Chandigarh-airport shorter route hits dead end
In November last year, former Chandigarh administrator Banwarilal Purohit approved completing the land acquisition process under the 2018 Negotiation Policy; following this, the UT administration issued a notification offering compensation ranging from ₹2.54 crore to ₹3.34 crore per acre to landowners; however, landowners protested against this policy
Almost a year after the UT administration approved the construction of a shorter route to Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport, the project has been put on hold as the Punjab government has not agreed to the land acquisition required for the project.
A total of 51 acres, 39.6 acres in Chandigarh and 12 acres in Punjab’s Jagatpura and Khandala villages, needs to be acquired for the project.
A senior officer of the UT administration stated, “Since the land acquisition is to be done jointly by Punjab and Chandigarh, and Punjab is not agreeing to it, there is no point for the UT to proceed alone. We have put the project on hold for now.”
In November last year, former UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit approved completing the land acquisition process under the 2018 Negotiation Policy. Following this, the UT administration issued a notification offering compensation ranging from ₹2.54 crore to ₹3.34 crore per acre to landowners. However, landowners protested against this policy.
The new road will start from the T-point intersection of Vikas Marg (coming from Sector-43 ISBT) and Purv Marg (coming from Tribune Chowk). The current distance from this intersection to the airport is 11.5 km, after passing through Mohali. The shorter route will reduce this distance to around 3.5 km, bringing the travel time down from 25 minutes to 5 minutes.
The planned shorter route will be 60-m-wide, with three main carriageways, two service lanes, and 2-m-wide cycle tracks on both sides.
In an affidavit filed by the Punjab government before the Punjab and Haryana high court, it has been mentioned that Punjab is already constructing its own shorter route at a cost of ₹125 crore, which will reduce the route by 5 km. A senior officer of the Punjab government said, “There is no point in spending ₹300 crore for a shorter route from Chandigarh. We are constructing an alternative route at the cost of ₹125 crore.”
During the Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority meeting on September 2, Punjab chief secretary Anurag Verma said the alternative shorter route to the airport will be ready within one year. He said work has already begun on the project. This new route will reduce the distance for commuters from Chandigarh to the airport from 11.6 km to 8.5 km, thereby cutting travel time.
The shorter route will go via Sector Junction 65-66 (Bawa White House) to Sector 66-B. Tejinder Singh Bhatia, managing director of Aeropolis City, Sector 66-A, said the new road will alleviate traffic congestion on the existing Airport Road. The road passing through Sector 66-A will enhance connectivity to IT City and Aeropolis City.