Thursday, 25 May 2017

Impact of building regulations on Indian hill towns

Abstract

Unique development pattern is evolved in response to various geo-environmental constraints which include difficult topography, complex geological structure, adverse climate and fragile ecology in Indian hill towns. These hill towns have been experiencing high pressure for development due to rapid growth, increased employment opportunities and increased tourist influx from last few decades; as a result, tremendous development has taken place in these environmentally fragile hill towns, which has drastically changed the overall environment in and around hill towns. Different building regulations are enforced to guide and regulate developmental activity in hill towns and minimise the impacts of development on fragile and attractive environment of hill towns. But, as evident from existing development these building regulations are ambiguities and fail to address challenges for development in peculiar hill context and consequently have enormous impacts on the urban environment of hill towns.
This study attempts to highlight various issues of existing development pattern and existing building regulations of hill towns along with various factors responsible for building regulations. Various impacts of building regulations on urban environment of hill towns are also highlighted in this study.

Keywords

  • Hill towns;
  • Building regulation;
  • Urban development;
  • Environment

Introduction

Indian cities and towns are growing exponentially to meet ever-increasing demand for buildings (residential, workplaces, recreational, institutional) arising from large increase in urban population due to high growth rate and migration. These cities and towns generally have Greenfield development and are expanding outwards, consuming valuable agricultural land to meet urbanisation demands. Due to this, large unplanned and uncontrolled horizontal semi-urban extensions are developed having low density low rise development. These semi-urban extensions generally have unauthorised development(s) to cater housing or shelter needs, which are mostly deprived of basic infrastructural facilities (such as electricity, water supply, sewerage system, transportation network and systems and solid waste management system).
The scenario is more critical in north Indian hill towns, where land available for urbanisation is scarce as development cannot be taken place on all plots due to topography, slope morphology and other geo-environmental constraints [1]. Moreover, people of hill towns generally possess irregular land holdings which follow natural topographical profile, and often render them difficult to develop; and residents are not able to purchase more land for development due to limited availability of developable land, high land cost and lower paying capacities of residents. Consequent upon all these, development pattern in hill towns is characterised with densely developed buildings having numerous issues and problems related to planning design, construction and maintenance.
Settlements or towns located in hill regions of India can be distinctly classified into four categories, as hill towns below 14°N latitude, hill towns in between 14° and 22.5°N latitude, hill towns in between 22.5° and 28°N latitude and hill towns above 28°N latitude, (Fig. 1).
Hill towns/stations in India.
Figure 1. 
Hill towns/stations in India.
Hill towns located below 14°N latitude: All hill towns/settlements which are located in southern part of India such as hill towns of Tamilnadu and Kerala viz Ooty, Kodaikanal, Wayanad, Munnar Devikulam are located below 14°N latitude fall in this category. These hill settlements get direct solar exposure for northern and southern slopes. Northern slopes are preferred more for development than southern slopes. Large building overhangs are required on both north and southern directions for protection from direct solar exposure.
Hill towns lying between 14°N and 22.5°N latitude: All hill towns/settlements located in between 14°N latitude and 22.5°N latitude are considered in this category. Hill towns of Maharashtra such as Khandala, Lonavla, Panchgani, and Saputara are generally considered in this category.
Hill towns lying between 22.5°N and 28°N latitude: All hill towns/settlements which are located in between 22.5°N and 28°N Latitude are considered in this category. Hill towns of eastern part of country such as Shillong, Gangtok, Darjeeling, Itanagar, Imphal, Siliguri and Mount abu in western India are considered under this category.
Hill towns lying above 28°N latitude: All hill towns which are located in north India such as Shimla, Manali, Nainital, Almora, Mussoorie, Dalhousie, Srinagar are located in this zone. These hill towns have cold climate and no direct sun from north side, thus southern slopes are most preferred for development work and most of the development in these towns has taken place on southern slopes only.
To understand the existing scenario of development, it is important to highlight development pattern and building regulations in hill towns along with various factors responsible for amendment in existing building regulations. Hill towns which are lying above 22.5°N Latitude are considered for the study purpose.

