Chapter 17 : SUB-REGIONAL LAND USE

Sub-Regional Plan for Haryana Sub-Region of NCR-2021 Chapter 17 Sub-Regional Land Use

Town and Country Planning Department, Haryana 334

Chapter 17 : SUB-REGIONAL LAND USE

17.1 Background

The Sub-region has diverse uses of land due to variations in geomorphology, soils, climate, groundwater

quality and irrigation facilities.

17.2 Existing land use analysis

The sub-region exhibits diversity in both land use and land cover. This chapter depicts the distribution of

forest area, agricultural land, waste-land, water-bodies and built up land. This chapter also determines land

use policy, transportation planning and communication among districts.

The total area covered under the sub-region is 1342800 Ha. As per the Study Report on ‘Creation and

Updation of Landuse for Review of Regional Plan-2021 for NCRPB, 2013’, Out of the total area, 82.39 % is

agricultural area, 9.83% is Built-up, 2.75% is under Green areas, 3.19% is Wasteland, 0.72% is under Water

Bodies and remaining 1.12% is under Other areas. The table below indicates the detailed land use break-up

for the Sub-region in 2012 as against that observed in 1999.

Existing Sub-Regional Land Use

The existing land use for the sub-region is prepared by use of satellite imageries (2012) and authenticated

by various sources such as statistical handbook 2011-12, wasteland atlas, data from various government

departments, GIS, Survey of India topo-sheets, etc. Map 17.2 shows the existing land use of the sub-region

for 2012.

Table 17-1 : Existing Land use distribution of Haryana Sub-region, 2012

Classification Sub-region area (1999) in Ha

Area in % Sub-region area (2012) in Ha

Area in %

Built-up 93,996 7 132,028.1 9.83

Agriculture 1,123,924 83.7 1,106,384 82.39

Green Areas 45,655.2 3.4 36,938.73 2.75

Wasteland 6,7140 5 42,773.78 3.19

Water Bodies 9,399.6 0.7 9,660.6 0.72

Others 2,685.6 0.2 15,014.6 1.12

Total 1,342,800 100 1,342,800 100 Source: Study Report `Creation and Updation of Landuse for Review of Regional Plan-2021 for NCRPB, 2013’ & State Forest Dept.

Figure 17-1 : Existing land use of Haryana Sub-region (Percent), 2012

Built-up, 9.83%

Agriculture, 82.39%

Green Area, 2.75%

Wasteland, 3.19% Water Bodies,

0.72% Others , 1.12%



The Existing land use analysis indicates that the maximum land in the Sub-Region is under “agricultural use”

i.e. 82.39 %, which indicates the region has good agricultural activities. Agricultural land use consists of the

cultivable land, fallow land, plantations and horticulture etc.

17.2.1 Agricultural Land: The Sub-region is a part of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. There are mainly 2 cropping seasons, Rabi and Kharif. Majority of the area in the region is utilized during the Rabi and Kharif (double crop) seasons due to better irrigation facilities. Major Kharif crops include rice, jowar, bajra, gaur, maize, cotton, sugarcane, groundnut and pulses. Rabi crops include wheat, barley, gram, rapeseed/mustard and pulses. The short period available in between Mid-May and July is sometimes also used for raising a third crop particularly in the areas where assured irrigation is available for watering the crop during the dry season.

Northern portion of the region is characterized by good agricultural area due to fertile alluvial soils, marginal to good quality of ground water, network of irrigation, canals, and tube-wells and relatively better natural drainage. On the contrary, Gurgaon and Rewari, due to lack of rainfall, poor irrigation facilities, poor ground water quality coupled with desert terrain with sand dunes, have relatively less cultivation during Kharif season. While wheat is the dominant crop in the sub-region, the districts of Panipat, Sonipat and Faridabad, produce rice as well. Rewari is the region where wheat, mustard and bajra is produced. Due to the good agriculture potential, 82% land of the sub-region is under agricultural use.

17.2.2 Green Areas The green areas have multiple ecological benefits on the state economy. They have great bearing on ground water recharge, soil erosion, floods and environment. They supply a variety of raw materials to varied industries. These are a source of revenue for the Government and provide employment to a large number of people. The total percentage of Green Areas in the Sub-region is 2.75%.

Green areas also consist of forests and plantations. Forests in Haryana are classified under ‘Reserved forests’, ‘Protected forests’, ‘un-classed forests’, closed U/S 38 of IFA (Indian Forest Act) and Areas closed U/S 4 & 5 of Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900 (PLPA). Considering the types of forest distribution during 2000-01, Sonipat district has the highest forest cover (7361.38 Ha) followed by Gurgaon including Mewat (6473.19 Ha) and Faridabad including Palwal district (5490.66 Ha) while Jhajjar district has the least forest cover (3862 Ha). In Sonipat district, maximum forest covers are protected forests i.e. forest along roads, canals, bandh and rail. There is no reserved forest or compact forest in the district and it also has the maximum un-classified forest in the Sub-region. This indicates, the district has maximum forest cover because of social forestry and government initiatives of afforestation.

