CHANDIGARH:After many a tactical retreats and surges of Chandigarh Administration bureaucrats
has finally hoped to win the metro marathon. It took more than 19 years for the Chandigarh
Administration to initiate the project second time about a mass rapid transport system for the city. It
propelled the administration into burst of activity. A meeting was held between the Adviser to the
Administrator, Chandigarh and representatives of Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES)
here on Tuesday.
A comprehensive mobility plan information was given by the RITES before the officials. The
Chandigarh Administration has told the RITES to suggest the best option of public transport for Tri-
city. It is also revealed that the RITES would complete traffic congestion on city roads in the next
eight months and submit a comprehensive mobility plan. Now the RITES will do a field survey to
know the traffic flow in the city and seek necessary datas from the Registering and Licensing
Authority, Chandigarh. It will also study traffic flow into the city from neighbouring states—Punjab
and Haryana. On the basis of this study, the RITES will submit a report regarding alternate public
transport. The mobility plan will be prepared keeping necessities of the city in mind till 2041.
After submission of the report by the RITES it will decide whether Tri-city will require metro,
mono or light rail system.
In 2008, the Chandigarh Administration had also done a study about moblity plan from the
RITES by spending around Rs one crore. It was decided to develop a CMP and a region-wide mass
rapid transport system (MRTS) that would be parallel to the metro project. For the past more than
13 years project has been gathering dust in the files.
As per earlier plans, the system would be under ground in most of the areas while on the
periphery it would be elevated. That time it was decided to start work on two corridors—Sarangpur-
Lahora Khudda to Maheshnagar in Panchkula and from Manimajra to Mohali via IT Park. Later on, it
would extend up to Kharar, Zirakpur and Derabassi in Punjab, Pinjore and Kalka in Haryana and
Baddi-Barotiwala in Himachal Pradesh.
An amount of Rs one crore was spent on field survey, there were 16 stations, seven corridors
each having length of 87 kms with minimum 5.5 meter ground clearance and platform length of 125
meter. The project could not see the light of the day due to bureaucratic redtapism.
Again the Administration is on its feet in jubilation but the aam aadmi of the city did not
seem much enthusiastic. Experts say that it would become difficult to afford the cost of rail system
on many counts. “It will prove a game only of the rich to play. They hold meetings, decide and imply
their ideas on the common man. The aam aadmi well have no say in such deals, ” says an architect.
He further says that administration is always claiming of steps to preserve the legacy of Le
Corbusier—but in this era of globalisation one has to choose either legacy or globalisation expecially
in case of Chandigarh.
But there are also some who think it will prove the best solution to avoid any crisis-like
situation on the tri-city roads in future. It will help ease the load off CTU which at present has a fleet
over 160 buses traversing 38, 000 kms daily with a load of about one lakh passengers.