Gmada takes over cycle track project from Mohali municipal corporation

MOHALI: The ambitious project of the Mohali municipal corporation (MC) to construct cycle tracks has been taken over by the Greater Mohali Area Development authority (Gmada).

Sources in the MC said the project had been taken over after the feasibility report opined that the MC did not have enough space to construct the cycle tracks.

They said the 1.5-km stretch near Kumbra village, which was part of the 2.7-km long cycle track, was under the possession of Gmada and the project would be taken care of by Gmada as it had better infrastructure and planning department.

Sources in the MC said the development came after the feasibility report, prepared by the engineering wing of the MC, opined that there was not ample space along the roads to construct the cycle tracks.

A senior officer in the engineering wing of Gmada said: “We will construct the cycle tracks in Mohali. Plans are already being prepared. We have enough space alongside the road to construct cycle tracks. The town and country planning department is already working on the design of the tracks.”

Being an essential component, the cycle track project will help Mohali attain the smart city tag. Solid waste management, ODF status and garbage segregation are the other essential components on which the MC has so far failed to attain the tag.

MC commissioner Bhupinder Pal Singh said: “I will hold talks with officers in Gmada on the issue. We will get the cycle tracks project back.”

Sources in the MC said the engineering wing of the MC, after conducting a through survey of the roads where cycle tracks could be constructed, had opined in their report that there was no enough space between the boundary walls of the houses and the road where the tracks could be constructed.

“To construct a standard cycle track, 10-feet road space is required,” said an officer of the engineering department.

MC commissioner said: “I am not aware of any such report. There is nothing which cannot be resolved. It depends on me whether to accept or reject the objections raised by any officer on design or other aspects of the construction of cycle tracks. It is an essential component for attaining smart city tag and we will achieve it.”

The proposed cycle track will be 2.7-km in length and will start from the YPS crossing and extend up to Kumbran village crossing. It will further turn towards the forest complex in Sector 68 as there were some objections related to the design that the cycle track could not be made here as the road already has a service lane and cycle track with yellow-line marking on the service lane will challenge the Motor Vehicle Act.

Secondly, the land along the road is a property of Gmada. As per sources, Gmada is planning to construct footpath alongside the road.

The objections raised on the proposed cycle tracks along the road from Madanpura crossing towards the airport road is that there is not enough space left to construct the 10-feet cycle tracks as four-feet space is mandatory to leave from the boundary walls of the houses and four-feet for footpaths.

“After deducting this space, minimum 10-feet para metre for cycle tracks cannot be met with,” said an officer of the engineering department.

On May 21, the MC had also called for expressions of interest for the construction of cycle tracks in the city. The work was allotted to Panchkula-based consultant S T Associates. They were also allotted with the work to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for cycle tracks along with junction design, including conducting of survey, feasibility report and detailed estimate as per IRC standards.

“The work for preparing the DPR was allotted during the finance and contracts committee (F&CC) meeting at a rate of Rs 18,000 per km. The company had bid Rs 20,000 per km and after negotiations, the rate was reduced to Rs 18,000 per km,” said mayor Kulwant Singh.

The cycle tracks measuring 2.7 km in length starts from the YPS crossing and extends up to Kumbran village crossing and further turn towards the forest complex in Sector 68.

The company has prepared a proposal and designed the cycle track as per the IRC specifications.