Chandigarh: Decks cleared for shorter airport route, Banwarilal Purohit gives consent to land acquisition

Dushyant Singh Pundir

Chandigarh, September 16

Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Banwarilal Purohit has given an in-principle approval for the acquisition of land required to construct a shorter route to Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport.

The UT Administration is set to acquire nearly 39 acres of land at an estimated cost of Rs 106.69 crore. This cost encompasses a 6.6-acre area situated between the proposed 60-metre right of way (RoW) of the road and the UT/Punjab boundary.

“UT Administrator Banwarilal Purohit has given an in-principle approval for the acquisition of land for a shorter route from Chandigarh to the international airport,” said Vinay Pratap Singh, Deputy Commissioner, UT.

The cost of acquiring land has been determined on the basis of tentative estimates provided by the land acquisition officer. The decision to construct this route was taken during a meeting chaired by Purohit in May this year.

Crucially, the Ministry of Defence has granted working permission for the permanent transfer of 0.98 acres of defence land to Chandigarh.

Additionally, Chandigarh International Airport Ltd (CHIAL) has given the green signal for the construction of a road covering approximately 1.1 km within its premises, pending a decision on execution and expenditure.

Even the Railways authorities have assured that a railway underbridge (RUB) would be constructed within four months after the completion of the land acquisition process.

The new alternative route is designed to commence 200 m ahead of Junction 63 on Vikas Marg and will connect to the airport. The proposed route, aimed at drastically reducing travel time to the airport, will have a 60-m-wide road with three main carriageways, two service lanes and 3-m-wide cycle tracks on both sides.

The proposed route will commence from Purv Marg, 200 metres short of the Vikas Marg T-point intersection while heading towards Mohali from Tribune Chowk. This new route is expected to reduce the distance from this point to the airport from 11.5 km to a mere 3.5 km.

At least 51 acres are to be acquired for the project. Of this, 39 acres are situated in Chandigarh and the remaining in Punjab’s Jagatpura and Khandala villages.

Collective effort

• Ministry of Defence granted working permission for permanent transfer of 0.98 acres of defence land to Chandigarh
• Chandigarh International Airport Ltd has given green signal for construction of road covering 1.1 km within its premises
• Railways assured construction of railway underbridge within four months after completion of land acquisition process

• Proposed route will commence from intersection of Vikas Marg (Sector 43 ISBT) and Purv Marg (near Tribune Chowk) at Sector 48
• Expected to reduce travel distance from this point to the airport from 11.5 km to a mere 3.5 km
• Will have 60-m-wide road with three main carriageways, two service lanes and cycle tracks on both sides