Under pressure from builders or for public good? Revocation of ban on stilt construction+4 in Haryana raises concerns

In February 2023, the government of then Prime Minister Manohar Lal Khattar banned the construction of S+4 buildings following a nationwide agitation against “chaotic conversion of apartments” led by former army chief General VP Malik.

General Malik, who has been living in Panchkula since his retirement from the Army, had sent a letter to Khattar against “mass allocation of flats” in December 2022 and at an RWA meeting in late January, Khattar said he did not respond to his letter.

A ban on the construction of S+4 buildings was introduced, and the construction lobby has since demanded the lifting of the ban on the construction of S+4 buildings on residential plots and the sale of apartments on individual floors.

Haryana Minister for Physical Planning and Town Planning JP Dalal on Tuesday said the state government has allowed construction of S+4 facilities across the state and this will also apply to old colonies subject to certain conditions.

Dalal added that the move is likely to bring significant benefits to the society.

He said permission for S+4 buildings will be granted unconditionally for residential plots in colonies or sectors whose layout plans approve four residential units per plot. In already licensed colonies of Deen Dayal Upadhyay Jan Awas Yojana, if the service plans are amended to approve four residential units per plot, permission for S+4 buildings will be granted.

Sanjay Lal, a member of the Central Advisory Committee of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), called the government’s decision an attempt to please developers. He said he feared that the housing sector, especially in a congested city like Gurugram, would now become even more chaotic.

“This (reversal of the ban) will lead to haphazard development of four-storey apartments in residential sectors that are already reeling under power and water shortages. The already scarce green belts will come under additional pressure due to the increase in population in every sector,” Lal told ThePrint on Wednesday.

“Each building will have 8 to 10 cars, so parking will become a major problem, leading to quarrels between residents. Each building will have elevators, so generators will become a necessity, increasing air pollution,” he added.

He added that there will be no controls on commercial or paying guest (PG) activities in the new S+4 buildings, further increasing the burden on utility companies.

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How the controversy began

In 2017, the state government changed The Haryana Building Code allows house owners to construct ground and three floors and have a parking space on the ground floor. Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) had allowed registration of S+4 floors on its plots in 2018.

Soon, homeowners in Haryana were converting their houses into four-story apartments and selling them to different owners. This practice led to congestion on the narrow roads of the inner sector and increased pressure on parks, water supplies and sewage lines.

However, RWAs have started raising their voices, especially after the Supreme Court ruling in January 2023. the practice of converting independent houses into apartments was banned in Phase I in Chandigarh, saying it could harm the city’s “lungs”.

Vice President General Malik, who was then leading the RWA campaign, asked how the authorities could turn a blind eye when the original development plan for Panchkula did not include construction of multi-storey apartments in designated sectors of the city.

He said the solar panels on his roof have become useless due to the construction of a high-rise building in his area. “I came to Panchkula Sector 6 from Delhi 19 years ago to lead a peaceful life, and now I find the same chaos here. Failure to upgrade the infrastructure would permanently destroy the character of the city,” he said.

In February last year, Haryana state chief minister Gian Chand Gupta, who represents Panchkula in the state assembly, announced that government banned S+4 due to RWA protests.

On March 16, 2023, the Haryana Government had constituted an expert committee under the chairmanship of P. Raghavendra Rao, Chairman, Haryana State Pollution Control Board, to examine the issues related to S+4 buildings and recommend further action.

The commission presented its report in July last year.

The Haryana government’s decision on Tuesday to revoke last year’s ban is based on recommendations in the commission’s report, a government official said.

HoweverYashvir Singh Malik, president of the Confederation of HSVP Sectoral RWAs, accused the state government, under pressure from the construction lobby, of adopting the S+4 policy without any changes from the pre-ban period.

“The only difference is that in some cases, consent from neighbours would be required. This is likely to worsen the problem as it will lead to quarrels among neighbours,” Malik said when contacted by ThePrint on Tuesday.

Malik said the policy is also discriminatory as it states that those who live only on 10-metre-wide roads can construct S+4 buildings. “In HSVP sectors of Haryana, people whose houses are on narrower roads will now have to face all the hardships like lack of sunlight and air due to the S+4 houses surrounding them, but they will not be allowed to construct such houses,” he added.

A meeting of the RWA will be held on Sunday (July 7) in Panchkula to discuss the issue and plan future activities of the confederation.

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What the rules say

Dalal said S+4 structures will be allowed on residential plots that have access to a road that is 10 metres wide or wider.

For such construction, a person should submit a mutual consent agreement signed by all the adjacent plot owners, except those who have a prior S+4 permit or whose building has a 1.8-meter lateral setback on all floors from the adjacent plots. The government has stipulated that if the adjacent plot owners do not consent, they will not be entitled to obtain an S+4 permit.

Dalal also added that if a plot already has a building permit for three floors and a basement and now it has been approved for S+4 construction, the construction of the basement and loading of common walls will not be allowed without the mutual consent of the owners of the neighbouring plots.

But if the entire row of residential plots is built at once, a permit for common walls will be issued. However, the construction of a basement will not be allowed on plots less than 10 meters wide and less than 250 m2 in area.

Dalal added that future building plan approvals or certificates of occupancy will include a condition that if the area on stilts is fully or partially covered, the documents will be considered withdrawn. This will likely eliminate the practice of covering the parking lot.

In addition, a standard operating procedure has been prepared for all existing S+4 constructions without building plan approval, he said. Individuals can apply for building approval, which will be done within 90 days if the neighbouring landowners do not raise any objections at the time of construction. If they do, the individuals would be given an opportunity to seek their consent, and if they do not, the matter will be resolved by issuing a spoken order.

Dalal said earlier, a floor area ratio (FAR) approval was given for building 2.5 floors. Later, if the owner wanted to build a third or fourth floor, he had to pay an additional amount for FAR approval.

(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)

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