CHANDIGARH, May 28: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered the suspension of salaries for three top officials—the Chief Town Planner (Town and Country Planning), the Principal Secretary (Local Government Department), and the Principal Secretary (Housing and Urban Planning Department), Punjab—until September 23, citing their failure to notify the new master plan for Kharar.
The court took this strict measure after expressing deep displeasure over a prolonged 14-year delay in finalizing and implementing Kharar’s updated master plan. During the last hearing, the court had already imposed a stay on all new construction activities in the area.
“The repeated failure to act on the matter has led to haphazard and unregulated development in Kharar,” the bench observed, while directing the state to take necessary action before the next hearing.
The town’s old master plan was created in 2010 and expired in 2020. A revised plan was drawn up in 2020, but five years later, it still awaits official notification. The absence of a valid master plan has enabled builders to proceed with projects under vague conditions, including a requirement that any new construction must comply with the unnotified draft.
The court’s order follows a contempt petition filed by a builder through advocate Alankar Narula. The petitioner argued that the state had failed to comply with a previous directive issued last year, which had instructed the Punjab government to implement the new plan within eight weeks.
Despite these instructions, no formal notification was issued. The court, finding the government’s inaction unacceptable, reiterated its construction ban in Kharar and froze the salaries of the responsible officers as a punitive measure.
“The government had been given ample time and direction,” the court noted, “but the situation on the ground remains unchanged.”
The matter will be reviewed again on September 23.
Read More: HC Halts New Construction in Kharar Over Master Plan Delay
