The High Court, in November 2019, had put a stay on the uprooting and cutting of trees for the project.

Chandigarh Zirakpur-Tribune Chowk Flyover Latest News: In a major development, the Punjab and Haryana High Court vacated the stay over the construction of the flyover in 2019. The matter of the construction of the Tribune flyover “has taken Chandigarh back by a decade”.

The High Court was hearing a PIL (public interest litigation), filed by a social organisation, The Run Club, against the UT Administration. The NGO challenged the proposal to cut trees for the project.

A division Bench of Acting Chief Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Lapita Banerji stated that, “It is a matter of common knowledge that traffic coming from Delhi/Dera Bassi side to Chandigarh is held up for one and half hours on account of traffic jams. Zirakpur municipality situated in Punjab, which is just before one enters from Delhi/Dera Bassi side, and is a new urban high-rise and high-density area permitted to be developed by the State of Punjab which has flourished on account of high cost of living in proper Chandigarh. A large number of residents have started inhabiting in Zirakpur due to easy availability of high-rise flats and apartments and are dependent to reach Chandigarh for their work, education purposes, health purposes and entertainment purposes.”

“Municipal Council, Zirakpur, is stated to have a population of one lakh and the said area has developed phenomenally over the years due to its boundary touching Chandigarh. Thus, all the residents also flow continuously in and out of Chandigarh. The need as such is to ease the traffic in such situation, rather than to block the development. In our considered opinion, the stay which was granted on November 20, 2019 has taken Chandigarh back by a decade. In such circumstances, we are of the considered opinion that it has led not only to cost overruns but also ensured that the town has not progressed and developed which is the need of the hour,” said the Bench.

The Bench further observed, “We do not see any plausible reason to continue with the stay, which was granted on November 20, 2019. Resultantly, we vacate the same. It is open for the Administration to proceed with the project as such regarding fly-over at Tribune Chowk in the manner in which it deems fit, and whether to associate the earlier contractor or to call for fresh bids.”

“Needless to say the Administration shall not rush forth to cut the trees till the project is finalized as such and the construction is liable to be started,” the Bench issued directions.

It may be recalled that on March 3, 2019, the then UT Administrator V P Singh Badnore laid the foundation stone of the Rs 184 crore project that was being touted as a solution to resolve the traffic issues in the vicinity of Tribune Chowk. The UT forest department had also approved the felling of 472 trees, back then, out of which 143 were to be uprooted. However, the High Court, in November 2019, had put a stay on the uprooting and cutting of trees for the project.

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