During the year 2012-2013, total forest area of the Sub-region decreased to 36938.73 Ha compared to 45655.2 Ha in 1999. This increase was mainly due to increase in un-classified forests, Forests u/s 38 of IFA 1927 and Forests u/s 4&5 of LPA 1900. Table 17.4 shows the status of forest area in the Sub-region. Sonipat and Gurgaon district have the highest forest cover followed by Mewat and Faridabad while Palwal district has the least forest cover. In Sonipat district, maximum forest covers are protected forests i.e. forest along roads, canals, bandh and rail.

Table 17-2 : Division/District Wise Forest Area (in Ha) for the Year 2000-2001

District/ Sub-region

Reserved forests

Protected forests

Un-classed forests

Forests u/s 38 of IFA 1927

Forests u/s 4&5 of LPA 1900

Grand total

Compact Road Rail Canal Bandh Total

Panipat 0 15.81 967.9 295 2,734.67 89.45 4,102.83 0 72 0 4,174.83

Sonipat 0 0 1,851.14 331.58 4,573.02 316.84 7,072.58 284 4.4 0 7,360.98

Gurgaon + Mewat

231.08 144.68 1,806.43 142 619.35 226.77 2,939.23 62.7 0 3,240.19 6,473.2

Faridabad +Palwal

314.24 37.78 1,331.97 0 1,305.76 29.59 2,705.1 92.4 0 2,378.93 5,490.67

Rewari 514.04 0 1,678.46 269.9 1,471.57 117.51 3,537.44 0.14 0 0 4,051.62

Rohtak 0 41.2 1,342.6 525.5 1,917.99 198 4,025.29 207 0 221 4,453.29

Jhajjar 0 491 1,294.16 146.57 1,852.19 42.42 3,826.34 4.66 31 0 3,862

Sub-Region 1,059.36 730.47 10,272.66 1,710.55 14,474.55 1,020.58 28,208.81 650.9 107.4 5840.12 35,866.59

Source: Department of Forest, Panchkula, Haryana



Table 17-3 : Division/ District Wise Forest Area (in Ha) for the Year 2012-13

District/

state Reserved

forests

Protected forests

Protected

forests

total Un-classed

forests

Forests

u/s 38 of

IFA 1927

Forests u/s

4&5 of LPA

1900

Grand

total

Compact Road Rail Canal Bandh Total

Panipat 0 15.81 967.9 245 2734.47 89.49 4,052.67 0 50.18 0 4,102.85

Sonipat 0 0 2,128.88 331.4 4608 317.74 7,386.02 0 0 1,057.45 8,443.47

Gurgaon 214.89 153.01 1,010.26 142 200.83 90.5 1,596.6 22.78 238.15 6,824.85 8,897.27

Mewat 16.19 14.64 729.2 0 288.48 150.46 1,182.78 39.66 206.8 6,432.33 7,877.76

Faridabad 175.63 0 670.72 0 598.95 64.05 1,333.72 0 0 5,509.73 7,019.08

Palwal 138.60 37.78 1,462.04 0 1,165.71 17.64 2,683.17 101.66 0 25.2 2,948.63

Rewari 514.04 0 1,548.44 269.6 1,322.65 117.51 3,258.20 80.04 10.97 970.57 4,833.82

Rohtak 0 41.2 1,324.46 505.5 1,928.79 198 3,997.95 375.4 0 221 4,594.35

Jhajjar 0 491 1,294.16 146.57 1,852.19 42.42 3,826.34 45.04 0 210.40 4,081.78

Sub-

region 1,059.35 753.44 11,136.06 1,640.07 14,700.07 1,087.81 29,317.45 664.58 506.1 21,251.53 52,799.01

Source: Department of Forest, Panchkula, Haryana

During 2012-13, total Green area of the sub-region is 52799.01 Ha. Table 17.2 and 17.3 show the status of

forest area in the sub-region. Despite all efforts by the State for increasing the forest cover, it is much below the

environmental standard.

Further, table 17.4, depicts Forest cover in the Haryana Sub-Region which shows continuous increase since 2001.

During the year 2011, total forest cover of the sub-region increased to 456 sq. Kms as compared from 454 sq. km in

2009 and 440 Sq Kms. in 2005 and 354 Sq. kms in 2001. Considering the distribution of types of forest during 2011,

Gurgaon district has highest forest cover (231 sq. km.) followed by Faridabad (93 sq. km.) and Rohtak (53 sq. km.).

