HC okays Mohali road

The Punjab and Haryana high court has given the go-ahead to the 3-km stretch of the proposed 8-km, 200-ft-wide, Airport Road, dividing the Industrial Area Phases 7 and 8, which will directly link it to Kharar.

However, the court has rejected the proposal of the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) to have an urban estate along the road.

The issue had been hanging fire for the past three years after farmers of Ballomajra, Bareali and Desumajra villages had moved the high court against the land acquisition, saying they did not want to part with the land falling under the proposed urban estate.

In the orders issued recently, the high court has given the green signal to the road, but has quashed the GMADA's proposal of acquiring land for the urban estate along the road. Earlier, GMADA had issued a notification for acquiring the land for the road and the proposed urban estate.

GMADA had come up with a bypass road from Sector 74 to Kharar, but due to the stretch of 3 km, it could not be connected to Kharar. Commuters coming from Delhi and heading to Punjab can now take the airport road from Zirakpur that would pass through Sector 74, Phase 8 and Industrial Area, and link it to the national highway near Kharar.

The bypass would also come as a relief to the industrial units in Phase 8, as the vehicles would directly touch the national highway near Kharar without entering the town.

Earlier, the commuters used to go via Spice Chowk and Landran Road. A senior GMADA official said, "The process for acquisition of land has been completed, and soon compensation will be awarded to those whose land falls under this road. Once the compensation is awarded, tenders will be floated for construction of the road. It is expected to be ready in six to eight months."

Sanyam Dudeja, chief operating officer, Taneja Developers and Infrastructure, said, "Once the road comes up, Sector 71, a fully developed sector of GMADA, will become easily accessible as it will connect the NH-21 to the upcoming international airport. People coming from other parts of Punjab, mainly from Doaba, will be able to reach Airport Road directly without entering Chandigarh and SAS Nagar."