BJP pushes for Chandigarh Metro in Parliament, Congress already on board

With Chandigarh’s much-awaited Metro project stuck in bureaucratic limbo for nearly a decade and a half, BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP from Chandigarh Satnam Singh Sandhu raised the issue in Parliament on Monday, demanding that the Union government fast-track a Metro network for the Tricity region on a priority basis.

Raising the matter through a Special Mention during the ongoing Budget Session, Sandhu made a strong case for a comprehensive Metro rail network for the Chandigarh Tricity, comprising the Union Territory of Chandigarh and its satellite cities of Mohali and Panchkula.

Sandhu told Rajya Sabha that the Tricity is growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 8.02 per cent and its population is projected to surpass 40 lakh by 2041. He said the broader urban cluster — which extends to Kharar, Zirakpur, Dera Bassi, Lalru, Kurali, Rupnagar, Pinjore, Kalka and Ambala — already has a combined population exceeding 40 lakh.

Warning of a looming traffic catastrophe, Sandhu said that without a modern Metro system, the average vehicular speed within the Tricity could plummet from the current 25-30 km/h to less than 15 km/h. He said a Metro network would enhance connectivity to the region's industrial and educational hubs while making the Tricity an exemplary model for sustainable urban transportation.

Sandhu projected that daily Metro ridership in the Tricity could reach approximately 25 lakh by 2031, and lauded the Modi government's expansion of the national Metro network from five cities before 2014 to over 25 cities today.

Chandigarh currently has the highest per capita vehicle density in India — 1,142 vehicles per 1,000 residents, more than four times the national average of 280. On average, 104 new vehicles hit the city's roads every day. Approximately 20,000 ageing vehicles received road extensions in 2024 alone, the highest in five years.

“Given this scenario, the development of a comprehensive Metro network would provide enhanced connectivity to industrial and educational hubs such as Kharar, Kurali, Ropar, Morinda, Zirakpur, Dera Bassi, Pinjore, and Kalka,” Sandhu said.

The Metro push is not confined to the ruling BJP. Across party lines, Congress MP from Chandigarh Manish Tewari had raised the issue in the Lok Sabha on December 11, 2025, demanding that the Centre declare the Chandigarh Metro a Strategic Connectivity Project and sanction a special grant of Rs 25,000 crore to finally move the long-delayed project to execution.

Tewari had pointed out that the project’s cost had already escalated from Rs 16,000 crore during initial planning to around Rs 25,000 crore, with further delay set to push it even higher. He also flagged that UMTA — the Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority formed to oversee the project — had met only three times, even as RITES submitted two feasibility reports affirming that a Metro was essential and viable for the region.

Both MPs are, however, pushing against significant headwinds. Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria threw a red flag over the project in January 2026, arguing that digging up Chandigarh was not feasible, questioning its financial viability, and warning against creating a burden similar to the struggling Jaipur Metro. Kataria also proposed extending the network to distant cities like Ambala and Rajpura, rather than limiting it to the Tricity.

The long & winding road

The Chandigarh Metro project has been stuck in a loop of studies, scrappings, revivals, and re-evaluations since it was first conceived in 2012. The proposed network — three elevated corridors, over 50 stations, spanning 114 km, including 89 km in Phase 1 and 25 km in Phase 2 — is estimated to cost Rs 25,000 crore.

The project was scrapped in 2017 over low financial viability projections, revived in November 2022, and given in-principle central approval in March 2023. A Detailed Project Report (DPR) was finalised in July 2024. Yet, a joint committee of Chandigarh, Punjab, and Haryana formed in November 2024 sought yet another revised Scenario Analysis Report (SAR) from RITES after flagging critical gaps in methodology, ridership projections, and economic modelling — stretching the decision-making cycle further.

The latest RITES submission estimated capital costs for the 85.65-km network at Rs 23,263 crore for an elevated system and Rs 27,680 crore for a fully underground option at February 2025 price levels. With taxes and escalation, total completion cost rises to Rs 25,631 crore (elevated) and Rs 30,498 crore (underground) by 2031. The Financial Internal Rate of Return (FIRR) stands at 5.26 per cent for the elevated option — a figure that has fuelled the viability debate.

With construction yet to begin more than 13 years after the project was first proposed, the Tricity’s roads are at the saturation point. Urban planners warn that the absence of high-capacity rapid transport is directly constraining growth, mobility, and quality of life across the region.

Project snapshot

Network: 3 elevated corridors, 50+ stations

Total length: 114 km (Phase 1: 89 km | Phase 2: 25 km)

Estimated cost: Rs 25,631 crore elevated/ Rs 30,498 crore underground (2031 price levels)

DPR by: RITES (Rail India Technical and Economic Service)

Target ridership: 6.5 lakh/day by 2031 (Phase 1); up to 25 lakh Tricity-wide

Cities covered: Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula (Phase 1); extended Tricity in Phase 2

SPV: Greater Chandigarh Transport Corporation (GCTC) — 25% equity each by MoHUA, Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana

Timeline of delay

August 2012: DMRC submits first DPR to Punjab Governor/Chandigarh Administrator

July 2015: Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana sign MoU; SPV (GCTC) created with Rs 100-crore equity

2017: Project scrapped over low financial viability projections till 2051

November 2022: Project revived; RITES asked to re-plan for a population of 3 million

March 2023: Centre gives in-principle approval to revised 85.65-km, three-corridor network

July 2023: All three governments and RITES clear proposal pending a final detailed plan

July 2024: DPR finalised

November 2024: A joint committee of Chandigarh, Punjab, and Haryana was formed for a fresh feasibility review

2025: RITES submits SAR; directed to revise again after stakeholders flag critical gaps

December 11, 2025: Congress MP Tewari demands Rs 25,000-crore special grant in Lok Sabha

January 9, 2026: UT Administrator Kataria raises red flag over viability and city-digging concerns

March 17, 2026: BJP RS MP Sandhu raises Metro demand via Special Mention in Rajya Sabha

Chandigarh traffic: The numbers

Vehicle density: 1,142 per 1,000 residents (4x national average of 280)

Registered vehicles: 14.27 lakh vs population of 12.5 lakh

New vehicles added daily: 104 (average since 2020)

Current average speed: 25-30 km/h

Projected speed without Metro: Below 15 km/h

Ageing vehicles extended in 2024: 20,000 (highest in five years)