Court orders govt to produce reports on Sec 31-A of TCP Act

The HP High Court has directed the state government to produce on the next date of hearing at least five reports on the standpoint of Section 31-A of the Himachal Pradesh Town and Country Planning Act, 1977.

Section 31-A deals with the structural stability certificate, which an applicant has to submit for a building before putting it into use in the manner prescribed, including a soil investigation report and a structural design basis report, as per the provisions for safety against natural hazards.

In compliance with an earlier order, Shailja Issar, State Town Planner, Department of Town and Country Planning, was present before the court and assisted it on the issue of a notification issued by the TCP Department allowing 13 to 20 storey buildings on plots having more than 4,000 sq mt and 10,000 sq mt area, respectively.

After hearing the matter for some time, a Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Satyen Vaidya listed the matter for further hearing on December 17. The court gave the directions on a public interest litigation (PIL) highlighting indiscriminate and haphazard construction in hilly areas, especially the eco-sensitive zone of Barog.

In its earlier order, the High Court had stayed the notification issued by the state government allowing vertical construction. The TCP Department had issued the notification allowing 13 to 20 storey buildings on plots having more than 4,000 sq mt and 10,000 sq mt area, respectively. The notification was issued under the Town and Country Planning (13th Amendment) Rules, 2024, on September 24.