 crore
Former UT administrator VP Singh Badnore laid the foundation stone of the Tribune flyover project on March 3, 2019. However, it was stalled in November 2019 after the Punjab and Haryana high court stayed the cutting of roadside trees. But it was revived in May last year after the stay was lifted. Officials have sent the revised estimate to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) only a week ago. The project was proposed as a solution to traffic congestion near the busy Tribune Chowk, where more than 1.43 lakh vehicles cross daily, according to traffic projections at the time.
PGIMER-PU underpass
Conceived in 2019
Current states: Engineering dept awaiting layout plans from dept of urban planning
Project cost: ₹50 crore approximately
In November 2019, former UT administrator VP Singh Badnore approved the long-awaited pedestrian underpass between PGIMER and Panjab University. However, even after more than four years, the project remains stalled. The underpass was approved after it was found that over 10,000 people cross the busy stretch daily. In July 2023, the sub-committee of the Chandigarh Heritage Conservation Committee approved the amended design. However, the department of urban planning is yet to prepare the project drawings. A senior official from the UT engineering department said, “Despite several reminders to the department of urban planning, they have not provided the drawings. Even the municipal corporation has taken no action.”
Smart Parking in Chandigarh
Conceived in 2022
Current states: The agenda for the project will again be tabled in the upcoming House meet
Project cost: Tender yet to floated
In August 2022, the Chandigarh municipal corporation proposed a smart parking system. However, after a delay of over two and a half years, the project is now set to be tabled once again in the upcoming General House meeting, with revised policies, including new parking rates. The meeting is scheduled for the end of March. This will be the fourth time the agenda will be placed before the General House. The Smart Parking project aims at modernising Chandigarh’s 89 parking lots by introducing a FASTag-enabled parking management system with a dedicated mobile app for booking slots, dynamic pricing, real-time parking availability updates, and a central control center for monitoring parking activities.
Underground power project in Sector 8
Conceived in 2016
Current states: The work is going on with no fixed deadline
Project cost: ₹18 crore approximately
The underground power project in Sector 8, conceptualised in 2016, is yet to be completed. Even after the installation of underground power cables and transformers in 2021, the Chandigarh administration has failed to complete the project. A senior official from the electricity department said, “We have completed work in Sector 8-A, and now work is underway in 8-B and 8-C. The goal is to make Sector 8 the first in the city to have a fully underground electricity supply.” Sector 8 has a large number of old trees, which have raised concerns about electricity disruptions during storms. The underground cable system is expected to prevent damage during heavy rains and minimise the impact of thunderstorms on the power supply.
Educity project
Conceived in 2011
Current states: UT admn is still struggling to revive it
In 2011, the Education City project was proposed in Sarangpur village, Chandigarh. However, 14 years later, the UT administration is still struggling to revive it. The project was envisioned as a hub for world-class educational institutions of excellence. Last month, in an effort to push the project forward, officials from the UT higher education department met the University Grants Commission (UGC) in New Delhi to discuss the way forward. Initially, nine institutions were shortlisted, but only three signed MoUs with the administration. However, two of them later withdrew, leaving only one institute, NIMS, which has set up its campus.
Animal carcass plant at Raipur Kalan
Conceived in 2022
Current states: The project is yet to become operational
Project cost: ₹1.75 crore
In October 2022, the civic body proposed the city’s first animal carcass incinerator. However, even after nearly three years, the project is yet to become operational. The absence of a dedicated plant for animal carcass incineration is one of the key reasons Chandigarh has failed to rank among the top 10 cleanest cities in the country in the Swachh Survekshan.
The delay in setting up the plant has significantly impacted the city’s performance in Swachh Survekshan over the past few years. The project, undertaken by Chandigarh Smart City Ltd (CSCL), is reportedly complete but awaiting final approvals.
Samgauli CBG plant
Conceived in 2013
Current states: The project is struggling to get bidders despite repeated tenders.
Project cost: ₹27 crore
The Mohali municipal corporation (MC) has been struggling to construct the compressed biogas (CBG) plant at Samgauli village in Dera Bassi. The proposed plant will help alleviate Mohali’s trash troubles by converting wet waste from six urban local bodies — Mohali, Banur, Zirakpur, Dera Bassi, Lalru and Nayagaon — into compressed biogas, which can be used as fuel in vehicles. The project is struggling to get bidders despite repeated tenders.
It has been hanging fire for the last 11 years. The Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) had allotted the 39-acre space in Samgauli to MC in 2013 for waste management, but the latter failed to make use of it.
Zirakpur bypass
Conceived in 2014
Current states: Project facing technical issues
Project cost: ₹1,329 crore
After an 11-year wait, the Zirakpur bypass project is yet to see the light of day, even as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) invited bids for the construction of the six-lane bypass to ease traffic congestion in Zirakpur, several times. The project, likely to cost nearly ₹1,329 crore, will provide an alternative route to commuters going to Shimla from Ambala side. An NHAI official said the project has been delayed due to technical issues.
Panchkula MC building
Conceived in 2019
Current states: The civic body has yet to float a tender for the remaining work
Project cost: ₹29.49 crore
The long-awaited Panchkula Municipal Corporation (MC) office building in Sector 3, originally planned for completion in April 2021, faces further delays. The civic body is yet to float a tender for the remaining work, even after the Punjab and Haryana high court recently granted permission to allocate a new contractor. The project commenced officially on December 5, 2019, but the actual work started on May 25, 2020, due to delays in obtaining mining approvals. Initially scheduled for completion by April 4, 2021, the project timeline was extended twice. So far, only the building’s basic structure has been erected.
Mother and Child Centre, Panchkula
Conceived in 2021
Current states: Yet to see the light of the day
Project cost: ₹113 crore
The construction of a Mother and Child Centre at Panchkula’s Civil Hospital, which began in May 2021, is yet to see the light of the day. The 7+3 structure (seven hospital floors and three parking levels) is designed to address the increasing demand for patients. The centre will feature 200 additional beds, bringing the total capacity to 500. Currently, the hospital faces severe overcrowding, with 60% of its patients coming from outside the region and the general OPD handling 4,000 to 5,000 patients daily. The expanded facility will alleviate these challenges, improving the quality of care and accommodating the influx of patients from Haryana, Zirakpur, Dera Bassi, Mohaliand Mani Majra.
-- With inputs from Hillary Victor, Nikhil Sharma & Naina Mishra