Development pattern in Indian hill towns

As per National Building Code 2005, part III, Annexure G, any area having altitude more than 600 m from mean sea level or any area with average slope of 30° is classified as hilly [2]. Depending upon the altitude and prevailing climatic conditions hill regions are classified into Foot Hills (below 1200 m), MidHills (1200–3500 m) and High hills (above 3500), with varied geo-environmental conditions and resources available for development [3].
Most of the hill towns (such as Shimla, Nainital, Dalhousie, Mussoorie, Manali and Kasauli) are the most preferred tourist destinations situated in the midhill regions. These hill towns were developed by British during the pre-independent era and presently are main activity centres and employment generators, which are experiencing huge pressure for urbanisation due to high population growth and large migration from surrounding villages for employment and better living conditions. The development in these important hill stations/towns of India according to Banta P.K. [4], can be grouped into four main stages- first stage of colonial dominance; second is after independence in 1947 when power had been exercised by local elite; third stage when these hill stations became a centre of socio-economic development; and fourth stage comprising of present scenario of development (especially in the context of Shimla) (Fig. 2), when hill stations are under tremendous pressure of new development.
Development in Indian hill town.
Figure 2. 
Development in Indian hill town.
Hill towns, such as Shimla, Nainital, Dalhousie and Mussoorie, developed by Britishers had low density and low rise pattern of development and consisted of low rise cottages for European and the Indian elite and shop cum residential buildings for the local native population. These hill towns/stations were designed to cater to the needs of a specific population size, for example, Shimla town was planned and designed to cater the maximum population of 25,000 people [5]. After independence, various hill towns became main centre of administration, tourism, commerce, healthcare and education, and attracted large populations from surrounding regions due to economic activity and employment opportunities. As a result of which, low rise low density pattern of development is presented in place of sparse development in majority of hill towns of North India. The unique urbanscape present in hill towns is a result of the weaving together of topography, architecture, the arrangement of streets, urban spaces and vistas [6].
The present scenario of development is most critical in hill towns, as these picturesque hill towns are experiencing tremendous pressure for development, which has changed the overall image of hill towns. Due to inadequacy of existing pattern of development to cater the increased demand for residential, work places, recreational, commercial and educational areas for both residential and floating population, there is a shift from the low rise buildings to the midrise buildings in hill towns, which covers almost entire hill slopes in major hill towns and numerous midrise buildings are also being built on the peripheral areas of hill towns. Though, midrise buildings are being built in hill towns in response to high demand and unavailability of buildable land, but prevailing building regulations do not have any provisions to regulate midrise buildings, which results in development of midrise buildings having problems related to site selection and location, layout, design and materials, safety, services and visual appropriateness [7].

Problems/issues of development in hill towns

Hill regions are ecologically sensitive zones having lower carrying capacities, but most of the hill towns in India are densely populated with multi-storeyed buildings facing problems such as depletion of green areas, congestion, overcrowding, water scarcity, landslides, pollution of lakes and streams, and destruction of scenic beauty and visual blight, which affect the ecological balance. Moreover, major factors which govern planning and construction of buildings in hill towns are topography, climatic conditions, orientation, traffic movement, available usable space, source of water supply, natural drainage and paths [8] ;  [9], but in present context, most of the hill settlements have issues/problems related to these vital issues.
Unprecedented increase in population due to high growth, migration and large influx of tourists become a huge challenge for hill towns, which result in heavy pressure on the housing and infrastructural facilities, and lead to construction of more multi-storeyed buildings in hill towns for residential, office, commercial purposes. The infrastructural facilities provided viz., parking provisions, water supply, sanitation are presently insufficient to cater the increased population.
Most hill towns have problems related to coverage of high and dangerous slopes, more than 35° to 40° which are likely to devastate during earthquake and multiply the damage due to chain effect [4]. More number of storeys coupled with high FAR and coverage, and thereby limited light, air and ventilation may lead to environmental chaos and affect human health. Moreover, hill towns are susceptible to different types of natural hazards such as landslides, earthquakes, floods, cloudburst, and fire, and most of the buildings which are constructed or being-constructed lack various safety considerations to mitigate the impact of these natural disasters.
Buildable lands available in hill towns are limited due to topographical features in hill towns, and have very high price. As a consequence of this, fertile agriculture land in the suburbs or outskirts of hill towns is used for development purpose due to its lower price, weak land policies, improper development plan proposals and techno-legal regime, and weak economic background of farmers. There is deterioration in the quality of living environment due to unsuitable and unsafe building stock for habitation, insufficient infrastructure, narrow roads, inadequate open spaces and reduction in green areas, which are the outcomes of wrong planning and building regulations and inappropriate planning and design solutions [10].

