Floorwise sanctions never granted in Chandigarh, admn tells HC
The factual position is that a building plan is approved for the entire building and not for an individual floor, UT’s assistant estate officer Manish Kumar Lohan informs court
The Chandigarh administration has told the Punjab and Haryana high court that floorwise building plans are not being approved in the city’s northern sectors.
UT’s assistant estate officer Manish Kumar Lohan told the court that the petitioners’ allegations claiming the contrary were incorrect.
“The factual position is that a building plan is approved for the entire building and not for an individual floor... Thereafter, any construction carried out on the site is to be as per the Chandigarh Building Rules (Urban), 2017,” the officer’s affidavit said, adding that a co-owner can submit a building plan without the consent of the other owner, but it has to be of the entire building and not an individual floor.
The UT also submitted that fragmentation of a plot was not permitted, although there is no prohibition on occupation of the site by more than one family.
Besides, the estate officer also makes periodic checks to ensure no alterations have been made without approval.
The administration has said that as of advertisements regarding sale of apartments, any aggrieved person can approach it and appropriate steps will be taken.
No sale of defined portion/floor of a building is permissible nor any such sale has been recognised by the administration, it has underlined.
The response came on a bunch of pleas seeking a ban on construction of multi-storey apartments in the city’s northern sectors. The matter is pending since 2016.
The high court had sought a fresh response recently in view of Supreme Court’s direction to it to decide the matter in four months. The apex court order had come in May on the plea of a party opposed to allowing construction of these apartments.
The PIL seeks prohibitory orders on conversion of residential plots into apartments. It alleges in the recent years floors are being sold as apartments, which will destroy the city and put additional burden on infrastructure.
Residents are divided over the issue. A section says by allowing apartments, those who wish to get property in northern sectors will get a chance to own them. On the other hand, many owners in northern sectors have been opposing the move, insisting that it could change the city’s character.