Chandigarh: 352 full-grown trees to be axed for marble market relocation

The plan to relocate the Dhanas marble market to a 44-acre site in Sector 56-West will come at green cost as the UT engineering department has sought permission to cut 352 full-grown trees at the new site.
A senior engineering department official said the department expects approval for axing of the trees within a month.
The official further revealed that though the project was allotted in February, there hasn’t been much progress as the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections was in place for nearly three months.
Due to this, a new deadline, of March 2025, has been set for this ₹25 crore project.
Additionally, there were some planning issues, which the official said, have been resolved and they are now working according to the revised plan.
As per the plan, basic infrastructure, such as a dedicated road network, water, sewer and stormwater lines, a power sub-station, streetlights, and green areas, will be developed first. Proper parking lots, public utilities, and a commercial area will also be provided. The detailed layout plan consists of 191 plots, each one kanal in size, with a basement and three floors, along with 48 booths.
Marble traders’ welfare association president Anand Gupta said, “We have requested the authorities concerned to complete the work as soon as possible. We have already given an undertaking to the UT administration that once the development is complete, we will shift immediately.”
The marble market’s relocation plan was devised following a Punjab and Haryana High Court directive in 2022, in response to a plea from the marble traders’ body. The then SDM (Central) had said the Dhanas market was operating in violation of The Punjab New Capital (Periphery) Control Act, 1952.
Market currently operates on 80 acres of leased land
The marble market came up in 1982 in Sector 51, shifting to Sector 52 in the 1990s and later expanding to both sides of Milk Colony Road, leading to Mullanpur (Punjab) in the periphery area of villages Dadumajra, Dhanas, in 2004-05. Currently operating on leased land, the market spans around 80 acres. A survey conducted by the UT administration in 2016 and 2018 had pegged the count of marble shops at 182 and miscellaneous shops at 20. Based on these numbers, 191 plots have been identified in the newly proposed market.