Kharar, Chandigarh

The Punjab Cabinet has approved a new urban development reform allowing the construction of stilt-plus-four-floor buildings in urban areas under the New Building Rules 2025. This policy aims to boost urban housing, optimize land use, and encourage vertical development. The impact will be an increase in housing stock and potentially more affordable housing options in urban centers like Zirakpur, contributing to planned urban growth.

The Punjab government has announced the elevation of the Zirakpur municipal council to municipal corporation status. This upgrade is intended to provide a more empowered civic body to manage Zirakpur's rapid urban expansion, ensuring improved governance, sanitation, water supply, and urban planning.

Mohali is currently facing a multifaceted situation involving the proposed expansion of its municipal corporation limits, a strained financial state, and ongoing infrastructure projects. The Punjab government's plan to expand Mohali's municipal limits has sparked debate over urban governance, infrastructure development, and taxation, with concerns raised about service delivery and financial burdens on citizens.

As part of the Punjab government's road development project, Mohali will see the revamp and construction of world-class roads with an investment of ₹140 crore for 50 km of roads across four districts. Key roads in Mohali like Airport Road (PR-7) will be upgraded with state-of-the-art surfacing, lane markings, mechanized cleaning, and smart traffic management systems.

The Punjab government has issued an immediate ban on the use and procurement of eight specific medicines across all government hospitals in the state following complaints of adverse reactions in patients. The ban affects medicines, including Normal Saline, Dextrose Injection, and Ciprofloxacin Injection, manufactured by three pharmaceutical companies.

The Mohali-Kurali bypass, a key component of the 31 km six-lane Chandigarh-Ambala Greenfield Expressway, is expected to open by the end of November 2025. Package 2 of the project is 97% complete, with pending utility shifting and installation of an extra high-tension line. The Rs 1,525.3 crore project aims to reduce traffic on Mohali's Airport Road and provide a direct route from Chandigarh to Kurali, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir.

The Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) has awarded a ₹509 crore tender to a Ludhiana-based company, CEL-JSPPV, for the development of its Aerotropolis township, an extension of Aerocity, with a two-year deadline. The project includes constructing internal roads, laying sewerage and storm water lines, and installing underground electrical infrastructure.

A proposal for an additional elevated road to decongest the stretch from Industrial Area junction to Zirakpur border is back on the table, with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways directing a DPR preparation.