BJP’s Satya Pal Jain, Sanjay Tandon push for Metro in Chandigarh, MP Kirron Kher opposes

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 22

Disagreement cropped up over the Metro project at an Administrator’s Advisory Council meeting, held today under the chairmanship of UT Administrator Banwarilal Purohit, as several members, including former BJP MP Satya Pal Jain and party leader Sanjay Tandon, supported the move to decongest traffic in the city, while sitting party MP Kirron Kher and AAP Leader of Opposition in MC Yogesh Dhingra opposed it, saying it was “unviable”.

“Metro is the need of the future. Sooner or later, we have to switch over to Metro, as it is the only viable solution to deal with ever-growing traffic problem in the city,” said Jain.

Golf Club president Lt Colonel HS Chahal (retd) went a step further, saying it should not be restricted to the city and instead be extended to neighbouring townships — such as Kharar and Baddi — in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Congress’ city chief HS Lucky also supported the project.

BJP’s Tandon said: “We have to find a solution to the traffic problem. Either Metro or other mode of transport, but we have to take a decision at the earliest.” However, MP Kher said the project’s cost was very high and it was not feasible for the city.

Five years after the UT administration scrapped the move, RITES Ltd in a recent draft report on the comprehensive mobility plan for the tricity has proposed the implementation of Metro rail to decongest traffic.

In 2017 too, MP Kher had opposed the project as in her opinion it was commercially unviable for a small city and the authorities should opt for other modes of public transport.

At the meeting, the 10 standing committees on Education, Health, Urban Infrastructure, Social Welfare, Law and Order, Sports, Transportation, Culture, Environment and Peripheral Area Development listed out the status of work finalised at the previous meetings and tabled new recommendations.

The Standing Committee on Education elaborated on mapping of students and need for proper counselling of those affected by the pandemic, laying emphasis on teacher’s motivation to uplift the education system, car-pooling scheme for students of government as well as private schools.

The Administrator stressed the administration would chalk out a plan to accommodate the left-out students who had cleared class 10 in the next grade and implement the Right to Education in the city. The Administrator said the administration was in the process of setting up 10 new schools.

The Standing Committee on Environment placed its recommendations on going paperless, optimal use of emails and other digital technology, running pilot projects of sprinkling water on roads, implementation of CSR policies for plastic waste disposal, etc.

The panel on Health suggested ways to upgrade the capacity of health facilities in the city by expanding beds in hospitals and having more and better dispensaries. The Administrator advised the officials to expedite the work on dispensaries approved for Central Government retirees.

On law and order, the committee suggested high-operational intelligence to crush the growing drug mafia nexus in the city and increase night patrolling.

Jain raised the issue of old-aged and widow pension, saying beneficiaries were getting only Rs 1,000 per month, whereas in neighbouring Haryana and Punjab, it had been raised to Rs 2,000.

On the issue of development of villages inside the UT and on its periphery, the Adviser said no new illegal construction would be allowed and old illegal constructions would be removed.

Kher raised the issue of construction outside the ‘lal dora’ in villages. Congress’ Lucky said the construction carried out so far outside the ‘lal dora’ be regualarised.

As the Administrator’s Council tenure is about to end, he has asked committee members willing to continue in the next tenure to submit their requests.

Administrator at Advisory Council meet

• Adjust class 10 students, left out due to seat shortage, in class 11
• 25% seats mandatory for EWS students in UT schools
• Council to be rejigged, members can submit request for berth

Only solution

Metro is the only viable solution to deal with traffic problem in the city. — Satya Pal Jain, former MP

Cost too high

The project’s cost is very high and it is not feasible for a small city like UT. — Kirron Kher, MP

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