Building regulations in hill towns

Building regulations are formulated to give answers to two important questions, ‘what to develop’, and ‘how to develop’ in a city/town/area with an aim to protect public health, safety, general welfare and environment [11]. These are the set of rules, which are imposed on ‘development work’ in a city to provide statutory regulations on the planning, design and construction of buildings and associated works, making provisions for rendering safety off dangerous buildings and lands, and making provisions for matters connected to enforcement and approval authority [12].
Building regulations enforced in India are mostly inspired from National Building code and Delhi Master Plans, and with or without slight modifications these regulations are legislated in different states under town and country planning act or municipal acts, and became the source of deriving different regulations for cities and towns present in the jurisdiction of a state. E.g. setback is a regulation which governs the extent of solar and wind exposure to a building and need to be formulated for specific context of a town to achieve solar exposure for specific duration throughout the year but in present regulations similar setback regulations are enforced throughout the country for a particular use. Building regulations with or without any changes are enforced within the jurisdictions of local governing authorities (such as municipal council, municipal committee) to regulate the development activity. Similar procedure is adopted for formulating and enforcing building regulations in hill towns. But due to varied context for development of hill towns than towns in plains, prevailing building regulations in hill towns are contextually inappropriate as they do not account for geo-environmental and natural context of hill towns. Different building regulations which are enforced for residential development in hill towns of India are shown in Table 1[13]. As a result many issues (such as ecological sensitivity, proneness to hazards, visibility) which are most critical for development in hill towns remain neglected in existing building regulations.
Table 1. Existing building regulations of residential buildings in hill towns.
TownType of buildingPlot area (in sq. m)Coverage (%)Setbacks (in metres)
No. of storeysF.A.RBuilding height (in metres)
FrontSideRear
ShimlaRow housingAbove 200
2.502.0041.7518.00
DalhousieUp to 150703.022
11.80
ManaliUp to 120653.02.04218.80
SrinagarUp to 100403.01.8
1.516.50
MussoorieUp to 100702.031.3011.00
MussoorieUp to 200652.01.531.5011.00

ShimlaSemi-detached buildingsAbove 200
3.003.002.0041.7518.00
Dalhousie150–250603.0322
11.80
Manali121–250603.02.02.04218.80
ShillongUp to 200503.01.01.042.019.00
Srinagar100–150404.52.42.441.516.50
MussoorieUp to 300603.01.53.031.5011

