HSVP blacklists 18 architects for ‘professional misconduct’

The Haryana Shehari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) has blacklisted 18 architects for their “gross professional misconduct” in granting occupation certificates under the stilt-plus-four floors scheme despite a ban imposed by the state government.

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Ladi Walia, HSVP’s District Town Planner, in a communication to the Chief Information Technology Officer (CITO), asked him to “ban /delete/ remove the IDs of the blacklisted architects from the online building approval portal immediately.”

“After receiving action-taken report from the CITO, the Director, Town and Country Planning, would be apprised of the matter,” Walia stated.

Earlier, Amit Khatri, Director, Town and Country Planning, in a communication to the Council of Architecture, New Delhi, informed that 18 architects had been “blacklisted from approving building plans and granting occupation certificates.”

Through an order dated February 23, 2023, the Department of Town and Country Planning had directed to keep all fresh stilt-plus-four building plans approvals, including the applications pending and received in residential plots, in abeyance. It was also directed that no new stilt-plus-four building plans shall be sanctioned till further orders by the stakeholders departments, including the Department of Town and Country Planning, the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIC), Urban Local Bodies Department and the HSVP.

Khatri said almost all architects involved in the process of grant of occupation certificate through the self-certification process had adhered to the government’s ban. However, 18 architects continued to issue the occupation certificates under the self-certification process for the stilt-plus-four floors even though the building plans were not sanctioned prior to the issuance of ban order of February 23. “Such action is a blatant violation of the ban imposed by the state government and amounts to professional misconduct on part of these 18 architects,” Khatri’s letter recommending blacklisting of the architects to the Council of the Architecture said.