India, July 20 -- Chandigarh The foundation stone-laying for the 19.2-km Zirakpur-Panchkula greenfield bypass was deferred during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's July 17 visit after the Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) declined to vacate the interim stay on tree felling, leaving a key component of the proposed Chandigarh tricity ring road stalled. Construction of a project on a new alignment is categorised as a greenfield project by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the agency implementing this project.

On April 1, the HC prohibited cutting of any tree of any age and species in Haryana, including about 5,000 trees proposed to be cut for construction of Zirakpur-Panchkula bypass, without court's permission. The NHAI failed to ...