Zirakpur Panchkula Bypass: The Court Order That Stopped Tricity's Biggest Road Project
The Zirakpur Panchkula Bypass — a ₹3,342 crore, 19.2 km six-lane expressway under NHAI's Bharatmala scheme — hit an unexpected legal roadblock on May 25, 2026, when the Punjab and Haryana High Court issued a blanket stay on all tree felling across Haryana. Filed just days after the project secured its final Army land approval at Chandimandir, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) raised concerns over approximately 5,000 trees being felled. NHAI, however, places the official count at 2,790 trees — all covered under Stage 1 and Stage 2 forest clearances from MoEF&CC — with a replanting commitment of 47,762 plants, a 17:1 ratio. The bypass is not just a traffic solution for Zirakpur's notoriously congested NH-44, NH-205A and NH-152 corridors; it also serves as a strategic defence corridor linking Chandigarh Air Force Station to Chandimandir Military Headquarters. For daily commuters, property investors and logistics businesses across the Tricity, the court's next hearing could determine whether this long-delayed project finally breaks ground - or waits yet again.