Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Supreme Court has lifted the 25-year-old ban on construction in Pachmarhi cantonment, allowing houses up to ground plus three (G+3) floors. The move is expected to benefit around 12,000 residents living in the 1,000-hectare cantonment area.
Senior advocate Vivek Tankha, representing the Cantonment Board, argued that small plot sizes, sometimes as little as 200–300 square feet, made construction impossible under earlier restrictions. The Court directed implementation of the G+3 plan for all new constructions in the area.
The original ban was imposed in 2000. In March 2018, a Supreme Court-appointed committee recommended allowing G+3 construction. Tankha tweeted that the decision would bring relief to Pachmarhi residents.
Lovekesh Sahu, office superintendent of the Cantonment Board, said the SC ruling resolves long-standing challenges faced by residents in small plots. The board had filed an intervention application in 2008 against restrictions imposed by the SC’s empowered committee, initially formed to monitor illegal constructions in national parks.
