Punjab Approves Farmhouse Policy for PLPA‑Delisted Kandi Belt, Allowing One‑Acre ‘Low‑Impact’ Homes

Overview

• The Cabinet on November 15 cleared a policy permitting low‑impact residential units on minimum one‑acre plots across PLPA‑delisted tracts of the lower Shivalik Kandi belt from Mohali to Pathankot, aiming to regularise many existing farmhouses.
• Officials say the framework bars commercial activity and sets controls such as low FAR, limited site coverage, ground‑plus‑one construction, and requirements for indigenous plantation, rainwater harvesting and solar energy.
• Forest officials and environmentalists cite potential conflicts with the Periphery Act, the proposed Sukhna eco‑sensitive zone and Supreme Court guidance, while questioning the absence of an environmental assessment and alleging conflicts of interest.
• Operational specifics are pending from a committee led by Housing Secretary Vikas Garg, with reported conditions including no basements or plot division and a requirement to obtain Forest Department NOCs for relevant clearances.
• According to a government source, the state plans construction fees ranging from Rs 300 per sq yd in Pathankot to Rs 1,200 in Mohali and may levy compounding up to four times the collector rate, even as earlier around 90 regularisation pleas were rejected by the Eco‑Tourism Development Committee.