Panchkula, May 9 — The 18-hole Panchkula Golf Club in Sector 3 is likely to avoid major structural damage amid the construction of the six-lane Zirakpur Bypass, a senior official of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said on Friday.
“The bypass alignment includes an elevated section near the golf course, which means the layout of the club will remain largely intact,” the official stated.
He added that the ₹1,878.31 crore, 19.2-km project is in the bidding phase, with construction expected to begin by November or December, following finalisation of the tender process.
The clarification comes months after concerns were raised by club member Hitesh Sharma, who wrote to Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari in October 2024, urging a minor realignment of the proposed bypass.
In his letter, Sharma warned that the current alignment would shrink the 18-hole course to 14 or 15 holes, saying it would cause “irreparable damage to the ecosystem and golfing community.”
According to Sharma and other members, the bypass would result in the complete loss of fairways 2, 10, and 11, and about half of fairway 12. The total affected land is approximately 30 acres.
Club officials had previously erected pillars demarcating the area under NHAI acquisition, but these were recently removed to allow a major tournament to proceed.
While the authority holds legal possession on paper, physical control of the land has yet to be taken, officials confirmed.
The golf club, spread across 135 acres, is home to around 3,000 members, including professional golfer Jeev Milkha Singh.
It also serves as a major tournament venue and training ground for aspiring players, many of whom are children of serving or retired army officers and government bureaucrats.
Umesh Jain, General Secretary of the Northern India Golf Association, warned that any land acquisition would cause lasting damage.
“The design of the golf course would be badly affected. Reconstructing it would take two to three years, and there’s no guarantee it would regain its original character,” he said.
The Zirakpur Bypass project, approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in April following a review chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is aimed at decongesting traffic in Zirakpur, Panchkula, and surrounding regions. The bypass will begin at the junction of NH-7 (Zirakpur–Patiala) and terminate at NH-5 (Zirakpur–Parwanoo), running parallel to the Ghaggar River and connecting the Chandimandir highway with Zirakpur’s outskirts.
The bypass is expected to divert heavy vehicular traffic from Patiala, Delhi, and Mohali, easing congestion on NH-7, NH-5, and NH-152, and providing direct access to Himachal Pradesh.
