Himachal Pradesh cabinet has banned construction activities near rivers and water bodies in rural areas while introducing mandatory plan approvals for all buildings in villages. The decision comes in response to massive destruction during recent monsoon seasons that damaged hundreds of structures.
The cabinet approved model sub-rules on Monday to regulate planned construction activities in rural areas, requiring technical assistants in panchayats to examine building plans or hiring inspection agencies for verification. Building plans will then be presented to gram sabhas for approval.
The state government took this decision considering the heavy devastation during the recent monsoon season, coinciding with ongoing concerns about unregulated construction in vulnerable areas.
New construction guidelines
Under the model sub-rules, buildings up to 500 square meters will require single-line plan approval (basic sketch on paper), while plots under 1,000 square meters will need double-line plan approval showing detailed layouts including kitchen and room locations.
The regulations address the significant damage from 2023 and 2024 monsoon seasons, which caused widespread loss of life and property. This year’s monsoon destroyed 579 permanent and 89 temporary houses, primarily due to soil erosion and landslides caused by flooding in rivers and streams.
Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh explained that the model sub-rules have been prepared keeping rural population interests in mind. The regulations aim to reduce incidents of landslides and building collapses by ensuring proper drainage, strong foundations, and structural integrity through regulated construction.
Natural disasters have caused more devastation in Himachal’s rural areas compared to urban regions, with people building structures near rivers and water bodies. The new rules prohibit such constructions to prevent future disaster-related losses.
Buildings exceeding 1,000 square meters in rural areas already require approval from the Town and Country Planning Department, but these new regulations extend oversight to smaller constructions that previously had no regulatory framework.
