Manoj Kumar has been working in Baddi, the pharma capital of the country, for the last 15 years. He currently works in an auto parts manufacturing company in Barotiwala and travels 20 kilometres from Pinjore daily. Kumar leaves home at 7:45 in the morning and reaches his workplace by 9. It is located 6 km from the main road, and he has to cover the last two km on his bike or on foot.
Initially, Kumar used to reach his workplace by braving crowds in buses. But now, due to the difficulty in walking and unavailability of buses, he shares a bike with one of his friends. This does save some time and money. But due to bad roads, rain, dust and pollution, the journey remains risky and inconvenient.
Kumar spends about Rs 1,000 every month on commuting. He said, “Buses do not run here. It is not safe to ride a bike either, but there is no other option.” According to him, his organisation has 2,000 employees and most of them face similar problems in commuting daily.
The Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) region, called the industrial backbone of Himachal Pradesh, contributes significantly to India’a economy. There are more than 2,150 small and medium industries here, which employ more than 100,000 people. After receiving a special industrial package from the Centre in 2003, industries started to flourish in this area. A large number of workers from Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha came here in search of employment. But despite two decades having passed, Baddi is still grappling with the lack of basic amenities, especially a transport system.
The ‘Development Plan 2025’ implemented in 2008 made several recommendations for the overall development of the BBN region, especially for improving the transport system. The plan called for developing infrastructure to meet projected population growth—the region’s estimated population by 2025 was estimated to be 430,000, including a 150,000-floating population. But till today, neither the condition of public transport has improved, nor have the roads become safe. From workers to local residents, thousands of people are forced to walk or take risky rides every day.
Shashi Saklani, who runs a manpower agency that provides workers to pharma and other companies, said the condition of public transport in Baddi, Barotiwala and Nalagarh is very worrying. Talking to Down To Earth (DTE), he said, “Thousands of factories are spread on both sides of NH-21, which goes from Pinjore to Nalagarh, in a radius of five to seven kilometres. Thousands of workers come and go here every day. But there is no concrete public system to transport them.”
He added that some companies do provide transport facilities to their employees. But the number of such companies in the BBN area is less than 20 per cent. The remaining workers have to either rely on private vehicles to commute or walk long distances. “Reaching factories that are in the interiors, off the main roads, is a daily challenge for workers—especially during the rainy, summer or winter months.”
According to the ‘Development Plan 2025’, there are a total of 144 bus routes in the Nalagarh area, on which about 750 trips are made daily. Apart from this, 100 Haryana Roadways Transport Corporation (HRTC) buses operate daily on the Nalagarh-Chandigarh route and about 120 HRTC buses operate on the Baddi-Chandigarh route. But the total population of the BBN area, both permanent and temporary, is more than 450,000, in comparison to which this facility is proving to be inadequate.
As far as other modes of traffic are concerned, there are 600 to 700 taxis and 105 three-wheelers in the area. Asia’s largest truck union Baddi-Nalagarh is also present, in which more than 10,000 trucks are registered. The heavy pressure of these vehicles is visible on the already dilapidated and narrow roads.
According to a traffic survey, the movement of government buses was almost zero on 12 major roads of BBN during peak hours—8 to 10 in the morning and 5:30 to 7:30 in the evening. At the same time, the number of cars, jeeps and two-wheelers was very high. Particularly the Baddi to Jhadmajri road, which is surrounded by industries, was found to be under maximum pressure.
The survey has revealed shocking figures. During the evening peak hours (5:30 to 6:30 pm), the number of passenger car units (PCU) on the Baddi-Jhadmajri route was 1,610, while the carrying capacity of this road is just 900 PCU. These included 368 cars, 164 two-wheelers, 420 double axle trucks, 108 three axle trucks, 114 other buses, 105 tempos and 294 tractors. During this period, the number of government buses remained zero, while only four minibuses were seen on this route.
Of the 12 major roads in BBN, five routes are facing more pressure than their capacity, due to which not only have traffic snarls increased but the risk of accidents and pollution is also increasing.
Although future needs and challenges were assessed while preparing the Development Plan 2025, the ground reality is that traffic has now become a major and complex problem in this industrial area. Due to the ever-increasing pressure of private and goods vehicles on the roads, the number of accidents has also increased alarmingly.
According to data received from the police and transport department, road accidents in the Baddi area have increased almost two and a half times between 2015 and 2024. While in 2014, 26 people died and 62 were injured in a total of 58 road accidents, in 2024 this figure increased to 143 incidents in which 68 people died and 154 were injured.
Experts believe this is not just a result of increasing traffic, but a combination of poor traffic control systems, lack of public transport and poor road conditions. In industrial areas like BBN where thousands of people commute daily, such situations can prove dangerous for human life.
In the words of local drivers, “There is no development, just exploitation.”
Surjeet Singh, who has been driving a taxi in the BBN area for the last 35 years, sees the reality of this industrial development from a different perspective. He told DTE, “It is said that Baddi is developing. But in reality, companies are coming here only to exploit it. The condition of the city has become worse than before, especially the traffic.”
