The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday expressed serious concern over the safety and infrastructure viability of Gurugram’s residential areas following a report by an independent commission. The report revealed that while the Haryana government permits Stilt-plus-Four (S+4) floors on the premise of 10-metre-wide roads, the actual motorable width of many internal roads in posh localities like DLF Phase 1 and Sector 28 is as narrow as 4 to 5 metres.
The Commission’s Findings A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry took the commission’s field report on record during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the state’s S+4 policy. Key measurements highlighted in the report include:
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DLF Phase 1 (A31, A41, A36): Effective motorable width measured between 4.5 and 4.6 metres.
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Sector 28: One stretch measured a mere 3.9 metres, while another 10-metre wide road (as per records) had a usable carriageway of only 4 metres.
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Market Roads: Width ranged between 4.5 and 4.8 metres.
The “Paper vs. Ground” Reality Counsel for the petitioners, Nivedita Sharma, argued that although official revenue records (wall-to-wall) might show widths of 10 to 12 metres, the “functional” road is significantly reduced by:
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Permanent Encroachments: House ramps, planters, green patches fenced with barbed wire, and metal structures.
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Utilities: Electrical installations, sewerage, and drainage lines.
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On-Road Parking: Photographs submitted to the court showed cars parked on both sides of these narrow stretches, making it impossible for two vehicles to pass simultaneously.
Safety and Emergency Risks The High Court questioned how emergency services, such as fire tenders and ambulances, could navigate these colonies in the event of a disaster. The petitioners emphasized that fire-fighting equipment required for 16.5-metre tall (S+4) buildings cannot operate on roads less than 5 metres wide. “This is a very serious default,” the counsel argued, pointing out that the infrastructure, designed in the 1990s, cannot support the vertical densification permitted by current FAR (Floor Area Ratio) increases.
State’s Defense The Haryana government maintained that S+4 construction is only approved for plots on roads with a 10-metre width in existing sectors and 12-metre width for future projects. State counsel also submitted that ₹1,100 crore has already been collected as infrastructure augmentation charges from S+4 approvals to address these very concerns.
The court has granted all parties two weeks to submit written arguments regarding interim relief.