Chandigarh Metro: Only 3 meetings in 2 years, no DPR yet, Centre tells MP Manish Tewari

However, the government clarified that as of now, no DPR for the Chandigarh Metro has been submitted to the Centre for consideration.

The reply further stated that the responsibility for planning and developing urban transport infrastructure in Union Territories (UTs) lies with the respective UT administrations. The Centre, it said, can consider financial assistance for urban rail projects based on feasibility and availability of resources, but only once proposals are submitted by the concerned state or UT governments.

Lashing out at the lack of progress, Tewari, the Congress MP from Chandigarh, called UMTA “utterly ineffective” and demanded clarity from the participating administrations. “Despite now having been in existence for over two years, they have failed to even prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR),” he said in a statement.

He urged the Chandigarh administration and the governments of Punjab and Haryana to make their stand clear. “The time has come… to clearly say, do they want a Metro Project for the four cities of Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula and New Chandigarh or not. Procrastination, vacillation, obfuscation and dissimulation will no longer do,” he said.

“Bottom line—do you want Metro or not? Yes or No,” Tewari said, calling for an unequivocal decision on a project first proposed over a decade ago but repeatedly stalled over cost-sharing and planning hurdles.

The long-delayed Chandigarh Metro project had received in-principle clearance from the governments of Punjab, Haryana and the Union Territory in 2023 following the submission of a fresh alignment report by RITES, the Rail India Technical and Economic Service. The revised plan, forming part of the Comprehensive Mobility Plan, proposed a 77-km Phase I network connecting Chandigarh, Mohali, New Chandigarh and Panchkula through three corridors. RITES had reworked earlier alignments to address concerns over heritage zones, commuter connectivity, and integration with inter-state transport hubs.

The first corridor was to connect Paroul in New Chandigarh to Panchkula Sector 28 via PGI, Panjab University, the Chandigarh railway station and Housing Board Chowk, with a portion from PGI to Transport Chowk planned underground to protect heritage precincts. The second corridor was designed to run from Rock Garden/Sukhna Lake to ISBT Zirakpur, passing through Sector 17, Mohali ISBT and the Chandigarh international airport, with an underground segment from Sukhna to Sector 43. The third corridor was an entirely elevated stretch from Sector 39’s Grain Market to Sector 26’s Transport Chowk via Tribune Chowk. Together, the three lines aimed to decongest city roads and provide seamless intercity commuting within the Tricity.

Despite agreement on the revised RITES-led alignment and policy-level nods from all three administrations, progress on the project has remained stalled due to the failure to prepare and submit a DPR.