Zirakpur-Panchkula bypass step closer to reality, work award in Feb

After remaining stuck in red tape for over nine months despite securing approval from the Prime Minister-led Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), the Rs 1,878-crore Zirakpur–Panchkula bypass has finally moved firmly into the execution mode. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is set to open technical bids for the project on January 29.

According to the final bid schedule issued by the NHAI, the last date for online submission of bids has been fixed as January 28 (11 am). The technical bids will be opened at 11.30 am on January 29. The project is now on track as work will be awarded in February to the lowest and most eligible bidder, officials said.

The development marks a decisive end to a prolonged bureaucratic impasse that kept the project stalled even after the CCEA approval in April last year, forcing the NHAI to extend bid deadlines repeatedly — seven times since fresh tenders were floated in June — due to the absence of mandatory Stage-2 forest clearance.

The breakthrough came after the Punjab Forests Minister approved the proposal on the recommendation of the Forests Secretary, a process that itself took weeks at the state level. Following the state’s nod, the file was forwarded to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), whose Integrated Regional Office (IRO), Chandigarh, granted the final Stage-2 forest clearance, authorising the NHAI to award and execute the project subject.

The Tribune had earlier highlighted how the project remained trapped in red tape despite the NHAI completing all statutory requirements and clearing observations raised by the Forest Department. Officials had maintained that work could not be awarded without the final forest clearance, a mandatory pre-condition in the approval order.

“The Zirakpur–Panchkula bypass will significantly decongest Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula and their surrounding areas, which are bursting at the seams due to unprecedented urban growth,” Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkaritold The Tribune.

Conceived over a decade ago, the six-lane bypass is the most critical road infrastructure intervention planned for decongesting the chronically choked NH-5 and NH-7 corridor through Zirakpur and Panchkula. The 19.2-km project, including a 6.195-km elevated stretch, five flyovers, multiple underpasses, bridges and a railway overbridge, is designed to divert heavy inter-state and local traffic away from Zirakpur lights, Airport Road and the Panchkula gateway.

The bypass also forms a key leg of the proposed Tricity Ring Road and is expected to improve connectivity to Himachal Pradesh, Ambala and Chandigarh airport, while cutting daily travel time.

“After years of delay and nine months of post-approval red tape, the Zirakpur–Panchkula Bypass is finally set to move from files to the field, offering hope of lasting traffic relief for the Tricity,” said an official.

TIMELINE

Project conceptualised: Over a decade ago

Land acquisition completed: 2020

CCEA approval: April 9, 2025

Fresh tenders floated: June 2025

Stage-1 forest clearance: July 31, 2025

Bid deadlines extended:  Seven times

Stage-2 forest clearance: January 8

Last date for bid submission: January 28 (11 am)

Technical bids opening: January 29 (11.30 am)

Likely award of work: February

WHY THE PROJECT WAS STALLED FOR NINE MONTHS

Stage-2 forest clearance pending at state level for months

Inter-departmental delays despite compliance by NHAI

Mandatory forest approval required before award of work