High-rise buildings: HC summons town planner

Expressing serious concern on the issue of allowing 13 to 20 storey buildings on plots having more than 4,000 sq mts areas and 10,000 sq mts, respectively, in the state, the HP High Court has directed the State Town Planner to remain present before the court on tomorrow (December 12).

A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Satyen Vaidya passed this order on a Public Interest Litigation highlighting the indiscriminate and haphazard constructions in the hilly area especially eco-sensitive zone, Barog.

In its earlier order, the court had stayed the notification issued by the state government to allow vertical construction in the hill state. The Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department had issued a notification, allowing 13 to 20 storey buildings on plots having more than 4000 sq mts areas and 10,000 sq mts, respectively. The TCP notification, issued on September 24, earlier this year has been issued under the Town and Country Planning (13th Amendment) Rules, 2024.