Metro ‘heading nowhere’, city may turn into ‘hell for traffic’ by 2036: Manish Tewari

Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha on December 11, Tewari highlighted the urgent need for a Metro Rail system in the tricity region, citing worsening traffic congestion and rapid urban growth.

Member of Parliament Manish Tewari has said that it is “extremely unfortunate” that the long-pending Chandigarh Metro project appears to be “heading nowhere”, warning that without immediate intervention, the city could become a “hell for traffic” by 2036. He has urged the Union government to declare the Metro a strategic connectivity project and sanction a special grant of ₹25,000 crore to end the prolonged stalemate.

Member of Parliament Manish Tewari has said that it is “extremely unfortunate” that the long-pending Chandigarh Metro project appears to be “heading nowhere”, warning that without immediate intervention, the city could become a “hell for traffic” by 2036. (HT File)

Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha on December 11, Tewari highlighted the urgent need for a Metro Rail system in the tricity region, citing worsening traffic congestion and rapid urban growth.

Responding to him, Union minister of state for housing and urban affairs Tokhan Sahu said that although the Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) was constituted on April 28, 2023, the Centre has not received any proposal from the Chandigarh administration, Punjab or Haryana governments for setting up a Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS) in Chandigarh, Panchkula, Mohali and New Chandigarh. He added that urban transport is a state subject and that planning responsibility rests with the Union Territory and the state governments concerned.

Reacting sharply, Tewari expressed surprise over the minister’s statement. “One can only wonder what the UMTA has been doing over the past 34 months, especially when RITES has already submitted two reports underscoring the financial viability of the Metro project,” he said, calling the absence of a formal proposal a “serious lapse.”

He accused the ministry of “bureaucratic buck-passing” and evading responsibility. “By claiming no proposal has been received, the Ministry is conveniently absolving itself of responsibility, ignoring the urgency of Chandigarh’s traffic crisis,” he said.