Chandigarh, Dec. 12 -- MP Manish Tewari on Thursday renewed his long-standing demand for a Metro network connecting Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula and Mullanpur, urging the Centre to allocate Rs.25,000 crore for a Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS) from Ambala to Kurali and Landran to Pinjore. Speaking during the Lok Sabha proceedings, Tewari said an integrated regional MRTS was vital for improving mobility, reducing traffic congestion and unlocking the economic potential of the tricity and its surrounding areas. He reminded the House that he had first written in 2019 to the then Union ministers for road transport & highways and housing & urban affairs, pressing for a metro project that would link key growth corridors and generate wider economic opportunities. Tewari noted that although the government established a Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) to push the project, the body has met only three times since its creation. UMTA had commissioned RITES (Railway Technical and Economic Services) to prepare a feasibility study, and while RITES submitted reports twice, no substantial progress has followed. The prolonged delay, he said, has pushed the project's estimated cost from Rs.16,000 crore to Rs.25,000 crore over the last three to four years. Pointing out that cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kochi and Nagpur already have functional Metro networks, Tewari said Chandigarh continues to lag behind despite being a major administrative, commercial and educational hub. He urged the Centre to declare MRTS a strategic connectivity project and to fully fund it, arguing that this was essential for realising the region's economic potential and ensuring integrated, sustainable growth. "The growth of the region depends on modern public transport infrastructure. Chandigarh needs this metro-now more than ever," he asserted....