Do away with neighbours’ consent for S+4 constructions: Realtors assn

Two months after the Directorate of Town and Country Planning Haryana removed the embargo on the approval of stilt-plus-four (S+4) floors on residential plots in September, the Haryana Property Consultants Federation has in a letter to the state government requested it to do away with the need for the consent of neighbours for constructions altogether. Further, the association has requested that the provisions of S+4 constructions be extended to properties that derive access from ‘C’ roads as well to deal with the problem of traffic congestion on them.

Suresh Aggarwal, state president of the federation, has written a letter to Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini pointing out the ‘shortcomings’ in the notification, allowing S+4 constructions issued in July this year, and has also suggested changes. He said vertical growth was the only solution to various problems faced due to the growing population.

He said the clause to seek consent of adjoining neighbours was either acting as a roadblock in the process of approval and construction or was leading to blackmailing, which should be completely omitted. “The state should do away with the clause of taking the neighbour’s consent. Instead, the condition of constructing the base pillar at a distance of 1.8 metres to the neighbour’s adjoining wall should be implemented for all while allowing complete covered area on all floors. With this, the S+4 construction will remain at a distance from the neighbour’s wall and will have no impact on it,” he suggested.

He said there were various ‘shortcomings’ in the present conditions, including that the neighbour’s refusal was not brought on record. Aggarwal said stilt-plus-four constructions had been allowed only on 10-meter and above roads. “This is a shortcoming in the policy. While S+4 has been allowed on ‘A’ and ‘B’ roads, traffic congestion due to parking of vehicles is mostly seen on ‘C’ roads. Therefore, the state should allow S+4 constructions on ‘C’ roads to do away with such issues,” he added.

Aggarwal said the state government was required to provide requisite infrastructure for supporting the increased constructions; the S+4 constructions had only resulted in an increase in state revenue.

In July, the department had announced the benefits of S+4 floors for approximately 1.68 lakh plot owners across Haryana. The rules made plots deriving access from 10-meter or wider roads eligible for S+4 constructions with certain conditions, including submission of a no-objection certificate from the adjoining plot owners or leaving a side setback of 1.8 m from the adjoining plots. The adjoining plot owners who refuse to grant consent stand ineligible for S+4 approvals on their plots in the future.