Norms eased, multi-storey buildings come up along Parwanoo-Solan highway

A number of multi-storey buildings have come up along the Parwanoo-Kumarhatti-Solan highway after norms were relaxed for realty projects about a year ago.

Even as the Solan area lies in the high-risk zone IV that is prone to severe earthquakes, high-rise buildings extending up to eight storeys are coming up all along the highway after introduction of these norms. “A housing project can be raised up to 21 m height and since one storey covers about 3 m, a builder can easily raise six to seven storeys even on vertically fragile hill tops apart from the valleys,” informed a realtor from Dharampur.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has restricted the height of buildings to two-and-a-half storey in the neighbouring Kasauli Planning Area. One wonders how a multi-storey building erected on the highway is considered safe when height of another erected meters away in the Kasauli Planning Area has been curtailed to two-and-a-half storey.

A four-storey building had collapsed on the Kumarhatti-Nahan road on July 14, 2019. As many as 14 persons had died in the mishap. This was not an isolated case and many buildings have caved in the area in the last two-and-a-half decades. A magisterial probe had recommended bringing buildings at least 50 m on both sides of national, state as well as district roads within the purview of the Town and Country Planning (TCP) rules.

The state government, however, relaxed the norms and one can see high-rise buildings dotting all major highways as well as key link roads abutting the highways.

Taking a tough stand on the issue of indiscriminate and haphazard constructions in the hilly area, the Himachal Pradesh High Court had directed the state government in January 2023 that there would be no cutting of hills in the entire state, unless permission is obtained from the Director, TCP. One wonders whether such permissions were being taken in all cases as hills have been brazenly razed to raise buildings on the highway.

The director was also directed to prepare draft Regional Plans for all the districts besides preparing existing land use map. The plan was, however, yet to come up despite lapse of two years.

Town Planner, Solan, Premlata Chauhan confirmed that the realty projects can raise height of the buildings up to 25 m which entail construction of six to seven storeys. She informed that a draft of the regional plan for Solan district aimed at regulating development activities in the urban area due to rapid urbanisation and economic growth has been prepared and it would be notified soon for inviting public objections.