Amid apprehensions over the implementation of the contentious Tribune Flyover project, the Chandigarh Administration on Friday got the backing of Union Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways and Governments of Punjab and Haryana for the project.

The meeting of senior officers of UT Administration, Union Ministry, Punjab and Haryana was held here following the directions of Punjab and Haryana High Court on the issue of flyover project.

The High Court (HC)?had last month stayed the transplanting and axing of 473 trees for the Tribune flyover project, on an NGO’s plea.

“Senior officers from the Union Ministry, Haryana and Punjab Governments have fully supported the UT Administration for the implementation of the Tribune flyover project,” said Manoj Parida, Advisor to UT Administrator, after presiding over the meeting.

The Advisor said that it has been concluded that there is no alternative but to construct the flyover to address the problem of traffic congestion on this major junction.

Now, public hearing will be held on December 23, when the aggrieved parties and those who have reservations about this project have been invited to share their views, he added.

During the meeting, the representatives from Union Ministry, Punjab and Haryana were apprized about the project through a presentation.

On the aspect of impact on skyline of the city due to the construction of flyover, it was concluded that there is no other alternative to reduce the traffic congestion in the area. It was also informed that earlier, it was proposed to cut around 700 trees for the project but it was later reduced to around 400 to ensure less impact on environment for the implementation of project.

It was also discussed that the city was designed for a population of five lakh only but the population has more than doubled now and the decisions related to developmental project cannot be taken considering retaining the original vision or character of the city.

The proposal of construction of underpass instead of flyover was also discussed but the meeting concluded that the construction of flyover is needed to alleviate the traffic congestion at the Tribune Chowk.

The Administration will now hold public hearing regarding the Tribune flyover project on Monday. Following this, a report will be submitted in the High Court about Friday’s meeting and public hearing.

Notably, the High Court, while observing that the project is being implemented in violation of Chandigarh Master Plan 2031, had last month put a stay on cutting of trees for the project, virtually putting brakes on the project.

According to the Chandigarh Master Plan 2031, over bridges or flyovers are not recommended to be constructed in entire city of Chandigarh due to heritage considerations, since they impact the visual city scape, and cause inconvenience to the pedestrians.

To alleviate the traffic congestion at the Tribune Chowk, the master plan had infact recommended construction of underpass, as proposed in the RITES (Rail India Technical And Economic Services) report.

The construction of the flyover and underpass at Tribune Chowk is aimed at making traffic steady and smooth at the most busy junction of the city, where there is the highest concentration of vehicular traffic.

However, the UT Urban Planning Department had suggested that alternative routes or bypasses from Industrial Area, Phase –II for right turning cars and buses towards ISBT, Sector 43 may be explored. Apart from this, provision of lane markings, directional arrows, intersection controlled markings and bus boxes were recommended.

Among other suggestions included were the possibility of provision of tapered median U-turns to avoid right turns at the roundabout, reserving or demarcating extreme left lanes segregated by yellow painted solid 10 mm thick line for both city bus services and ambulances, trucks going towards Mohali via Tribune Chowk coming from Zirakpur side may be diverted strictly via Aero City road, and the possibility of connecting slow carriageway directly with the existing slip roads near Tribune Chowk.

Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator VP Singh Badnore had laid the foundation stone of the much awaited and desired flyover earlier this year.