Chandigarh, May 15 : The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday stayed the felling of trees for the Tribune Chowk flyover, halting the proposed project.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjeev Berry said the matter had already been heard and likely to be decided at an early date.

As such, it would be appropriate that the Chandigarh Administration and other respondents be restrained from felling any mango tree or any other tree in the vicinity of Tribune Chowk, the Bench observed.

However, the Bench, which on Wednesday reserved its judgment, observed that â??the interim direction shall remain subject to the final outcome in the petitionâ??.

Petitioners comprising Jagwant Bath have raised environmental concerns and challenged the axing of trees. They also termed Chandigarhâ??s move against the cityâ??s heritage character.

The petitioners have argued that Chandigarh Master Plan of 2031, notified under the Capital of Punjab Act, 1952 and the Punjab New Capital (Periphery) Control Act, 1952, is a statutory document and it does not recommend the construction of flyovers within the city and mandates that alternative traffic management measures be explored.

The petitioners also claim the Department of Urban Planning was initially opposed to the project and was of the view that the Master Plan does not allow it.

Chandigarh has got the nod to construct the flyover from the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). The flyover, proposed to ease traffic congestion at Tribune Chowk, has faced repeated procedural delays since it was first conceived -- causing its cost to spike up from Rs 137 crore in 2019 to Rs 200 crore now, a 45 per cent increase in seven years.

The project, conceived in 2016, is to decongest the Tribune roundabout as most of the traffic coming to the city passes through it.

The proposed 1.6-km flyover will start after the Government Medical College and Hospital in Sector 32 roundabout and land ahead of the railway overbridge on Dakshin Marg.

/IANS