Acting on a bunch of petitions filed in public interest against stilt-plus-four (S+4) construction, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the setting up of a panel to look into the actual width of roads in Gurugram residential areas.
The direction by the Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry came following contrary stands taken by the parties on the road width in residential areas, where such construction is being allowed.
Appearing before the Bench, counsel Nivedita Sharma said an expert committee had recommended S+4 construction in areas with roads having 12-m width, but the state reduced this to 10 metres. The width of internal roads in Gurugram were not 10 metres wide, as some were only 4.5 to 6 m wide, and vehicles were parked on roads and stilt spaces were being converted to commercial use.
The state, on the other hand, submitted that S+4 construction in old areas was being allowed only on roads with 10-m width. For future projects, it would be allowed along roads with a minimum width of 12 m.
The court directed the panel’s constitution comprising lawyers from both sides and independent experts.
The Bench was earlier told that state government had placed a ban on new S+4 approvals on March 23, 2023, following widespread concerns from resident welfare associations and citizens regarding the inability of Gurugram’s infrastructure to cope with the increased population and traffic that would result from such constructions.
The respondents constituted an expert committee on March 16, 2023, chaired by the Chairman of Haryana State Pollution Control Board to study the situation and make recommendations.
The expert committee examined over 26,000 responses from the public, including online and offline submissions. It found that Gurugram’s existing infrastructure, including water supply systems, sewerage and power supply, was inadequate to support additional load.
It stated that no further approval for S+4 constructions should be granted unless a detailed infrastructure capacity audit was conducted.
Despite the recommendations, the respondents issued the impugned notification, allowing the resumption of construction without conducting an infrastructure audit or upgrading civic services.
Source – The Tribune
