HC to Chandigarh: Why break ‘no-flyover’ rule for Tribune Chowk?

The Punjab and Haryana High Court today verbally questioned the very basis of constructing the proposed Tribune flyover, while observing that the city’s master plan apparently had no provisions for flyovers.

“The Master Plan is screaming no flyover. How are you going in for it?” the High Court Bench headed by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu asked the UT administration during the hearing on the project. The Bench also sought clarity on whether the Master Plan had been duly notified and whether due procedure had been followed for its amendment. In response, counsel assisting the Bench, advocate Tanu Bedi, submitted that the Chandigarh Master Plan was notified in 2015 following the High Court’s intervention and “had never been amended”.

Bedi stressed that Chandigarh was never conceptualised like any other metro city. “Chandigarh is not a city for luxury SUVs but meant for slow-moving vehicles, cycles and pedestrians,” she said, asserting that the city’s transport design prioritised public transportation, cycling, and pedestrian movement.

“Public transportation is to be predominant for longer routes, while pedestrian movement and cyclists are for shorter routes,” she added.

Bedi added that the emphasis was on improvement in pedestrian infrastructure and promotion of cycling as a mode of daily transport rather than just a recreational activity. This, along with heritage concerns, was the reasons behind not going in for flyovers. The heritage consideration was for the entire city and not just phase one, as sought to be projected before the Bench.

The Bench was also informed that the road where the flyover was proposed was comparatively less congested than several other stretches in the city. Even underpasses, it was pointed out, were considered “the last resort” under the city’s planning framework. The matter will now come up for further hearing on Thursday.

The Bench on the previous date of hearing had observed that Chandigarh’s uniqueness was “only because of the heritage concept. If that goes, everything goes. The uniqueness goes. It’ll be like any other city”. The Bench had observed that the issue went beyond a single structure and touched the very core of what made Chandigarh distinctive. “The concept of the city is pitted against the traffic congestion. Now, which one do we give more prominence to and why? Which one is more important?” the Chief Justice asked.

The court cautioned that allowing even one such deviation could irreversibly alter the city’s identity. “Can we sacrifice the heritage concept because of some traffic congestion somewhere? Builders will come in, and they’ll construct multistorey buildings. And the uniqueness of the heritage quality of the city will go,” the Chief Justice said.