Haryana: Panel report on fourth-floor policy likely by June 30

GURUGRAM: The expert committee constituted to examine the policy allowing construction of stilt plus four floors is likely to submit its report to the stare government on June 30. A senior official from the department of town and country planning (DTCP) said the report is likely to be
submitted by the end of the month. In February, the state government put approval of fourth floors on hold after wide-scale protests by
residents’ groups who claimed that floors have been constructed across residential colonies in the city, but
not much work has been done to augment infrastructure such as roads, power supply, sewerage and drainage.

The following month, it set up the expert committee to devise the further course of action regarding suspension of approvals for fresh four-floor building plans.
City-based home developers, meanwhile, met chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and the panel’s chairperson on Thursday demanding the upgrade of civic infrastructure and revival of the policy. There is
a need for framing guidelines regarding construction norms, environment and other issues related to the
policy, but banning it is not a solution as there is huge demand for builder floors in the city, they said.
Members of the Gurugram Home Developers Association also said they would keep a check on problems, if any arising, due to construction of four floors and will take action against the offenders, along with
DTCP.

Narendra Yadav, the association president, said: “Even in a DTCP survey, 85% of people said they
approve of the fourth-floor policy, but the committee is still not satisfied.”
He said there is a need to look at Gurgaon and Faridabad from a different perspective and make separate
criteria for them. “These cities have the highest demand for builder floors. We are ready to extend all
possible help to the administration and RWAs to solve the problems related to the policy,” he said.
The association members also claimed that layout plans of around 20,000 builder floors have been
approved in the city since the policy came into effect in 2019. Now, as only three floors are allowed, the
cost of floors has gone up, they said.
“The Union government has approved the city metro plan. So, there is a need for sufficient
infrastructure,” a developer said.
Yadav said the chief minister assured the association that the decision on this issue was taken keeping in
view the interest of the people in the past and the government will do so in the future as well.
External development charges were fixed after the registration of the fourth floor as an independent
dwelling unit was allowed in 2019, and the government has collected around Rs 1,000 crore since then, a
group of builders said in a memorandum recently submitted to the expert committee.
In January, the Supreme Court banned multi-storey apartments on residential plots in Chandigarh,
following which RWAs in Panchkula demanded a similar ban on construction of stilt plus four floors in
their areas.