Gurgaon: Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) has told Punjab and Haryana high court that over 60% of the 15,447 stilt-plus-four-floor (S+4) building plans approved in Gurgaon-Manesar’s licensed colonies were cleared before July 2, 2024, when the state issued fresh instructions on such buildings.The department disputed petitioner Sunil Singh’s claim that nearly 30,000 approvals came after that date. It said the figure was arrived at by deducting an assumed 5,000 earlier approvals from a cumulative total of about 35,000, without any source. That total, it added, includes 2,997 permissions from Panchkula, which do not relate to the PIL.In an affidavit filed in CM 432-CWPIL of 2026 in CWP-PIL 212 of 2024, DTCP Director General Dr J Ganesan opposed Singh’s plea to stop further S+4 construction and halt the issuance of occupation certificates (OCs). The department said all such buildings could not be treated as violations and construction stopped across the board. It sought dismissal of the application with heavy costs, alleging misrepresentation of facts and misleading the court.The high court’s interim order of April 2, 2026, marks the end of the period covered by the department’s breakdown, not the introduction of the 2024 rules. According to the affidavit, 9,625 plans (62.3%) were approved up to July 1, 2024, under policies issued in March and September 2019 and provisions of the Haryana Building Code, 2017. Another 5,822 plans (37.7%) were approved between July 2, 2024, and April 2, 2026. OCs have been issued for 8,602 buildings.Singh had cited a departmental letter dated May 4, 2026, to claim that around 35,000 permissions had been granted under the S+4 system, nearly 30,000 of them after the July 2024 instructions. DTCP said the letter did not state that this many approvals were granted under the new policy; it gave cumulative figures across agencies and cities.Under clause 8 of the July 2, 2024, instructions, the building plan approval and OC are deemed withdrawn if the stilt parking area is fully or partially enclosed. The department said violations are dealt with case by case under Section 10 of the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975.The department said it maintains records of approved plans and OCs but not the current construction status of every plot. Under a standard operating procedure of Nov 16, 2022, architects are authorised to issue OCs for independent residential plots under self-certification, after which the records are submitted to the district town planner. DTCP said it has no record of pending OC applications with architects.Rejecting Singh’s contention that no procedure exists for augmenting infrastructure, the department said a standard operating procedure was framed by the Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) under the 2024 instructions and was enclosed with the May 4 letter that the petitioner himself annexed. It provides for sector-wise capacity audits of water supply, sewerage, power and roads, and a separate bank account for funds collected.The matter is pending before the high court.
