The Punjab government has agreed to provide land for the construction of the RITES depot in New Chandigarh for the Metro project in the tricity, The Indian Express reported. The depot is supposed to be built on a 50-acre land and will be used for maintenance of trains, rail systems and metro parts.

However, it is essential the decision on providing land gets approval from the forest department. The government officials have told the Chandigarh administration that they will be providing 50 acres of land after confirming that it is a delisted area. The Punjab government has said that it will outline the next steps with the Chandigarh administration once it receives clearance from the forest department.

A senior official of the Chandigarh government confirmed the news saying the Punjab government has “no problem in giving out the land”, adding, “They are checking with the forest department that it falls in a delisted area.”

Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Ministry of Railways, specialises in engineering consulting with a focus on transportation infrastructure.

In its alternative analysis report (AAR) this year, RITES proposed constructing a depot in New Chandigarh. RITES was commissioned to conduct a feasibility study on the traffic situation in and around Chandigarh and subsequently prepared the AAR.

The Chandigarh administration has sent multiple reminders to the Punjab government regarding RITES’s proposed depot construction. The Union Territory administration has been awaiting a response from Punjab for quite some time now.

The AAR has proposed constructing a depot in  Zirakpur, however, that was turned down by Punjab. Meanwhile, the Haryana government agreed to have a depot at Sector 27, Panchkula.

Underground metro in heritage sectors

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has given its nod for having underground Metro lines in heritage sectors (1 to 30). Madhya Marg, located in the heritage sectors, will soon feature an underground metro system.

In March last year, after a high-powered meeting with officials from Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh, a metro project was approved for Chandigarh and the Tricity areas. The major portion of the metro will be in Mohali (Punjab), followed by Chandigarh and Panchkula (Haryana).