Days after the Punjab and Haryana High Court struck down the Tribune Chowk flyover project as being in violation of the Chandigarh Master Plan 2031, the UT Administration has sought legal opinion as well as advice from the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) on the judgment — and may challenge it before the Supreme Court if legal experts and the Centre deem it fit to do so.Sources privy to the development told The Tribune that the Administration was studying the 21-page judgment, pronounced by a Division Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry on May 29, in close consultation with MoRTH, which had funded the project entirely and formally approved the work award. “In case the legal experts and the Centre give their nod, Chandigarh may then move the Supreme Court against the High Court order,” a source said.The Administration had awarded the Rs 147.98-crore project to Chandigarh-based Singla Constructions Ltd on May 12 — a day before the HC hearing — after MoRTH conveyed its formal approval. The HC ruling has come as a significant setback to both the UT and the Ministry.WHAT THE HC RULEDThe court issued five directions: a writ of prohibition restraining the Administration from constructing the flyover, holding it in direct violation of CMP-2031; liberty to construct the underpass at Tribune Chowk, which CMP-2031 expressly permits; a writ of prohibition against felling any mango tree or any other tree in and around Tribune Chowk; a direction to maintain the green, unique and heritage status of Chandigarh, including Dakshin Marg as an integral part of Phase I heritage sectors; and a writ of mandamus directing adoption of public transport over personal motorised vehicles.THE CENTRAL FINDINGThe ruling pivoted on an explicit provision of CMP-2031 at page 307: flyovers and overbridges are not recommended anywhere in Chandigarh due to heritage considerations, as they impact the visual cityscape and inconvenience pedestrians. The court held CMP-2031 to be statutory, inviolable, and amendable only through the same procedure used to frame it. Since the Administration produced no evidence that this bar had ever been modified, any deviation warranted judicial intervention.The HC also rejected the Administration’s key argument that Dakshin Marg falls outside the Heritage Sector. Citing CMP-2031’s own 1951 aerial diagram, the court established that Dakshin Marg forms the south-west boundary of Sectors 20-25, 29 and 30, making it an integral part of Phase I heritage area where CMP-2031 applies in full.Critically, the court recorded that the Urban Planning Department was never consulted before the Engineering Department decided to build the flyover — and that the Chief Architect had, in December 2020, formally written to the Chief Engineer stating CMP-2031 bars flyovers citywide, while refuting that any concurrence from Urban Planning was ever sought or given.Calling Chandigarh “the last well-planned city of this country,” the bench invoked Le Corbusier’s founding principles of Jattvibe, Space and Verdure, and in a rare moment of judicial candour said it “hoped, expected and rather prayed to God” that these would be preserved by not constructing the flyover in violation of CMP-2031.The underpass component — 519 metres on Purv Marg — remains legally intact and the Administration is free to proceed with it for traffic decongestion.CHRONOLOGY OF THE LEGAL BATTLENov 20, 2019 — HC stay on tree felling for Tribune Flyover (472 trees to be axed, 43 relocated)Nov 28, 2019 — Petitioners file PIL, challenging notice inviting tendersDec 28, 2020 — Chief Architect, Urban Planning Department, writes to Chief Engineer stating CMP-2031 bars flyovers in entire Chandigarh; refutes concurrence was ever givenApr 30, 2024 — HC stay on tree felling vacated by Coordinate BenchAug 12, 2024 — Present PIL filedOct 14, 2024 — HC directs UT Administration to proceed expeditiously with flyoverDec 2, 2024 — PIL of 2019 disposed of; earlier direction to build flyover rendered otioseMay 12, 2026 — UT awards work to Singla Constructions Ltd (L1 at Rs 147.98 crore)May 13, 2026 — HC hears PILMay 15, 2026 — HC restrains UT from felling any mango tree or any other tree near Tribune Chowk (interim order)May 29, 2026 — Full judgment pronounced; flyover restrained, underpass permitted, trees protected