Punjab and Haryana High Court restrains felling of trees near Chandigarh’s Tribune Chowk till final verdict in flyover PIL
The Chandigarh Administration and the Centre contended that an earlier petition involving a similar cause had been disposed of in 2024.
The Tribune Chowk flyover project was sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs 183.74 crore. (Express Archives: Jaipal Singh) The Punjab and Haryana High Court Friday restrained authorities from felling or lopping any mango tree or other trees in the vicinity of Chandigarh’s Tribune Chowk till the final outcome of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) concerning the proposed flyover at the intersection.
The interim order was passed by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry while hearing a PIL filed by one Jagwant Singh Bath and others. The Bench noted that final judgment in the matter had already been reserved after hearing arguments over several dates.
The petitioners were represented by advocate Tanu Bedi, along with advocates Balvinder Sangwan and Krishna Maurya. Senior Advocate Amit Jhanji appeared for the Chandigarh Administration, while Senior Advocate Dheeraj Jain represented the Union of India.
During the hearing, the respondents – Chandigarh Administration and Union of India – raised a preliminary objection regarding the maintainability of the PIL, contending that an earlier petition involving a similar cause had been disposed of on December 2, 2024, for want of instructions and that the present petition had been filed after an unexplained delay of four years.
Rejecting the objection, the Bench observed: “We have no manner of doubt that the public cause of traffic congestion at the Tribune Chowk continues to subsist till date and plague the pristine environment of the heritage city of Chandigarh, and therefore, the said objection of delay raised by the respondents is rejected.”
The court further recorded the submissions made on behalf of the petitioners that “trees including mango trees standing since last more than half a century, are likely to be felled or lopped to give way for construction of flyover at Tribune Chowk which is objected to in this petition.”
Passing interim directions, the Bench observed: “Since the matter has been heard and is to be finally decided at an early date, it would be appropriate to restrain the respondents from felling or lopping any mango tree or any other tree in the vicinity of the Tribune Chowk.”
The court, however, clarified that, “The aforesaid interim direction shall, however, be subject to the final outcome in this petition.”
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