Quashing of Shimla Draft Plan by NGT major setback to violators

Pratibha Chauhan

Shimla, October 17

The order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) quashing the Shimla Draft Development Plan (SDDP) has come as a major setback to owners of unauthorised buildings who were hoping to get relief with the implementation of this document.

Unauthorised buildings

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• There are more than 25,000 unauthorised buildings in the state, with almost 10,000, the highest being within Shimla Planning Area.
• The NGT in its order of November 16, 2017 had imposed a complete ban on new constructions in the Cores and Green area and had restricted buildings to two and a half floors in rest of Shimla Planning Area.
• The NGT had clearly stated that no unauthorized buildings, raised in violation of the provisions of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1977, be regularized.

Since the SDDP had made a provision for allowing constructions not just in the most congested core area but also in 17 no construction green belts declared following a ban imposed in December 2000, the violators were hoping that their structures will be regularised. There are more than 25,000 unauthorised buildings in the state, with almost 10,000, the highest being within the Shimla Planning Area.

The state government had from time to time assured the violators that their cases would be considered sympathetically. However, there seems to be no relief in sight after the NGT and the High Court came down heavily on the authorities concerned for allowing haphazard constructions in the state capital in violation of norms of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1977.

The BJP regime, with an eye on the polls, was very keen to provide relief to the owners of unauthorized structures with Shimla Planning Area which includes three assembly segments of Shimla (Urban), Shimla (Rural) and Kasumpti. However, the BJP regime could not give relief owing to the court orders and now it will be for the next government to tackle the issue of these illegal structures plaguing popular hill destinations like Shimla, Kullu-Manali, Kasauli, Dharamsala-McLeodganj and Dalhousie.

Taking a very serious view on the issue of illegal constructions, the NGT in its 2017 order had gone to the extent of ordering that these structures be demolished, in accordance with law. “There should be no regularization of unauthorized constructions which have been raised without prior sanction of the plans within the Core and Green areas,” the court had observed.

Shimla is still expanding on the basis of 1979 Interim Development Plan (IDP) and the SDDP had taken into account the projected population of 6.25 lakh in 2041 against 2.41 lakh (2011), to cater to the growing needs of the town

The NGT in its order of November 16, 2017 had imposed a complete ban on new constructions in the Cores and Green area and had restricted buildings to two and a half floors in rest of Shimla Planning Area. The NGT had clearly stated that no unauthorized buildings, raised in violation of the provisions of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1977, be regularized. The NGT had also ordered that it should be ensured that there is no felling of trees and constructions are not raised in sliding zones.