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MP Tewari seeks ₹25K-Cr for Chandigarh Metro
Speaking during the Lok Sabha proceedings, Tewari said an integrated regional MRTS was vital for improving mobility, reducing traffic congestion and unlocking the economic potential of the tricity and its surrounding areas.
MP Manish Tewari on Thursday renewed his long-standing demand for a metro network connecting Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula and Mullanpur, urging the Centre to allocate ₹25,000 crore for a Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS) from Ambala to Kurali and Landran to Pinjore.
Speaking during the Lok Sabha proceedings, Tewari said an integrated regional MRTS was vital for improving mobility, reducing traffic congestion and unlocking the economic potential of the tricity and its surrounding areas.
He reminded the House that he had first written in 2019 to the then Union ministers for road transport & highways and housing & urban affairs, pressing for a metro project that would link key growth corridors and generate wider economic opportunities.
Tewari noted that although the government established a Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) to push the project, the body has met only three times since its creation. UMTA had commissioned RITES (Railway Technical and Economic Services) to prepare a feasibility study, and while RITES submitted reports twice, no substantial progress has followed.
The prolonged delay, he said, has pushed the project’s estimated cost from ₹16,000 crore to ₹25,000 crore over the last three to four years.
Pointing out that cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kochi and Nagpur already have functional metro networks, Tewari said Chandigarh continues to lag behind despite being a major administrative, commercial and educational hub.
He urged the Centre to declare the MRTS a strategic connectivity project and to fully fund it, arguing that this was essential for realising the region’s economic potential and ensuring integrated, sustainable growth.
“The future growth of the region depends on modern public transport infrastructure. Chandigarh needs this metro—now more than ever,” he asserted.
Box: Chandigarh Metro still stuck on paper despite multiple reviews
Nearly a year after an eight-member committee was constituted to examine the economic and financial feasibility of the Chandigarh Metro, the project remains stuck on paper with no concrete progress.
In November last year, UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria formed the committee, headed by the UT chief engineer as nodal officer and convener. Its members include the UT secretaries of urban planning and transport, the transport secretaries of Punjab and Haryana, the administrative secretary of housing and urban development (Punjab), the administrative secretary of town and country planning (Haryana), and the UT chief architect. The panel was tasked with evaluating the overall feasibility of the Metro system, including examining Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports on other Metro projects.
The committee has since held three meetings, and Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) has already submitted its reports. However, these remain pending with the UT administration, with no action taken so far.
On October 7, Tewari urged Khattar to personally intervene and push forward the Chandigarh MRTS project and to prioritise and ensure the implementation of the Chandigarh Metro-MRTS project as a fully funded central initiative.
