Centre’s nod to underground Metro in Chandigarh heritage sectors
Dushyant Singh Pundir
Chandigarh, July 3
The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has given in-principle approval to the proposed Metro project to be underground in the heritage sectors of the city.
The UT Administration had recommended that the proposed Metro project for the city should be mainly underground to preserve the city’s aesthetic structure.
City heritage
Also, as per the Supreme Court judgment on share-wise sale of apartments, Sectors 1 to 30 are heritage sectors and have to be protected and preserved.
Project cost to go up by Rs 8,000 crore
Opting for underground corridors is estimated to raise the project cost by approximately Rs 8,000 crore, bringing the total project outlay to around Rs 19,000 crore. The overall tentative cost of the Metro project, according to the RITES report, is Rs 11,000 crore, with Haryana and Punjab contributing 20%, the Centre 20% and the lending agency financing the remaining 40%.
A senior UT officer stated that the ministry had given its nod to the underground Metro project in heritage sectors (1-30), but the minutes of the meeting were yet to be received.
The Chandigarh Heritage Conservation Committee’s sub-committee, considering the city’s heritage status, had recommended the underground line for the entire Metro project. The UT Administration had communicated this decision to the ministry, and a detailed report on the underground project was requested for a final decision. The UT Administration had submitted the report to the ministry for the final decision.
A member of the sub-committee stated that the sub-panel had suggested that no stretch of the Metro in the planned city should be elevated. This is also in sync with recommendations of the Chandigarh Master Plan 2031.
In a bid to preserve the heritage status of the city, the Administration had recommended that the Metro within the sectoral grid should be underground despite the substantially higher cost.
According to UNESCO guidelines, the Metro section connecting the Capitol Complex and the Sukhna Lake needs heritage impact assessment and section of alignment in sectoral grid needs approval of the Chandigarh Heritage Conservation Committee (CHCC). Also, as per the Supreme Court judgment on share-wise sale of apartments, Sectors 1 to 30 are heritage sectors and have to be protected and preserved.
Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES), in its Alternative Analysis Report (AAR) for Phase I, has outlined three corridors spanning Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula. While the Madhya Marg corridor in Chandigarh’s heritage sectors (1 to 30) is proposed to be entirely elevated, the other two corridors will be predominantly elevated with some underground sections. Opting for underground corridors is estimated to raise the project cost by approximately Rs 8,000 crore, bringing the total project outlay to around Rs 19,000 crore.
The overall tentative cost of the Metro project, according to the RITES report, is approximately Rs 11,000 crore, with Haryana and Punjab contributing 20%, the Centre 20% and the lending agency financing the remaining 40%.
During the Unified Metro Transportation Authority (UMTA) meeting on December 18, 2023, a decision was made to request the Central Government to determine whether the project should have an elevated or underground network. RITES also submitted a report to the UT Administration on December 28 last year, addressing increasing traffic congestion in the tricity and future traffic requirements.
In adherence to the Central Government guidelines, the UT Administration, in July last year, committed to involving all stakeholders, including Haryana and Punjab, in preparing the detailed project report for the Metro.