ShimlaDetached buildingsAbove 200
3.002.02.041.7518.00
Dalhousie251–500553.0222
11.80
Manali121–250603.02.02.041.7518.80
Manali251–500553.02.02.041.518.80
Shillong201–300503.01.21.842.019.00
Shillong300–400503.01.82.542.019.00
Shillong400–500503.01.83.042.019.00
Srinagar150–500404.53.03.041.516.50
Srinagar200–500406.03.03.041.516.50
MussoorieUp to 400554.52.03.031.6011
DalhousieAbove 500503.0222
11.80
ManaliAbove 501503.03.03.041.2518.80
ShillongAbove 500503.01.83.042.019.00
SrinagarAbove 500406.03.04.541.516.50
MussoorieAbove 400507.53.05.031.7011
New development/buildings built according to existing building regulations, not only do not contribute to sustainability of the settlement/s; environmental degradation is witnessed along with increased construction activity in most of the hill towns located in north Himalayan region of India. Moreover, existing regulations applicable at town level (i.e. same regulations applicable for specific landuse without any respect to topographical location, slope angle and direction, hazard potential of the site and improper setback conditions) result in inappropriate development/growth pattern and form.
The in-force building regulations are need to be amended to overcome need for more built spaces, to accommodate higher population densities, and to achieve higher standards of safety and better living conditions, and have impact on urban environment of hill towns. Development authorities, in order to cater, may acquire additional land under town limits for development, change/modify the existing landuse [14], and change in any building regulations. The various factors responsible for amendments in regulations of hill towns, and impact of these amendments on urban environment are discussed in detail below.

Considerations for building regulations in hill towns

Various factors which are peculiar to hill towns and guide developmental authorities in formulation of new building regulations and their amendments or modifications in context of hill towns of India are population growth (natural growth and migration), tourism, scarcity of buildable land and increase in land cost, increase in awareness about environmental and social concerns and occurrence and vulnerability to natural hazards.

Population growth

There is a tremendous increase in population in previous 3–4 decades in hill towns of India due to high growth rate and migration from surrounding regions due to availability of employment opportunities and better living condition in hill towns, which lead to change in density and development pattern. To accommodate the ever-increasing population there is a need to undertake housing projects in different areas/zones of hill towns, which can be facilitated either by developing new areas for housing, modifying existing building regulations or formulating new building regulations favouring housing projects/group housing in different hill towns. Moreover, due to increase in population there is a huge demand for public transportation and there is an increase in private vehicle ownership, which requires new or modified regulations related to road width and parking provisions.

Tourism

Tourism is major source of economy in hill towns, which has increased manifold in last few decades due to higher paying capacity of people, change in life style and improved accessibility of hill towns to people living in major/large cities. To cater the need of tourist, a large number of commercial establishments in the form of hotels, guest houses, shops, restaurants are required along with recreational and transportation facilities, which can be facilitated by change/modification in existing landuse and building regulations related to Floor Area Ratio (F.A.R), road widths, parking.

Scarcity of buildable land

There is a scarcity of suitable buildable land in hill towns due to steep topography, undesirable slope direction, different geo-environmental constraints and proneness to natural hazards. Therefore, there is a need to formulate building regulations so as to optimise the use of limited suitable space for development. This scarcity of suitable buildable land leads to increase in land prices in hill towns.

Increasing awareness toward environmental and social concerns

With increase in global concerns and awareness related to sustainability, energy efficiency and climate change, the awareness of society related to desired responses from built environment have changed significantly. There are concerns related to environmental protection, cutting of trees, disturbance of natural drainage pattern, pollution of air land and water, depleting forest cover, lowering ground water table and drying of surface water sources. There are concerns and awareness in society related to energy conservation and management, water conservation and management, efficient treatment of sewage and waste water and its reuse and proper disposal and garbage treatment and disposal. Moreover, awareness related to different social issues such as universal and disable friendly designs, safety and security against crimes in public places, provisions for elderly and children, accesses for emergency response and safety and stability against natural hazards and fire has increased in society and building regulations need to be formulated or modified to address issues of built environment related to these crucial social and environmental issues.

Occurrence and vulnerability to natural hazards

Safety against natural hazards is a critical concern in hill towns due to their proneness to different natural disasters. Due to occurrence of natural hazards in other similar zones/regions, the concerns related to safety of natural hazards in areas with similar geotechnical character are increased. To ensure safety against natural hazards and minimal loss of human life and resources during hazards, different safety standards and technological advancements need to be incorporated in building regulations if already not present, which can be done by modifying building regulations.