Singh said till a few years ago, the distance from Nalagarh to Baddi (which is about 16 kilometres) was covered in 15 to 20 minutes. But now, the same journey takes up to one and a half hours. “Frequent road damage, incomplete construction processes and lack of traffic control—all these are making the situation worse,” he added.
Another concern is reflected in his words—the impact on both income and reputation. He said, “If we have to drive from Nalagarh to Chandigarh airport, we do not go via the Baddi main road. Instead, we take the route via Ropar, which is 20 kilometres longer and has toll charges. This takes away a major part of our earnings. But if we go from Baddi, the traffic is so heavy that passengers do not reach on time. Sometimes the whole day is spent in just one trip.”
The experiences of dozens of taxi drivers like Singh and local residents confirm that Baddi’s ‘industrial development’ has been one-sided and unbalanced—taking into account neither the needs of workers nor the infrastructure.
Baddi is among India’s most polluted cities. According to the Progress Report of National Clean Air Program (NCAP) prepared by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), in the air quality ranking of 253 cities in the country in the year 2024, Baddi was ranked 22nd in PM10 levels—which indicates a very worrying situation.
The report stated that in Baddi, during the entire year (360 days), the air quality was ‘Good’ for only nine days, ‘Satisfactory’ for 80 days, ‘Moderate’ for 244 days, ‘Poor’ for 23 days, ‘Very Poor’ for two days and ‘Severe’ for two days.
The figures for PM2.5 are no less dangerous — Baddi ranked 28th in the country on this parameter. The annual average of PM2.5 here was 67 micrograms per cubic metre, which is many times more than the set standard.
Amid these alarming figures, the people working and living here are suffering from respiratory diseases, eye irritation and lung problems.
According to the report filed by the state government in the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the major sources polluting Baddi’s air are:
• Road dust and soil: 17-24 per cent
• Industrial fuel combustion: 21-22 per cent
• Vehicular smoke: 12-15 per cent
• Organic waste burning: 8 per cent
• Inorganic aerosols: 13-14 per cent
• Biomass burning: 14-17 per cent
However, some improvement has been seen between 2017 and 2024. While the average level of PM10 was 168 in 2017-18, it has come down to 67 by 2024-25. But this improvement is believed to be due to external reasons like industrial timetables and lockdowns, and not under any permanent solution.
Inder Pal Singh, who runs a small company in Baddi, told DTE that he had built a house to live here, but that he now lived in Chandigarh. He said, “At night, when factories run in full shifts, the air in Baddi becomes unfit for breathing. Living here has become a health hazard.”
Singh travels 40 km from Chandigarh to Baddi every day. He admitted he has to deal with traffic, bad roads and expense while commuting, but added that “Nothing is more important than health”.
Epidemiologist Omesh Bharti explained to DTE that prolonged exposure to areas with poor air quality poses serious health risks to people.
“Constantly breathing polluted air increases the risk of respiratory diseases such as asthma, bronchitis and other lung-related diseases manifold. Not only this, long-term exposure to fine particles such as PM 2.5 and PM 10 increases the risk of cardiovascular problems and even serious diseases like stroke and cancer.”
Bharti also said workers, taxi and truck drivers and other local residents living in industrial areas like Baddi are directly impacted by pollution as they remain on the roads and in factories all day long.
“Most of the people here do not get health checkups done, due to which diseases remain undetected until the condition becomes serious. In such circumstances, the government and industries should work together to develop an active health monitoring system,” said Bharti.
Urban planner Anuj Bahl believes that integrated planning is needed for a rapidly developing industrial area like Baddi. “Development of such industrial areas requires planning with a shared vision by bringing together all stakeholders—government, industry, local bodies and citizens—on one platform. To address the growing mobility challenge in the Baddi area, a holistic ‘Integrated Mobility Plan’ should be prepared, incorporating options for private vehicles as well as pedestrians, public transport, and possible rail connectivity. Along with this, there is also a need to strengthen communication tools like real time traffic updates and information systems,” said Bahl.
He further said in view of increasing industrial expansion in future, long term plans should be made which should be implemented in a timely manner. Also, to maintain environmental stability, strict rules should be followed, industries should be monitored and awareness should be spread among common people so that the air quality remains better and the city can become livable.
Many efforts have certainly been made to solve mobility problems in the BBN region, but the ground reality is different. The 21-km-long Pinjore-Nalagarh four-lane project, which could reduce the traffic problem of the region to a great extent, started in the year 2023 and was targeted to be completed by October 2025. However, according to the official reply given in the Lok Sabha on November 24, 2024, the project is only 37 per cent complete so far, which makes it clear that it may take more than two years to complete.
Similarly, the 33 km broad gauge railway line from Chandigarh to Nalagarh, approved in 2007-08, is still incomplete. If this project had been completed on time, it would not only have reduced the number of cargo trucks in the area but would also have provided safe and accessible transport options to thousands of workers.
Because of these incomplete projects and slow planning, the entire region is seeing only industrial expansion in the name of development, while basic civic amenities—like traffic management, public transport, clean air, and safe roads—are still being neglected.
This article is part of our series on how India moves, which looks at the relationship between air quality and human mobility in cities and towns.