The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday questioned the Chandigarh administration’s plan to build a flyover at Tribune Chowk, observing that the issue strikes at the heart of what made the city distinctive: its planned, low-rise character.The court is hearing a public interest litigation challenging the project on the ground that it violates Chandigarh’s heritage layout and Master Plan 2031. The proposal, stayed for nearly four years before construction resumed this April , has seen its estimated cost rise from ₹184 crore to ₹281 crore.Saying that the unique nature of the city is pitted against the need to deal with traffic congestion, Chief Justice Sheel Nagu said, “The uniqueness of your city is its heritage. If that goes, everything goes. Can we sacrifice the concept of heritage for some traffic congestion somewhere?”“If we allow one flyover here, there will be another at Matka Chowk, another at PGI, and the city will soon be filled with flyovers. The uniqueness of Chandigarh’s heritage will be lost, it will become like any other city.”.‘Argue on sustainable development’The Bench asked the UT administration to justify the project within the framework of sustainable development, saying there are . “Supreme Court rulings on that point.The court also sought clarity on pedestrian safety, noting that the construction of flyovers was not recommended anywhere in the city’s planning documents. “What happens to the pedestrians? What is the solution,” the Chief Justice asked, further enquiring whether the flyover entered the city’s planned grid.‘Tribune Chowk not part of heritage grid’Appearing for the Chandigarh administration, standing counsel Amit Jhanji said the project site lies outside the city’s heritage grid and within Phase II of the Chandigarh Master Plan 2031.Story continues below this adCiting Chapter 13 of the Plan, he explained that Phase I covers Sectors 1 to 30, forming the original Le Corbusier-designed area; Phase II includes Sectors 31 to 47 and adjoining roads; while Phase III extends to Sectors 48 to 56 and peripheral areas.“The Tribune Chowk intersection lies between Sectors 29, 30 and the Industrial Area — beyond Phase I. The Master Plan clearly demarcates this as part of Phase II,” Jhanji told the court.Chief Justice Nagu, however, questioned how the administration could separate the Dakshin Marg from the heritage framework when it was an integral part of Le Corbusier’s road hierarchy. “You can’t say roads are not part of Phase I. Sectors without roads would be meaningless. Dakshin Marg connects the entire city, how can it not be part of the heritage concept?” he asked.Jhanji replied that no road in Chandigarh has been notified as a heritage asset. “Only certain buildings, precincts and zones have been notified as heritage,” he said, citing the Master Plan’s classification of roads from V1 to V7, under which Dakshin Marg and Purv Marg are V2 roads, major arteries but not part of the notified heritage inventory.Story continues below this adHe added that the Heritage Conservation Committee had cleared the project and that the design included a rotary, underpass and pedestrian crossings to reduce congestion at one of the city’s busiest junctions.‘City’s own planning norms sidelined’Earlier, Advocate Tanu Bedi, assisting the Bench as amicus curiae, argued that the Tribune Chowk flyover went against the principles on which Chandigarh was conceived.She pointed out that despite lacking statutory approvals from the Urban Planning Department and environmental authorities, the administration had floated tenders and moved ahead with construction plans. “This is the second round of litigation,” she said, recalling that similar concerns were raised in 2019 when petitioners were told to participate in consultations.She said at the heart of the dispute lies the city’s Master Plan 2031, which explicitly states: “Overbridges/flyovers are not recommended to be constructed in the entire city of Chandigarh due to heritage considerations, as they impact the visual cityscape and inconvenience pedestrians.”Bedi argued this statutory provision has “the force of law” and bars the project.Story continues below this adBedi said congestion could not be the basis for altering the city’s form. “Tribune Chowk is congested, yes, but so are the Manimajra lightpoint, the railway station, Matka Chowk, and Sector 15. If this logic continues, the entire city will be flyover one day,” Bedi said.The case will now be heard on Tuesday.