Table 17-4 : Forest Cover (sq.km.) for the Year 2001-11 as reflected in DRRP 2021 Districts

Ge

ogr

aph

ic

al A

rea

2001 2005 2009 2011

De

nse

Op

en

Tota

l

%

De

nse

Op

en

Tota

l

%

De

nse

Op

en

Tota

l

%

De

nse

Op

en

Tota

l

%

Panipat 1,268 15 4 19 1.5 6 17 23 1.8 4 14 18 1.4 4 13 17 1.3

Sonipat 2,122 3 2 5 0.2 5 12 17 0.8 4 16 20 0.9 4 17 21 1.0

Rewari 1,582 19 10 29 1.8 3 18 21 1.3 3 20 23 1.5 3 18 21 1.3

Jhajjar 1,834 11 5 16 0.9 8 15 23 1.3 5 15 20 1.1 5 15 20 1.1

Rohtak 1,745 11 15 26 1.5 6 40 46 2.6 8 43 51 2.9 8 45 53 3.0

Gurgaon 2,766 21 173 194 7.0 48 170 218 7.9 52 177 229 8.3 50 181 231 8.4

Mewat* - - - - - - - - - - - -

Faridabad

2,151 19 46 65 3.0 30 62 92 4.3 29 64 93 4.3 28 65 93 4.3

Palwal* - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sub-Region

13,428 99 255 354 2.6 106 334 440 3.3 105 349 454 3.4 102 354 456 3.4

Haryana State

44,212 1,139 615 1,754 4.0 526 1,061 1,587 3.6 490 1,104 1,594 3.6 484 1,124 1,608 3.6

*Forest cover is included in Districts of Gurgaon and Faridabad which they were part of earlier.

Source: India State of Forest Report, Forest Survey of India (2001, 2005, 2009 & 2011)

The Table 17.4 shows that the district of Gurgaon has the highest forest cover in terms of percentage as well

in the Haryana subregion, which has successively grown from 7% in 2001 to 8.4 % in 2011. In addition to the various

categories of forest in the sub-region, over the year extensive plantations have been raised in the Aravali region in the

various villages of the district of NCR. The district wise details of the Aravali plantation are given in table below.

Table 17-5 : Aravali plantation Area (in Ha) in the Year 2009-10

S.No. 1 2 3 4 5 Total

District Faridabad Palwal Gurgaon Mewat Rewari

No. of Villages 14 2 32 94 35 177

Area in Hectare 3,636 131 5,058 11,741 4,240.5 24,806.5 Source: Department of Forest, Panchkula, Haryana



17.2.2.i Land utilization The region has maximum area under net sown area. Land not available for cultivation is also significant. Only the districts of Jhajjar has fallow land other than current fallow exist, where as in the current fallow category, Sonipat has maximum fallow land followed by Mewat and Jhajjar The table 17.6 and the map 17.1 depicts the district-wise land utilization status of the sub-region for the year 2006-07.

Table 17-6:Districtwise Land utilization Area (ha.) for the Year 2006-2007

District

Tota

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a ac

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to

Vill

age

pap

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Fore

sts

Not Available For Cultivation Other Uncultivated Land Excluding Fallow Land

Fallow Land

Ne

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Are

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Tota

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are

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Fallo

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Fallo

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Tota

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1 2 3 4 5 = (3)+(4)

6 7 8 (9) = (6)+(7)+(8)

10 11 12 = (10)+(11)

13 14 = (9)+(12)+(

13)

15 16 = (13)+(15)

17 18

Panipat 130,000 3,000 20,000 1,000 21,000 4,000 0 2,000 6,000 0 6,000 6,000 94,000 106,000 90,000 184,000 94,000 100

Sonipat 213,000 1,000 19,000 8,000 27,000 2,000 5000 1,000 8,000 0 19,000 19,000 1,58,000 185,000 130,000 288,000 152,000 96.2

Rohtak 167,000 40 4,000 2,000 6,000 3,000 0 11,000 14,000 0 5,000 5,000 1,42,000 161,000 77,000 219,000 111,000 78.2

Jhajjar 191,000 0 7,000 4,000 11,000 0 0 10,000 10,000 6,000 5,000 11,000 1,59,000 180,000 80,000 239,000 114,000 71.7

Faridabad 172,000 1,000 40,000 5,000 45,000 2,000 0 0 2,000 0 9,000 9,000 115,000 126,000 100,000 215,000 115,000 100

Gurgaon 120,000 4,000 31,000 400 31,400 1,000 400 0 1,400 0 500 500 84,000 85,900 37,000 121,000 76,000 90.5

Mewat 184,000 5,276 26,000 11,000 37,000 1,000 0 0 1,000 0 13,000 13,000 133,000 147,000 85,000 218,000 85,000 63.9

Rewari 151,000 1,856 15,000 4,000 19,000 1,000 0 16,000 17,000 0 2,000 2,000 112,000 131,000 82,000 194,000 96,000 85.7

Source: Statistical Abstract Haryana 2007-08



Map 17-1: Land Utilization of Haryana sub-region: 2006-07

Source: Statistical Abstract Haryana 2007-08



17.2.3 Wastelands: The major wasteland in the Sub-Region are identified as :

a) Gullied/ Ravenous land (Shallow) b) Gullied/ Ravenous land (Medium) c) Land with Scrubs d) Land without Scrubs e) Permanently water logged and Marshy Land f) Seasonal water logged and Marshy Land g) Land (Strongly) affected by salinity /Alkalinity h) Land (Moderately) affected by salinity /Alkalinity i) Land (Slightly) affected by salinity /Alkalinity j) Sands (Flood Plain) k) Sand Dunes (Semi stable to stable lower than 15meter) l) Sand Dunes (Closely spaced inter dune area)

The majority of wasteland is under stony waste, salt affected lands associated with waterlogged

areas category. The area under wasteland in the Sub-region is 42773.78 Ha (3.19%). It is mainly

spread over parts of districts of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Mewat and Jhajjar. Considerable area of

Gurgaon and Faridabad is under it as well.

