Haryana: Expert Panel Proposes Conditional Approvals For 'Stilt-Plus-Four-Floor' Buildings In The State

The expert committee of the Haryana government has suggested granting approval for building plans of stilt-plus-four floors on residential plots, with certain conditions and restrictions.

The state has been facing issues regarding the construction of stilt-plus-four floors in residential plots.

The government had initially allowed the construction of fourth floors independently — but this decision was met with opposition from the residents who believe that the infrastructure in the area is going down further.

The residents claim that extra floors have been added by changing the building code, but there has been no increment in the infrastructure capacity to handle this unplanned growth and population density.

Given the existing infrastructure challenges in Gurugram, the construction of additional floors has exacerbated the supply issues of utilities such as water, drainage, electricity, security and adequate space for car parking.

Following this, the state government had on 22 February 2023, kept in abeyance the approvals of fresh stilt-plus-four-floor building plans and also barred applications pending approvals.

The following month, it set up the expert committee, headed by P Raghavendra Rao, to devise the further course of action regarding suspension of approvals for fresh four floor building plans.

The Committee’s Recommendations

The committee report has suggested that in new sectors, plans can be allowed provided adequate infrastructure is developed in the area, while in old sectors an audit of existing infrastructure should be conducted before giving permission, reports Money Control.

The construction of stilt-plus-four-floor buildings, in old sectors, should be limited to blocks with minimum road width of 12 metre and there should be potential for enhancing the infrastructure.

The report recommended creating procedures to audit existing infrastructure capacity and explore improvements in areas like drainage, parking, water supply, sewerage, and fire safety.

For new sectors, the committee suggested approving such plans only if the developing infrastructure can accommodate a density of 18 persons per plot.

According to the report, the committee advised that building plans should only be approved for residential purposes and not for hostels or hospitals.

During consultations with various stakeholders, concerns were raised regarding sunlight blockage and privacy issues. To address these concerns, the committee recommended reducing the maximum building height from 16.5 m to 15 m in such plans.

The committee suggested revising the Haryana Building Code, 2017, to tackle setbacks, structural safety, ground coverage, and floor area ratio (FAR) concerns and prevent the misuse of stilt parking.

State Government To Take The Final Decision

A final decision on the committee’s report is yet to be taken by the state government.

General VP Malik (retired), the former chief of army staff and a prominent critic of the policy, expressed, “While the recommendation supports stilt-plus-four constructions, the imposed restrictions are positive and will make builders more cautious."

He added, "The older sectors lack infrastructure and thus the government will have to rethink the issue."

So far over 24,600 building plans have been approved and around 11,400 occupation certificates issued for the stilt-plus-four-floors buildings by the authorities across the state, the report said.