Chandigarh Administration, MC to spend Rs 202 cr on repair, recarpeting of roads, cycle tracks
Work on 96 km to be completed by March 31 this year at Rs 50 crore
The UT Administration and the Municipal Corporation (MC) have launched a comprehensive road repair and recarpeting drive across the city, targeting completion of 96 km of roads and cycle tracks by March 31, at a combined expenditure of about Rs 50 crore. The drive covers both UT Engineering Department roads and MC roads, with a larger programme of 889 km planned for financial year 2026-27 at an estimated cost of nearly Rs 152 crore.
“My commitment to the people of Chandigarh is to provide the best basic amenities — motorable roads, functional cycle tracks, round-the-clock power and water supplies, clean surroundings and well-lit streets — backed by an administration that is accountable, responsive and transparent in every delivery,” Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria told The Tribune.
UT Chief Engineer CB Ojha, who also holds the officiating charge of MC Chief Engineer, said the Engineering Department under the UT Administration oversees a total of 727.21 km of roads — comprising V1 national highway stretches, V2, V3 and other roads — and 114.40 km of cycle tracks.
Of these, 358.42 km of roads and 13.10 km of cycle tracks were identified as requiring repair or recarpeting in 2025-26.
Before the onset of winter, 68.67 km of roads were repaired and recarpeted at the cost of Rs 11.84 crore and 11.80 km of cycle tracks at the cost of Rs 50 lakh. The total expenditure stood at Rs 12.34 crore.
The Administration is targeting completion of work on 26.51 km of roads at the cost of Rs 8.74 crore and 1.30 km of cycle tracks at the cost of Rs 16 lakh by March 31 this year.
In the year 2026-27, the UT will take up the work of 306.08 km of roads at an estimated cost of Rs 52.50 crore.
“Work is progressing simultaneously on multiple stretches under the UT Engineering Department. Priority has been given to the most deteriorated sections,” said Prerna Puri, UT Engineering Secretary.
Meanwhile, the MC looks after 1,585 km of V4, V5 and V6 roads in the city. Of these, 760 km were identified for repair or recarpeting in 2025-26. Before winter, the MC recarpeted 107 km of roads at the cost of 16.48 crore. It plans to complete the work on 70 km of roads by March 31 this year at a budgeted outlay of Rs 11.98 crore. The remaining 583 km are scheduled for repair and recarpeting in the next fiscal at an estimated cost of Rs 99.11 crore.
Background
An internal MC survey conducted in June last year had found at least 60 roads in a very poor condition — most of them last recarpeted six to eight years ago — and 23 others in a poor state. V3 roads, spanning 275 km, had remained unrepaired for over five years, against the prescribed five-year maintenance cycle.
Following Kataria’s intervention, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs released a Rs 125-crore grant for the MC. V3 roads were subsequently transferred from the MC to the UT Engineering Department, where repair work is now under way. Kataria had in October last year stated that residents would “see the difference”.
