A total of 4,106 trees across Punjab and Haryana will be affected by the proposed Zirakpur-Panchkula bypass, while a portion of the Panchkula Golf Course will also fall within the approved alignment of the project. The total capital cost of the project is Rs 1,878.31 crore.Haryana Public Works Department Minister Ranbir Gangwa, in a reply to a question by Congress chief whip BB Batra, informed the Assembly that the proposed bypass, under the jurisdiction of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), starts at the junction with NH-7 (Zirakpur-Patiala) near Bir Chhat light point and terminates at the junction with NH-5 (Zirakpur-Parwanoo) near Old Panchkula. The bypass will have a total length of 19.2 km.The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the construction of the six-lane Zirakpur-Panchkula bypass under the Hybrid Annuity Mode on April 9, 2025. The project is aimed at facilitating integrated transport infrastructure development under the PM Gatishakti National Master Plan.The Minister said a portion of the Panchkula Golf Course, located on Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) land in Sector 3, falls within the approved alignment of the project.He further informed the House that, as per the Stage-II forest clearance approved by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) on January 8 and August 19, 2026, a total of 4,106 trees in Punjab and Haryana will be affected.The primary objective of the project is to ease congestion in Zirakpur, Panchkula and adjoining areas by diverting traffic from Patiala, Delhi and Mohali Aerocity and providing direct connectivity to Himachal Pradesh.The bypass is expected to reduce travel time and ensure smoother traffic flow through congested urban stretches of NH-7, NH-5 and NH-152.The Centre has undertaken the decongestion of the Chandigarh-Panchkula-Mohali urban agglomeration through the development of a road network that would take the form of a ring road. The Zirakpur-Panchkula bypass is an important component of the plan.On Batra’s question whether around 1,000 trees could be saved by shifting the alignment of the bypass by 30 metres away from the Panchkula Golf Course, Gangwa said the Project Director, NHAI, Chandigarh, had informed that a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) had been filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.In compliance with the High Court’s July 15, 2026, order, the feasibility of modifying the alignment is currently being examined by the NHAI. The matter remains sub judice.