Impact of amendments in building regulations on urban environment of hill towns

The urban environment of a town is a collective result of various planning policies, development plan proposals, architectural design solutions and building regulations. However, building regulations are the controlling and regulatory mechanism to ensure efficient implementation of various polices and plan proposals, and to achieve a specific character in the context. These regulations have been modified many times to implement different policies and plan proposals in order to achieve desired character.
As evident from the study of building regulations and the condition of existing development in hill towns, existing building regulations and their modifications affect overall functioning of town and their impact can be observed on different aspects of urban built environment. In addition to impacts of building regulations on infrastructural facilities and land availability and values, impacts of building regulations on different aspects of urban environment in specific context of Shimla are discussed as follows:
(i)
Impact on natural environment.
(ii)
Impact on development pattern.
(iii)
Impact on existing buildings.
(iv)
Impact on new development.
(v)
Impact on transportation network and system.
(vi)
Impact on open spaces and social infrastructure.
(vii)
Impact on townscape.

Impact on natural environment

Existing development pattern which is outcome of building regulation amendments has enormous impacts on natural environment of Shimla. Cutting of slopes for development work is a common phenomenon in hill towns which affects the ecology and environment of the region. The extent of cutting/quantity of excavated earth is dependent upon building footprint and slope angle. Existing regulations permit buildings with larger footprints, which require large cutting of sloping grounds (even more than permissible limits), which cause disturbance to natural drainage pattern, and lead to loss of vegetation, affect ecology of area and may trigger natural hazards (such as landslides). Existing vegetation cover available on-site is removed for construction purposes (Fig. 3), results in barren slopes covered with buildings without any vegetation, which become more prone to slope failure and further extent of soil erosion increases during rain. Moreover, flattening of sloping terrain results in loss of valuable and fertile top soil and debris produced after cutting of slope is generally dumped in valleys or near water channels, disturbing or blocking natural flow of water and increase siltation in downstream areas. Though regulations related to maximum permissible cutting of slopes are present, but slopes in Shimla (Fig. 4) are cut much more than the permissible limits. Due to intensive development consequent upon inappropriate building regulations and their noncompliance, natural features like springs are adversely affected as many of them either are dried up or are become polluted.
Buildings covering entire hill slope in Shimla town.
Figure 3. 
Buildings covering entire hill slope in Shimla town.
Conversion of green slopes into concrete buildings in Shimla.
Figure 4. 
Conversion of green slopes into concrete buildings in Shimla.

Impact on development pattern

Building regulations are formulated to achieve regulated and systematic development and are amended to achieve higher population densities, which affects development pattern of a town. Shimla has predominately low rise and high density development but due to amendments in building regulations, new development pattern having midrise buildings is emerged in Shimla (Fig. 5). Due to high seismic vulnerability of Shimla, the change in development pattern from low rise to midrise development requires reformulation of different safety considerations against natural hazards. The absence of specific building regulations pertaining to midrise developments, and inadequate emergency infrastructure to deal with any disaster, further intensifies the inappropriateness of mid-rise buildings in Shimla.
Change in development pattern due to existing building regulations in Shimla.
Figure 5. 
Change in development pattern due to existing building regulations in Shimla.

Impact on existing buildings

The extent of development on a plot/area is controlled through existing building regulation. But, due to modifications in building regulations (especially increase in F.A.R), more development is permitted on already developed areas/sites. Owners have an option of adding more floors/storey(s) to existing buildings, which results in increased height of building and change in development pattern, inadequate spacing between two buildings, inappropriate relation between street width and building heights (light plane), change in energy consumption (appliances and pattern), inappropriate scale and proportions of adjacent buildings and level and type of building services required for smooth operations. Facade and aesthetic qualities of building(s) are also affected as existing and newly built portion are generally constructed with different architectural style, materials and construction techniques in Shimla (Fig. 6).
Development of new building in contrast to existing buildings in hill towns.
Figure 6. 
Development of new building in contrast to existing buildings in hill towns.

