Tricity Metro Project: Punjab agrees to give 50 acres for metro depot, but waits for forest dept approval

Officials of Punjab government have conveyed to the Chandigarh administration that “they will be releasing the 50 acres of land but after confirming that it’s a delisted area”.

Confirming it, a senior officer said, “Yes, they have conveyed to us that they have no problem in giving out the land for the RITES depot construction. However, they are checking with the forest department that it falls in a delisted area.” The Punjab government has informed that after it gets the clearance from the forest department, it will chart out the next plan with the Chandigarh administration.

Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) – a completely owned subsidiary of Ministry of Railways – is an engineering consulting company with a focus on transportation infrastructure.

In its alternative analysis report (AAR) this year RITES had mentioned about constructing a depot in New Chandigarh.

RITES agency was hired to conduct a feasibility study of the traffic scenario in and around Chandigarh. And then it prepared the AAR.
The Chandigarh administration had sent several reminders to the Punjab government intimating it about the construction of the depot by RITES. The UT administration has been seeking Punjab’s response for quite some time now.

In the AAR the RITES had also proposed to construct a depot in Zirakpur, but the proposal was turned down by Punjab. However, the Haryana government agreed to have a depot at Sector 27, Panchkula.

Nod to underground metro in heritage sectors

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has already given approval for the Metro lines in heritage sectors (1 to 30) to run underground.

Madhya marg – the key artery of the city – falls in the heritage sectors which will see underground metro.

In March last year, following a high-powered meeting with Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh officials, a metro was approved for Chandigarh and Tricity areas – the major portion of which would be in Mohali (Punjab) followed by Chandigarh and Panchkula (Haryana).

The route and the phases

First phase – By 2034: Sultanpur, New Chandigarh, to Sector 28, Panchkula (34 km); Sukhna Lake to Zirakpur ISBT via Mohali ISBT and Chandigarh airport (41.20 km); and from Grain Market Chowk, Sector 39, to Transport Chowk, Sector 26 (13.30 km), apart from a 2.5-km-long depot entry. These are expected to be completed by 2034.

Second phase – After 2034: A 25-km metro stretch proposed on Airport Chowk to Manakpur Kallar (5 km) and ISBT Zirakpur to Pinjore (20 km) – majorly elevated network.