Shorter route to Chandigarh airport to be 60 metres wide

This was decided during a meeting of officers of the Punjab government and Chandigarh administration on Wednesday, held on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana high court to expedite work on the project

The shorter route being planned from Chandigarh to Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport in Mohali will be 60 metres wide, with three main carriageways, two service lanes and 2-metre-wide cycle tracks on both sides.

To speed up land acquisition for the road, the deputy commissioners of both Mohali and Chandigarh will be meeting on August 26. (HT Photo)

This was decided during a meeting of officers of the Punjab government and UT administration on Wednesday, held on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana high court to expedite work on the project.

To speed up land acquisition for the road, the deputy commissioners (DCs) of both Mohali and Chandigarh will be meeting on August 26. The railway authorities also assured that once the required land was acquired, they will construct the railway under bridge (RUB) within four months.

Additional solicitor general Satya Pal Jain presided over the meeting, which was attended by the Chandigarh DC, Punjab advocate general Vinod Ghai, senior advocate Chetan Mittal, lawyers associated with the PIL and amicus curiae ML Sareen.

The Chandigarh administration is planning a shorter route from near Sector 48. 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).

A total of 51 acres needs to be acquired for the project of which 39 acres fall in Chandigarh and the remaining 12 acres in Punjab’s Jagatpura and Khandala villages.

But Punjab, for years, had been refusing to foot the land acquisition cost, especially as the Mohali Master Plan already includes an alternative 164-foot-wide route to the airport via Sector 66-A.

At the last meeting on May 22, Punjab’s chief secretary VK Janjua had said Punjab was ready to acquire the required land falling in Mohali, but the ₹50-crore compensation involved needed to be taken up with the chief minister. The chief secretary had shared that the Punjab government had given its in-principal approval for acquiring the land.

Other stakeholders, including the ministry of defence, ministry of railways, air force authorities and Chandigarh International Airport Ltd had given their nod to Chandigarh’s proposal on May 12.