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Finally, Punjab agrees to acquire land for shorter route to Chandigarh airport
Punjab chief secretary VK Janjua shared that the Punjab government had given its in-principal approval for acquiring the land for a shorter route to the Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport in Mohali, adding that he will taking up the compensation matter with chief minister Bhagwant Mann
Coming clear on Punjab government’s stand on Chandigarh administration’s proposal for a shorter route to the Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport in Mohali, state’s chief secretary VK Janjua on Monday 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.
Janjua shared this during a meeting with UT administrator Banwari Lal Purohit at the UT Secretariat on Monday, in the presence of all stakeholders, including ministry of defence, ministry of railways, Indian Air Force and Chandigarh International Airport Ltd.
The chief secretary shared that the Punjab government had given its in-principal approval for acquiring the land, adding that he will taking up the compensation matter with chief minister Bhagwant Mann.
The Chandigarh administration is planning the 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).
The current distance from this intersection to the airport is 11.5 km after traversing through Mohali. The shorter route will reduce this to around 3.5 km, thereby bringing the travel time down from 25 minutes to 5 minutes.
A total of 56 acres needs to be acquired for the project of which 42 acres fall in Chandigarh and the remaining 14 acres in Punjab’s Jagatpura and Khandala villages.
It was in 2016 when Haryana and Chandigarh had started raising demand for a shorter route to the airport. UT had proposed a tunnel under the runway to shorten the distance but the air force refused to grant permission.
In 2022, UT came up with the plan for extension of Sector-48 road, which other stakeholders, including Centre, gave nod to, except Punjab.
According to the state, the Mohali Master Plan already includes an alternative 164-foot-wide route to the airport via Sector 66-A.
The Greater Mohali Development Authority (GMADA) has already announced a total award of ₹55.23 crore for nearly 17 acres acquired in Kambali, Kambala and Rurka villages for the shorter route that will bring down the 18-km distance from Tribune Chowk, Chandigarh, to the airport by more than 5 km.
At the last meeting on May 12, held under the chairmanship of UT adviser Dharam Pal, other stakeholders, including the defence and railways ministries, air force and airport authorities, had given their nod to Chandigarh’s proposal after some modifications to the route, as part of which the railways will be constructing a railway under bridge.
A senior GMADA officer, present at the meeting on Monday, wishing not to be named, said Punjab government was already spending ₹100 crore on the alternate route via Sector 66-A: “Yet, UT is pressing for the other road, which is not even straight and runs in a zigzag path.”
