Gurugram’s guest house owners hit by new policy demand easing of area norms

Guest house owners in the city, who have been affected by the state government’s new policy notified on July 17, have demanded that plots of smaller size on sector roads should also be allowed to operate such facilities.

Around 800 to 900 such plot owners face closure of their guest houses due to area norms stipulated by the new rules, said a group of guest house owners united under the aegis of Guest House Policy Amendment Forum during a press conference on Wednesday. The forum members said that they met chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and PWD minister Rao Narbir Singh on Monday, who heard their grievances and assured them of help after the assembly elections.

As per the new guest house policy, minimum area of a plot should be 500 square yard but clubbing of two smaller plots is allowed to meet the criteria.

The forum members said that the new rules have made it difficult for a large number of guest houses to get permission due to the size criterion. “Our primary contention is that on the same road a guest house owner who has a 500 sq yard plot is being given permission to operate, but the same is being denied to another owner who has a 342 sq yard plot. We want that the same yardstick should be applied irrespective of the size, if the property is on the same road,” said Vivek Narang, who addressed the press conference.

The members also said that there are around 700 to 800 such guest houses on smaller plots, which are either functional or ready to be opened and have been hit hard by the new policy. “We are not seeking permission to operate inside a sector. But the owners of plots measuring 360 sq yards, 342 sq yards, and 263 sq yards on a sector road should be allowed to operate the guest houses,” said Aman Bhardwaj, another owner.

As per the Haryana Shahri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) rules, a sector road has a minimum width of 30 metres and it separates one sector from the other.

The department of town and country planning, which has notified the new policy, said that the earlier norm for a guest house was 1,000 sq metres, which has been brought down to 420 sq metres and clubbing of smaller plots is allowed. “A guest house is a higher level service and large space is required as per norms. We have received the request from owners and this will be sent to government for consideration,” said Sudhir Chauhan, senior town planner.