17.2.4 Built-up: The land constitutes of 3 types of settlements in the sub-region; high density, medium density and

sparse density. The high density areas are generally limited to major towns of Gurgaon, Faridabad,

Panipat, Sonipat, Rohtak, Jhajjar, Mewat and Rewari. Medium density areas generally lie in the

proximity of the high-density areas, whereas sparse density areas include low-density settlements

such as villages. The areas such as Bahadurgarh, Gurgaon and Panipat towns have emerged as major

residential-industrial towns because of the proximity to Delhi. The built-up percentage in the sub-

region is 9.83% (2012). Within the last decade, the medium density settlements have grown rapidly

within the proximity of the high density settlements.

17.2.5 Water Bodies: In the sub-region, the water bodies include Yamuna River, Lakes and Ponds. There are numbers of

lake in the sub-region; some of the famous lakes in the region are Sohna Lake (hot water springs),

Gurgaon, Kotladhar Lake, Mewat, Jahajgarh Lake, Jhajjar and Badkhal Lake, Faridabad. There are

several numbers of Ponds in the Haryana Sub-Region. The sub-region has 0.72% of land under water

bodies.

17.2.6 Others: The other land uses consist of Mining, Industrial, Discharge and other miscellaneous used land. The

sub-region has about 1.12% area under this category.

17.3 Land use Change Analysis The existing land use has been prepared based on the satellite imageries for the year 2012. The NCR

Planning Board used satellite data for the whole NCR for March 1999. A comparative analysis of the

land use data for the year 1999 and 2012 has been undertaken as indicated in the table below.



Table 17-7 : Land use change analysis

Classification Sub-region area

(1999) in Ha %

Sub-region area (2012) in Ha. Area in % Change in

%

Built-up 93,996 7.0 132,028.13 9.83 2.83

Agriculture 1,123,923.6 83.7 1,106,384.02 82.39 -1.31

Green Areas 45,655.2 3.4 36,938.73 2.75 -0.65

Wasteland 67,140 5 42,773.78 3.19 -1.81

Water Bodies 9,399.6 0.7 9,660.69 0.72 0.02

Others 2,685.6 0.2 15,014.66 1.12 0.92

Total 1,342,800.00 100 1,342,800.00 100.00

Major changes have been observed in the case of Built-up, Waste land and Green Areas.

“Agriculture” includes cultivated land, fallow, plantation and horticulture, constituted about 83.73% in 1999. The land use change analysis reveals that area under agriculture has reduced by 1.31%. Agriculture has been one of the prime contributors in the state economy.

“Built-up” includes residential, non-residential built-up, open, vacant, recreational airport, railway station, yard, landfill sites, etc. There has been an increase in the built-up area from 1999 to 2012. The built-up area has increased by 2.83% and stands at 9.83%..

“Wastelands” includes gullied land, saline land, waterlogged, barren, rocky and river sand, The wastelands accounted for 5% of total area in 1999, which decreased substantially by 1.81 %. This is mainly attributed towards conversion of waste land into Green areas and other landuses.

“Green Areas” are non-agriculture vegetated areas which include dense vegetated area including forests, plantation and open scrub The analysis indicates a decrease in the Green area during 1999-2012. There is a need to substantially increase the Green cover in order to improve the environmental conditions, particularly the ridge/undulating areas of the sub-region as well as both within the large settlement in the form of city forest and on their periphery from the existing 2.75% to at least 10%.

“Water bodies” include rivers/streams, canals, drains, lake/ tank/ pond, etc. and registered increase from 0.70% to 0.72%.

“Others” includes stone quarrying, brick kiln and constitutes 1.12% with an increase of 0.92%.

As already exhibited in the previous sections, urbanization in the Sub-region is taking place at a fast pace. The Government has undertaken the task of preparing the Development Plans, updating for the existing towns and creating new for the upcoming towns. The proposed Development Plans for different towns as prepared / being prepared by the State have been discussed under Chapter 4.

17.4 Policies and Proposals of Sub-Regional Land Use: Control over the use of land is essential to protect & conserve vital environmental endowments especially:

i) Area where development pressure is high ii) Area to be protected from built form, such as ridge, riverbed, wild life sanctuaries, forest etc. iii) Good quality agriculture land iv) Areas which have potential for tourism, ecological development etc.

Accordingly, following major land use zones have been identified in the plan:

i) Controlled/development zone

1999 2008



ii) Highway corridor zone iii) Natural conservation zone iv) Agricultural (rural) zone outside controlled / development area.

