Stilt-plus-four-floor plan: Residents say the move will overburden already deficient infrastructure, benefit builders

For representational purpose

Days after an expert committee submitted its report and recommended allowing a stilt-plus-four-floor plan in Haryana with riders, residents say that the move will indirectly benefit real estate developers and will take a toll on existing infrastructure.

They also highlighted deficiencies in infrastructure in Gurugram and demanded the government reconsider the plan and focus on uplifting the existing infrastructure in a time-bound manner before approving the report.

The committee report has suggested that in new sectors, plans can be allowed provided adequate infrastructure is developed in the area, while in old sectors, an audit of existing infrastructure should be conducted before granting permission.

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For old sectors, the committee has recommended the construction of stilt-plus-four-floor buildings only in those blocks or areas where the roads are at least 12 metres wide and there is scope to augment the infrastructure. A final decision on the committee’s report has yet to be taken by the state government.

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Praveen Yadav, president of the United Gurugram Resident Welfare Associations, an umbrella body of RWAs representing plotted sectors, said that the expert committee report is "ambiguous" and marred by confusion. He claimed that the recommendations in the report would indirectly help developers.

"The expert committee recommends the stilt-plus-four-floor plan be allowed with riders, which leaves room for ambiguity. Most of the existing sectors do not have adequate infrastructure to support them. So, the government should first make efforts to address this problem in a time-bound manner and then approve the plan. This is a disguised way of helping the developers," Yadav told Moneycontrol.

He said that the government should reconsider the report and focus on the augmentation of existing infrastructure, such as water, sewerage, electricity, firefighting, and good roads, among others, especially in old sectors of the city, which is an uphill task.

"There are a number of colonies where infrastructure deficiencies are easily visible. Low water pressure, power outages, poor roads, and waterlogging, among others, are regular issues in many colonies and sectors across Gurugram. These issues will only aggravate if the stilt-plus-four-floor plan is approved without upgrading the infrastructure," Yadav said.

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Avinash Singh, a resident of Sushant Lok-1, also echoed similar concerns and said that be it old sector colonies or the new sectors, the government should first develop adequate infrastructure before giving the green signal to the stilt-plus-four-floor plan.

He said that the expert committee has recommended the availability of a 12-metre road as a prerequisite for the stilt-plus-four-floor plan, but there is hardly any room for widening the roads in most of the existing sectors.

"In sectors where there are schools and parks, it will be almost impossible to expand the roads. So, the feasibility of the implementation of the plan cannot be based merely on the width of the roads. Infrastructure is the key, and till it is augmented across colonies, the government should not approve this plan," Singh said.

The expert committee report stated that so far, over 24,600 building plans have been approved and around 11,400 occupation certificates (OCs) have been issued for stilt-plus-four-floor buildings by the authorities across the state. The stilt-plus-four-floor building plan has been banned in Haryana since February 2023. The government has yet to take a call on the approval of the plan.

National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) chairman Parveen Jain couldn't be reached for a comment.