Impact on new development

Due to change in building regulations; use, occupancy type, number of users and building services required are affected. Volume and/or footprints of buildings is increased which results in higher energy consumption and change in facades design and treatment. Use of new and contemporary materials, new construction technologies and equipment results in fast, economical and better quality of construction in hill towns. Amendments in building regulations result in higher safety considerations (structural as well as against natural hazards), as safety measures against natural hazards become essential part of building design due to increased height of building, which is a consequence of modification in building regulations (Fig. 7).
Mid-rise buildings in seismically vulnerable Shimla town.
Figure 7. 
Mid-rise buildings in seismically vulnerable Shimla town.

Impact on transportation network and system

Roads are the main mode of transportation in Shimla, which have a smaller width as compared to same typologies in plains. Due to high population, employment opportunities and modification in building regulations to accommodate increased population, a number of commuters are increased tremendously, which exert more pressure on existing public transport system in Shimla, which is already overloaded, inefficient, unmaintained and mismanaged, and thus forcing residents to opt for private vehicles in place of public mode. Due to these reasons, roads have much more traffic than their designed capacities, and result in traffic jams, accidents, slow speed and more trip duration. This condition is further aggravated by roadside parked vehicles in the absence of designated parking facilities at suitable locations in Shimla. Moreover, widening of roads to accommodate more vehicles is cumbersome task, due to unavailability of flat lands and construction of most of the buildings abutting to the road in Shimla.

Impact on open spaces and social infrastructure

The need (extent and quality) of social infrastructure (such as educational facilities, health facilities, and recreational, cultural and religious facilities) is dependent upon population. Presently population of Shimla is increasing at a high rate due to high growth and migration. Due to which, town is facing shortage of social infrastructure and The Ridge and the Mall are mostly used social interaction spaces in the town. Moreover, there are many instances of encroachments on public areas, open land and on roads which further reduces the available open spaces. Moreover, there is a need to distribute these open spaces and social facilities evenly throughout the town so that residents of all localities should be benefited.

Impact on townscape

Shimla has high visibility due to its location on ridge and sloping topography, due to which not only front facade of buildings but all sides as well as roof are also visible from distant locations. Skyline, facade treatment, open spaces are the outcome of different planning proposals and existing building regulations, which are affected by modification of building regulations and insufficient compliance with building regulations, as due to modification, residents tend to construct more areas on plot by either covering open areas or adding extra storey/s without respecting the picturesque setting and aesthetic quality of town (Fig. 8).
Buildings with unattractive facades and roofscapes in Shimla.
Figure 8. 
Buildings with unattractive facades and roofscapes in Shimla.

Conclusion

There is a unique environment (natural and manmade) for development in ecologically sensitive hill towns, which guides all types and patterns of development, and these conditions are not so pronounced in other towns of same size in other parts. But as evident from present scenario of hill towns, building regulations failed to address these unique conditions as the regulations lack the context. Moreover, these improper building regulations impart adverse impact on urban environment of hill towns and render them environmentally unsustainable and ecologically inappropriate.
Amendments in building regulations are inevitable due to increasing population, advancement in construction technology, changing global concerns over environment and ecology, and safety against natural hazards. There is a need to adopt a holistic approach to propose amendments in existing regulations, and various possible impacts of change in regulation/s on other regulations and urban environment of hill towns need to be investigated before implementation.
Various geo-environmental and developmental factors such as Topography, stability, slope direction, existing vegetation, access and visual significance should formulate the basic premise to formulate building regulations for a specific hill town. New building regulations should be formulated at local level depending upon the intrinsic characteristics of area/zones of a town and their impacts on urban environment in and around hill towns need to be monitored.
To formulate new building regulations in a hill town different area/zone characteristic maps such as, topography and slope aspect map, hazards potential map, existing vegetation map, access and aesthetic significance map are need to be prepared for Shimla town. Since, landuse map indicating different use specified to different zones/localities is not sufficient enough to specify the feasibility of particular use and/or extent of desirable development under particular use in an area/zone of hill town. These different area/zone characteristic maps should be made available to public along with landuse map and proposed building regulations.

Conflict of interest

The author declare that there are no conflict of interests.

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