The map 17.3 depicts the proposed major land use zones of the Sub-Region.

i) Controlled/development zone Within the controlled zones, there are three sub zones, their delineation will be undertaken by the Development plans for the controlled / development areas:

a) Urbanization areas (including existing Built-up/urban areas) b) Agriculture (rural) zone within controlled/ development/regulated areas c) Green belts

Urbanizable area: The existing & proposed built up areas have to be regulated and guided by Development plans & local area plans including village development plans within the framework of regional plan & sub-regional Plans 2021. The density of population has been described as follows: Table 17-8 : City Level Density norms

Settlement Urban Centres Person per Ha (pph)

Small Towns Below 50,000 75-125

Medium Towns 50,000- 5,00,000 100-150

Large Cities 5,00,000-10,00,000 100-150

Metro Cities Above 10,00,000 125-175

Source: UDPFI Guidelines, Ministry of Urban Development

Note: The density could be further reduced by 10% for special purpose township such as industrial town, knowledge city and sports city, etc.

The Regional Plan-2021 for NCR stipulates that no proposal for development should be envisaged in Natural Conservation Zones, planned green areas, agriculture area, ground water recharging areas and water bodies. Land should be reserved for (a) disposal of solid waste, (b) utility services, (c) dairy farming,(d) horticulture, (e) inter & intra urban transport system etc.

(i) Existing and proposed built-up areas are to be regulated and guided by the Development Plans and Local Area Plans including Village Development Plans within the framework of Regional Plan-2021 and Sub-regional Plans-2021.

(ii) While preparing the Development Plans for the towns, it is to be ensured that the proposed development are not permitted in the natural conservation zones, planned green areas, ground water recharging areas and water bodies.

(iii) Land is to be reserved in the Development Plans for activities such as disposal of solid waste

generated from towns, town level utility services (such as power plant, grid station, water and sewage treatment plants, etc.) dairy farming, horticulture, inter and intra-urban transport system and other essential infrastructure. Attempt is to be made to rationalize the quantum of land required for each urban activity while preparing the Development Plan of towns.

a) Agriculture (Rural) zone within controlled areas: Land uses within the agriculture (rural) zone of the controlled areas will be permitted as per the zoning Regulations of the respective Development Plans.



b) Green buffers: (i) Green buffers along the expressways, National Highways, State Highways and Railway

lines or around / adjacent to any other area are provided in the regulated zone along major transport corridors and other areas. Efforts should be made to maintain & regulate the green buffers within as well as outside the urbanisable area as prescribed in the Development Plans. The minimum width of the green buffers would be as under, which can be increased, if required, in the respective Development Plans based on the following:

(a) Expressway / By pass : 100 m (b) National Highways : 60 m (c) State Highways : 30 m (d) Railway Lines : 30 m

(ii) Green buffers along the expressways, national highways, state highways and railway lines as provided in the regulated zone along major transport network and other areas be maintained and regulated as per the minimum provisions given above and the respective State Acts/Master/Development Plans.

(iii) Outside the Controlled areas of towns these green buffers which have already been identified as green buffer in the controlled areas/development areas/regulated areas of existing Master/Development Plans be maintained as green buffer.

c) Highway corridor zone In order to control the large scale urban development along the important highways in the region, outside the controlled / development / regulated zone, a regulatory zone is provided within which necessary planned development can be undertaken. It includes all major roads and highways within the Haryana sub-region such as;

NH-44 : Delhi to Amritsar

NH-9 : Delhi to Rohtak

NH- 352 : Rohtak to Jind

NH-48 : Delhi to Gurgaon and beyond

NH-44 : Delhi to Mathura

Controlled development area of 500 meters width from the ROW (right of way) is mandatory.

(i) The Highway Corridor Zone will be outside the existing notified controlled/development areas of towns.

(ii) The highway corridor zones will be tentatively shown on the Sub-Regional Plan and detailed out in the respective.

(iii) Necessary planned development can be undertaken by the respective State Governments after taking into account the restrictions of green buffers as mentioned above.

ii) Natural conservation zone

The major natural features, identified as environmentally sensitive areas have been identified as naturally sensitive areas such as Extension of Aravali ridge in Haryana, forest areas, rivers and tributaries of Yamuna and Sahibi, Sanctuaries, major lakes and water bodies, such as Badkal lake, Sultanpur etc. Development needs to be restricted to protect the ecology of these areas.



Following areas have to be covered:

(a) Forest area is to be conserved & more areas should be brought under forests through afforestation by bringing all waste lands, rivers, irrigation canals, drains, roads and railway lines.

(b) The extension of the Aravalli range, sanctuaries and other ecologically sensitive areas be conserved with utmost care and afforested with suitable species. The development in this area to be in accordance with the notifications issued for such areas by the Ministry of Environment and Forests under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 from time to time.

(c) In view of the very low existing green areas, it is imperative to bring more areas under green areas. Accordingly, identified wastelands, proposed ROW of expressways, highways, roads, irrigation canals, drains, railway lines and village common lands are proposed to be brought under green area.

(d) The areas under water bodies i.e. rivers, ox-bow lakes, paleo-channels, lakes and ponds and their surrounding areas be kept free from any encroachment/development to allow free flow of water. Construction activities for human habitation or for any other related purpose shall not be permitted.

