Construction norms made stringent in Shimla’s green belt: Himachal CM Sukhu

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu during the flagging-off ceremony of the Citizen Solidarity March organised by the State Disaster Management Authority on the occasion of the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction at Oak Over in Shimla on Friday.
| Photo Credit: ANI

After Himachal Pradesh faced a devastating calamity following heavy rains in the recent monsoon season, the State government has decided to bring in stringent measures to control haphazard construction activities.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on October 13 that the State government was taking significant decisions for the protection and conservation of the environment.

“Our government has decided to make construction regulations in green belt areas of Shimla district more stringent than before. And no, there’s no question of any relaxation,” he told The Hindu, adding that the government is also contemplating bringing more areas of Shimla and its suburbs under the green belt area.

Back in 2000, the State government had notified all such areas possessing substantial green cover but not classified as forest, whether public or private ownership, designated as green belts in Shimla. Seventeen such green belts covering 414 hectares were identified and notified in core and restricted zones for construction by the then government.

Mr. Sukhu said that during the previous BJP regime in 2022, approval was given to the Shimla Development Plan (SDP) and a draft notification was issued with a provision to construct one-and-a-half-storeyed buildings along with parking areas. The Supreme Court later allowed the government to notify the SDP. It was notified in June 2023.

“Now, in the wake of the devastation caused by the torrential rain, we [government] in the recent Cabinet meeting, decided to make the construction regulations more stern, and a decision was taken to prohibit construction activities on all the plots which have even a single green or dry tree in Jakhu hills region of Shimla, which is considered the green lung of the town. Also, it was decided to ban construction activities on those plots where green or dry trees have been found axed or fallen,” he said.

He added that the latest SDP notification would be submitted in the Supreme Court and it would be implemented only after its permission.