Chandigarh, December 11
Chandigarh MP and former Union Minister Manish Tewari today raised the long-pending demand for a metro network connecting Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula, and New Chandigarh during the Lok Sabha proceedings. He urged the Central Government to allocate Rs 25,000 crore for establishing a Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS) from Ambala to Kurali and from Landran to Pinjore to unlock the economic potential of the entire region.
Addressing the House, MP Tewari emphasized that an integrated MRTS connecting all four cities is essential for strengthening regional mobility and boosting economic growth. He recalled that in 2019, he had written to the then Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and the Union Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs, strongly advocating the need for this project. The aim behind this proposal was to enhance economic opportunities across the wider region by linking these crucial corridors.
Tewari further stated that although the government had constituted a Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority to advance this initiative, it has unfortunately met only three times since its formation. The Authority had assigned the Railway Technical and Economic Services (RITES) to conduct a feasibility study for the MRTS project. However, despite RITES submitting feasibility reports twice, no further progress has been made. As a result, the estimated project cost has escalated from Rs 16,000 crore to Rs 25,000 crore over the past three to four years.
Tewari added that while metro systems have successfully been implemented in cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kochi, and Nagpur, Chandigarh continues to lag behind. In such circumstances, he urged the Central Government to adopt this project as a Strategic Connectivity Initiative and fully fund it with an allocation of Rs 25,000 crore, so that the region’s economic potential can be fully realised and integrated development can take place.