(e) In the flood prone areas/river beds/banks, no construction or habitation activities be permitted. Flood Protection Plan be prepared by the concerned State Governments/agencies. Policies proposed in the Disaster Management Chapter at para 15.5 be further elaborated in the Sub-regional Plans, Master/Development Plans and Flood Protection Plans.

(f) Environmental Management Plan under the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act, 1986 may be treated as the Conservation Plan.

(g) The monuments/man-made heritage sites and natural heritage areas be identified and earmarked in the Master/Zonal Plans of each town and detailed Conservation Plans be prepared for their protection and conservation.

iii) Agricultural (Rural) Zone outside Controlled/Development Areas

Agricultural (Rural) Area of NCR has to be regulated and guided by Village / Block Plans to be drawn under the district planning process. At the regional level, agriculture (rural) zone be designated for primary sector production and open areas comprising of farmlands, orchards and pastures etc.

With new employment opportunities in non-agriculture sector, consequent concentration of population and the urban expansions would have to be largely made from the agricultural land and other non-urban uses. Therefore, there would be a major impact on land requirements for agriculture sector.

In view of this, following policies have been proposed:

(i) Existing cultivated land should be conserved for agriculture use as far as possible. Efforts are made to increase the production through intensive cultivation by providing irrigation facilities and other necessary infrastructure.

(ii) Measures to be initiated for protection of prime agricultural land and ensure its needless conversion into non-agricultural / urban use.

(iii) Utilisation of land with low biological potential for farming would be earmarked/ allocated for non-agriculture purposes such as new urban centres/ development purposes. Irrigated land with multi-cropped production should be avoided for urbanization as far as possible.



The existing and proposed built-up areas have to be regulated and guided by the Development Plans

of urban centres. These Plans should accommodate suitable amount of land required for housing

and necessary social and physical infrastructural provisions for the estimated additional population.

All the Master Plans for the urban centres should ensure that the proposed development would not

encroach into the national conservation zones (if any), planned green areas, ground water

recharging areas and water bodies. Land to be also reserved for the basic activities such as disposal

of solid waste generated from the respective centres, utilities services such as power plant, grid

station, water and sewage treatment plants, urban transport system etc.

17.4.1 Major consideration of sub-regional Land Use for 2021

Built-up Area: In order to accommodate the proposed development in the sub-region, use of

waste-land and non-fertile agricultural land is to be promoted. The report covers analysis of

suitable land for industrial development. However, it is also recommended that a synchronized

approach of identification of industrial estate is required. The state nodal agency HSIIDC has

already identified the industrial estates and centres anticipating the proposed industrialization.

Green Areas: Development of green areas and forest resources is vital in preserving the

environment and eco-system. It greatly influences the climate pattern. Forest presence is also

essential as safeguard against flood and erosion. Viewing the situation of the forests in the sub-

region with reference to the National Forest policy, special attention would be required to

increase the forest cover under protected, reserved and social forestry in the areas, not fit for

agricultural use.

In the proposed land use, emphasis has been given to convert the waste land in to forest cover.

The State Forest Policy, 2006 aims at achieving area under forest and tree cover as 20% in a

phased manner. However, the regional plan envisages total forest area to be 10% of the total

area of the NCR. The same norms shall be followed for the sub-region.

To achieve the above by 2021, the Govt. may initiate a social forestry program and specific

budgetary allocation may be made available to implement the same. The following

recommendations are being suggested to increase the forest cover;

a) To promote the passive recreational centre, it is recommended that adequate area should

be developed as sub-regional parks. These areas should be developed under Social Forestry

Program.

b) One of the major natural features in the sub-region is the ridge, an extended part of the

Aravali range and bird sanctuary like Sultanpur. The sanctuaries are harboring a large

number of wild animal and birds. The ridge areas and the sanctuaries will be conserved with

utmost care and will be afforested with suitable species.



c) Efforts will be made to convert the fallow lands (where no agricultural activities have taken

place since the last two to three years) to cover the same with proper plantation to increase

the forest cover in the sub-region.

d) It is proposed to increase the green cover along transportation corridor (i.e. railway, national

highway, expressway etc) and be protected under the management of forest department.

This would increase the forest cover in the sub-region.

Agricultural Land: The demand of agricultural production is directly correlated with the growth

rate of population. With the increased rate of urbanization, the sub-region will witness an

increased demand of food. Therefore, it is essential to preserve prime agricultural land.

In view of the changes in land use, there would be a major impact on land requirement for

agricultural sector. To the extent that new employment opportunities are proposed in non-

agricultural sector in the region and consequent concentration of population, the urban

expansions would have to be largely met from agricultural and other non-urban uses.

Water Bodies: In the Sub-region the water-bodies include Yamuna River, Lakes (such as Sohna

Lake, Badkhal Lake etc) and Ponds. The area under water-bodies in the Sub-region covers 0.72%

of total land of Sub-region. These water bodies should be preserved and conserved with

sustainable manner. No development would be allowed in the forms of reclamation of water. A

comprehensive plan for restoration and rehabilitation of all existing water bodies (especially

lakes, ponds etc) in the sub-region shall be undertaken. Provision of at least 2-5% to total area

shall be preserved/maintained as water bodies in the sub-region. This will help in improving the

environment and also contribute to increase water supply.

