HP govt to restrict height of valley-side buildings along NHs for better view

All buildings along the national highways in the hilly areas of the state will be restricted to 1 m below the roadside to prevent obstruction of the valley view. The areas where these rules will be made applicable by the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department are being identified. The rules will not be applicable in the plains.

Town and Country Planning Minister Rajesh Dharmani said directions have been issued to the department officials to identify the areas where these rules would be enforced. There are 36 planning areas and 60 special area development authorities (SADA) in Himachal, while more areas are also being brought under the planning norms.

Plains not in plan

• All buildings along the national highways in the hilly areas of the state will be restricted to 1 m below the roadside to prevent obstruction of valley view. The rules will not be applicable in the plains
• The state government is keen to regulate construction activity, especially along the four-lane roads and national highways, which are witnessing a spurt in building activity. It is with this very objective that efforts are on to bring more areas under the ambit of the Town and Country Planning Act
• On the other hand, people residing in rural areas, which are being brought under the TCP Act, have been opposing such a move. They fear that with restrictions on construction activity, they will have to get the building map approved as per the rules and regulations

As per the existing rules, constructions on the valley side have been restricted to 1.5 m above the road. “As this obstructs the valley view, it has been decided to not allow any construction above the road level. The restrictions on height of construction will not be applicable to the buildings on the mountain side of the roads. The main objective of restricting the construction below the road is to ensure that the view of the open valley remains clear as Himachal is a tourist state where people come from all across the world,” said Dharmani.

The state government is keen to regulate construction activity, especially along the four lanes and national highways, which are witnessing a spurt in building activity. It is with this very objective that efforts are on to bring more under the ambit of TCP Act, especially in the suburbs of major towns.

On the other hand, people residing in rural areas, which are being brought under TCP Act, have been opposing such a move as they fear restrictions on construction activity because they will have to get the building map approved as per building norms. Even though the government has time and again reiterated that the building norms will be enforced stringently on commercial and big structures and not on smaller residential houses, people still remain reluctant to be covered under the planning areas.

Some of the major hill towns like Shimla, Kullu-Manali, Kasauli and Dharamsala have been witnessing unregulated construction activity. The unregulated construction activity has even resulted in adverse remarks by the Supreme Court, HP High Court and the National Green Tribunal.