A recent Supreme Court order mandating strict land-use restrictions along national highways has triggered concern across Himachal Pradesh. Activists are warning of widespread livelihood disruptions and have urged the state government to file a review petition.
The order, issued by a bench of Justice J K Maheshwari and Justice Atul S Chandurkar on April 13, requires state governments to prohibit residential construction within 40 metres and commercial construction within 75 metres on both sides of highways. The Supreme Court order aims to improve highway safety by preventing accidents.
Activists argue that a "one-size-fits-all" approach might be practical for the plains of Punjab, Haryana, or Uttar Pradesh, but imposing this formula on the vertical topography of Himachal Pradesh is not just impractical but also a geographical impossibility.
Topographical Challenges in Himachal Pradesh
"In a mountainous state like Himachal, habitable and cultivable land is incredibly scarce. Our highways do not run through vast open fields. They are carved into steep mountainsides, often with a vertical rock cliff on one side and deep river gorges on the other," said Brigadier Khushal Thakur (retd), a Kargil war veteran and patron of the Bhumi Prabhavit Sangh, an organisation that led a campaign for fair compensation during the four-laning of the Kiratpur-Manali highway.
"If a citizen is forced to leave 40 metres from the highway for a home, or 75 metres for a small shop, where will the people build? To move 40 metres away from the road in Himachal usually means either falling off a cliff into a river or attempting to build a house mid-air on a 90-degree rock face. The sheer topography does not allow for such deep setbacks," added Thakur.
Threat to Highway Economy
According to activists, the ruling also poses an existential threat to the livelihoods of millions of Himachalis who rely on small-scale roadside businesses like dhabas, small homestays, apple loading points, and local repair shops.
"The ruling, especially for commercial activities, will render thousands of people jobless, stripping them of their right to livelihood. Such a rule is not possible to implement in the hilly and mountain terrains of Himachal Pradesh. The state government must take note of the fact that the entire highway economy of Himachal Pradesh will be badly hit due to the 75-metre rule," said Dharmender Sharma, a resident of Nagwain in Mandi district, who owns a house and commercial establishments along the Kiratpur-Manali highway.
Madan Sharma, a Bilaspur-based activist working on rehabilitation of people displaced by highway projects for over a decade, acknowledged that encroachments along highways are a major problem. "The National Highway Authority of India and the government should remove encroachments along highways as these create accident-prone zones. But it's also true that setting 40-metre and 75-metre limits will invite a new set of problems in hilly areas due to geographical constraints, impacting residents and especially the highway economy," said Sharma.
Demand for Review Petition
Thakur and other stakeholders have urged the Himachal Pradesh government to file a review petition with the court, seeking hill-specific norms that account for the state's fragile, vertical geography.
"The state government cannot remain a silent spectator while an entire population faces displacement and economic ruin. The Himachal Pradesh government must immediately file a review petition or an appeal in the Supreme Court," said Thakur.
"The state's legal counsel must present comprehensive topographical data, satellite imagery, and socio-economic reports to the apex court. We must strongly advocate for a 'hill state exemption' or the formulation of separate, hill-specific zoning parameters. A setback of 3 to 5 metres might be the maximum feasible limit in many of our steep valleys," Thakur added.
