Chandigarh, May 15 (IANS). The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday banned the felling of trees for the Tribune Chowk flyover, stalling the proposed project.
A bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjeev Beri said that the matter has already been heard and a decision on it is likely to be given soon. The bench said that it would be appropriate to restrain the Chandigarh administration and other respondents from cutting any mango tree or any other tree in the vicinity of Tribune Chowk.
However, the bench, which reserved its judgment on Wednesday, said that “the interim direction will remain subject to the final outcome of the petition.”
The petitioners, including Jagwant Bath, have challenged the felling of trees, raising environmental concerns. He has also called this move against the heritage of the city.
The petitioners have argued that the Chandigarh Master Plan 2031, notified under the Punjab Capital Act, 1952 and the Punjab Capital (Perimeter) Control Act, 1952, is a statutory document and does not recommend construction of flyovers within the city and mandates that alternative traffic management measures be explored.
The petitioners also claim that the urban planning department was initially against the project and believed that the master plan did not permit it.
Chandigarh has received approval for the construction of the flyover from the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH). This flyover, proposed to ease traffic jams at Tribune Chowk, has been facing repeated procedural delays ever since its planning, due to which its cost has increased from Rs 137 crore in 2019 to Rs 200 crore now, an increase of 45 percent in seven years.
Conceived in 2016, the project aims to decongest the Tribune Roundabout as most of the traffic in the city passes through it.
The proposed 1.6 km long flyover will start after the Government Medical College and Hospital at the Sector 32 roundabout and end before the railway overbridge on the South Road.
–IANS
PIM/PM