Master Planning for Rural settlement: This is a significant task to regulate the haphazard

development especially for the settlement those are coming under buffer areas of conservation

zones like Rivers, water bodies, forest, Hills etc. These rural settlements should be controlled so

that the further expansion and haphazard development cannot take place. The various tiers of

Panchayat Raj Institution need to take appropriate measures.

There should be no new settlement, economic activities such as mining, industry etc. in the

catchment areas of irrigation projects to prevent the quality of water, soil erosion, and retention

of soil cover.

Multiple use of land should be encouraged such as:

o Agriculture and tourism

o Agriculture and pisciculture

o Social forestry and fodder cultivation

o Agriculture and horticulture

o forestry and tourism

A scientific land management program that includes soil conservation and afforestation to

mitigate the environment impact of mining activities like pollution of land, water, air and

degradation of good agricultural land will be undertaken for the sub-region.



There should be compactness rather than haphazard and scattered development of rural

settlements.

17.4.2 Zoning Regulations Considering the rapid urbanization and the adverse consequences to the environment, zoning

regulation is a legislative tool to ensure orderly development in the use of land and building. These

zoning regulations have to be designed, keeping in view the function and the population assigned

and the desired character to be achieved by induced development in the sub-region and the

settlements designed.

At the sub-regional level, land use may be guided and regulated in selected areas; but the urban

centres will be dealt in the lower hierarchy plans like Development Plans, Zoning Plans etc. Such

areas should consider the aspects of planned development & conservation in the patches of green

areas, highly dense areas, water bodies etc to ensure an overall physical form with adequate lung

spaces judiciously located everywhere, from densely built-up areas to peripheral areas of the open

countryside. In the Sub-Regional Plan 2021 of Haryana Sub-region, four broad zones have been

identified and analyzed to implement zoning regulations.

1. Controlled / Development/regulated Zone:

(a) Urbanizable Areas (including existing built-up/urban areas) The urbanisable areas should be controlled as per the approved Master/Development Plans of

respective town/urban centres. Within the Urbanisable area, the following uses shall be prescribed:

Residential

Commercial

Industrial

Public and Semi-Public / Government offices

Public Utilities

Transport and Communication

Open Spaces/Recreatinal Uses/park/playground/graveyard/cemetries/crematoriums

Manmade / Natural heritage areas/eco-sensitive areas/conservation areas

High Density / Transit Oriented Development with mix land use may be permitted on

transport/MRTS corridors

The prescribed uses in the Master/Development Plans will govern detailed land uses within the

urbanisable area. The Development Plans of most of the towns have been prepared within the broad

framework of the Regional Plan – 2021.

The provisioning of Rain water harvesting have already been made mandatory in the commercial,

residential and Industrial sectors and are being enforced in the Sub-Region. Further, the Land

Suitability Analysis will be carried out for greenfield developments.



(b) Agriculture (Rural) Zone within Controlled/Development / Regulated Areas The Development Plan of each town should cover the zoning regulation and development aspects to

achieve the sustainable growth of the towns. High productive/good quality agricultural land should be

conserved. The following uses shall be permitted and proposed in the zoning regulations of the

development plans:

1) Agricultural, horticultural crops and cash crops

2) Dairy and poultry farming including milk chilling station and pasteurization plants

3) Social forestry/plantations including afforestation

4) Non-polluting industries registered as RSI/SSI units subject to one of the following conditions:

(i) Located within half kilometer belt encircling the existing village abadi and approachable from a

public road/rasta other than scheduled road, national highways and state highways.

(ii) On public road/rasta not less than 30 feet wide other than scheduled roads, national highways

and state highways outside the half kilometre zone referred to in (1) above up to a depth of 100

metres along the approach road.

Note: Further restriction on setting up of industries shall be governed as per provisions of the

respective Development Plans.

(5) Non-polluting agro-based industries on public roads/revenue rasta not less than 30 feet wide other

than scheduled roads, National Highway and State Highway.

(6) The site should not fall within 900 metres restricted belt around defence installations.

(7) Land drainage and irrigation by hydro-electric works and tube well for irrigation

(8) Sanitary landfill, compost processing plant and other such activity sites with adequate protected belt

as prescribed in the CPHEEO Manual and the notifications issued by the Ministry of Environment and

Forests from time to time.

(9) Mining and extraction operations including lime and brick kilns, stone quarries and crushing subject

to the rules and approved site.

(10) Bus queue shelter and railway station

(11) Airports with necessary buildings

(12) Wireless Station, Microwave Towers/Stations and Telecommunication Centers

(13) Grain godowns, storage spaces at site approved by competent authority

(14) Weather station

(15) Telephone and electric transmission lines and poles

(16) Cremation and burial grounds

(17) Fuel filling station, service stations and repair workshops

(18) Power plant/sub-station/water works/treatment plants and other utility services

(19) Storage godowns for inflammable petroleum products such as LPG, petrol, diesel, kerosene, aviation

turbine fuel, light diesel oil and other petroleum products and lubricants with the approval of the

competent authority

(20) Village houses within abadi-deh

(21) Farm houses outside abadi-deh, and

(22) Expansion of existing village contiguous to abadi-deh including social institutions like schools,

dispensaries, veterinary centres and police posts if undertaken as a project approved or sponsored

by the Central Government or State Governments or government approved private institutions.

