HSVP forms committee to keep building plan breaches in check, say officials

The Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) on Thursday formed a committee to take action against commercial establishments, building norms violations and other illegal activities in the state, especially Gurugram, officials said on Friday.

The move comes after a year-long drive by the town and country planning department in the city in private licensed colonies against similar violations. The HSVP committee will also look into the rates of purchasable floor area ratio (FAR) as the authority deems that “the rates are less in Gurugram and Faridabad”.

Ajit Balaji Joshi, chief administrator of HSVP, on Thursday formed a four-member committee, which will seek reports from all the zonal administrators across the state on violations and action being taken against the violators every 15 days.

According to the directions issued by Joshi, a large number of commercial activities are underway in HSVP sectors across the state, and majority of these violators have not taken permission for non-nuisance activities or made payments for the same. He also directed that action should be taken against illegal commercial activities in residential areas.

Joshi also said that it has been observed in several instances that violations of the building plan have been carried out, and stilt areas in many buildings have been misused for commercial purposes illegally. “Major zoning violations have been observed in many buildings, which are deliberately not pointed out by some practicing architects in their building reports. Action should be taken against such architects, and appeals in such cases would be decided by the proposed committee,” reads the order issued by Joshi.

The four-member committee comprises HSVP’s chief town planner, chief architect, chief engineer, and system officer.

Joshi, in his directions, also urged the zonal officers to relook into the price of purchasable FAR as the current price is low, and they need to look into all aspects and determine a price which is in tune with the prevailing market rates in the HSVP sectors.

A senior HSVP official said that action will be taken against commercial activities and illegal constructions in the stilt areas. “Sector-wise surveys will be conducted, and action will be taken against violators accordingly,” said the HSVP official in Gurugram, requesting anonymity.