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Chandigarh: HC reserves order on plea against Tribune flyover
The petition from Jagwant Singh Bath and others have raised issue of environmental concerns, if flyover is permitted and termed the UT’s move against the city’s heritage character; and further challenged cutting of trees for the same
The Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday reserved its judgment on a petition challenging UT’s decision to construct tribune flyover.
The petition from Jagwant Singh Bath and others have raised issue of environmental concerns, if flyover is permitted and termed the UT’s move against the city’s heritage character; and further challenged cutting of trees for the same.
The petitioners have argued that Chandigarh Master Plan (CMP) 2031, notified under the Capital of Punjab Act, 1952 and the Punjab New Capital (Periphery) Control Act, 1952, is a statutory document and it does not recommend the construction of flyovers within the city and mandates that alternative traffic management measures be explored. The petition also claims the Department of Urban Planning was initially opposed to the project and was of the view that CMP does not allow the same.
On the other hand, UT has argued that a division bench of the high court has already vacated the stay on the project on April 30, 2024, after considering all aspects, including environmental concerns.
The order has attained finality as a petition filed in the Supreme Court on the issue has been withdrawn by the petitioners in September 2024.
Chandigarh, originally planned for a population of around 5 lakh, now caters to the tri-city population. The commuters entering from Zirakpur and Delhi face traffic congestion lasting up to 1.5 hours, making the flyover a necessary intervention, UT has argued.
The petition was filed in 2024 and after hearing all the parties, an order was reserved by the bench of chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Sanjiv Berry on Wednesday.
UT has got the nod to construct the flyover from the Union ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH). The work may start anytime now. The flyover, proposed to ease chronic traffic congestion at Tribune Chowk, has faced repeated procedural delays since it was first conceived — causing its cost to bump up from ₹137 crore in 2019 to ₹200 crore now, a 45% increase over seven years. The project was conceived in 2016 to decongest the chowk as most of the traffic coming to the city passes through it. The proposed 1.6-km flyover will start after the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32 roundabout and land ahead of the railway overbridge on Dakshin Marg.