(23) Recreational and Tourist facilities



(24) High Density / Transit Oriented Development with mix land use may be permitted on

transport/MRTS corridors.

(25) Any other activity as per the zoning regulations of the notified development plans.

(c) Green buffers The green buffers along the transportation corridors should be maintained and regulated as per the

provisions of the respective Master/Development Plan of the towns.

It is proposed to increase the green cover along the transportation corridors (i.e. railway, national

highway, expressway etc) and that it should be protected and managed by the Forest Department. This

would increase the forest cover in the sub-region. However the following developments may be

permitted as per the existing development regulations of the Master Plan :

Approach / service roads

Agriculture and horticulture

Social forestry/plantations including afforestation

Fuel filling stations with amenities like toilets,STD booths, small repair shop, small tea/soft drink

and snack bar (with no cooking facility)

Toll Plaza, bus queue shelters, police booth, first aid centres and telephone booth.

Table 17-9 : Proposed Minimum buffers along Transportation Network

Transportation Network Proposed Buffer (meters)-Distance from the either side of ROW

Expressway/Bypass 100

National Highway 60

State Highway 30

Railway Line 30

2. Highway Corridor Zone

i. A 500 mts wide HCZ will be notified as a controlled area along all Expressways and

National Highways falling in the Sub-Region.

ii. In the Highway Corridor Zones ( excluding green buffers along highways) activities

permitted in ‘urbanisable area’,’agriculture zone within development/controlled

areas’ and the ‘green buffers’ prescribed in paras 17.4.2.1(a),1(b) and 1(c) of Zoning

Regulations will be permitted through Development Plans.

iii. Access to the expressways and highways will be regulated by the competent

authority.

iv. High Density / Transit Oriented Development with mix land use may be permitted on

transport/ MRTS corridors.

Development plan of these Belts/Controlled Areas shall be notified under respective State Act;

3. Natural Conservation Zone: This zone refers the environmentally sensitive areas including extension of Aravali ridge, forest

areas, the rivers and tributaries, sanctuaries, major lakes & water bodies etc. These areas have been

demarcated as Natural Conservation Zone and should be well preserved and protected. Controlled &

regulated development shall be permitted in these areas. In this zone the following uses activities

may be permitted:

(i) Agriculture and horticulture (ii) Pisiculture



(iii) Social forestry/plantation including afforestation (iv) Regional Recreational Activities with no construction exceeding 0.5% of the area

with the permission of the Competent Authority. Natural Conservation Zone includes the areas which are Forests or are to be treated as Forests in terms of the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court dated 12.12.1996/06.07.2011 as mentioned in para No. 14.2.1 of Chapter 14. Needless to say that the activities to be allowed in these areas will be only in accordance with the provisions of Indian Forests Act, 1927, Forest Conservation Act, 1980, Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 as well as Environment Protection Act, 1986. Moreover, Natural Conservation Zone may also include certain protected areas like Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park and eco sensitive zones of protected areas as notified by MoEF. The suggested landuse for these areas shall be as below:

A. Forests: Afforestation / plantation and other activities relating or ancillary to conservation, development and management of forests and wildlife, as per the Working Plan approved by the competent authority.

B. Protected Areas (Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park) Activities relating or ancillary to conservation, development and management of Wild Life and their habitat, as per the Management approved by the competent authority.

C. Eco-sensitive Zone of Protected Areas: As per the notification issued by the MOEF for Eco-sensitive Zone, with specific approval of the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) wherever required. Rest of the areas of Natural Conservation Zone, shall be governed by Zoning Regulations given at (i) to (iv) above.

3.1 No Construction Zone: The area of Manger Bani in revenue estate of village Mangar, District Faridabad has been identified as ‘No Construction Zone’ along with a belt of 60 metres around it. Accordingly, no construction in any form shall be allowed in this zone. This zone shall be depicted in the concerned development plan(s).

4. Agriculture (Rural) Zone outside Controlled/Development Areas The following activities/uses are permissible in addition to the activities/uses permitted in the “agriculture zone within controlled/development/regulated area” as indicated in para 17.4.2.1(b):

i) Intensive agriculture and allied activities such as dairying and poultry farming ii) Afforestation specially on the wastelands and barren lands iii) Regional recreational uses, regional parks, wildlife sanctuary iv) Educational facilities, schools, educational and training institutions including

engineering & medical college v) Health facilities, Dispensaries and Primary Health Centres and hospitals vi) Cemeteries vii) Quarrying viii) Brick kilns ix) Existing village Mandis/agricultural markets x) Rural industries xi) Farm houses, and xii) Solid Waste Management facilities

xiii) Ready Mix Concrete Plants, Wet Mix plants, Hot Mix Plants approved by the Competent Authority in the State Govt. and State Pollution Control Board.

Documents

Chapter 17 : SUB-REGIONAL LAND USE