Jathia Devi Planning Area Officially Notified

The Decision: Creation of Jathia Devi Planning Area

The Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department has created the Jathia Devi Planning Area by excluding 177 villages from the Shimla Planning Area. The notification issued by the TCP Department indicates that these 177 villages, falling in the Shimla and Shoghi Planning Areas in Shimla district and Kandaghat tehsil of Solan district, will be part of the new Jathia Devi Planning Area.

The 106 villages earlier falling under Shimla Planning Area, 21 villages falling under Shoghi Special Area and 50 villages which were part of Kandaghat tehsil in Solan district have been excluded from the Shimla Planning Area to create the new Jathia Devi Planning Area. This has been done under Section 66 and Section 13 of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1977.

Legal Authority and Regulatory Framework

"Consequent upon the exclusion of these revenue villages from Shoghi Special Area and Shimla Planning Area, the government, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub section (1) of section 13 of the Act, is pleased to constitute the new planning area namely Jathia Devi Planning Area by including 177 revenue villages," the notification read.

Officials said the Jathia Devi Planning Area had been created as a pre-requisite to the Centre's norms for seeking funding for the satellite township.

Project Context and Objectives

The HIMUDA proposes to set up a mountain township at Jathia Devi to function as a satellite township to the state capital. The aim is to decongest Shimla by shifting some offices and creating housing societies.

An agreement for setting up the satellite township was signed with a Singapore-based company during the tenure of the Virbhadra Singh government over a decade ago. However, the project became economically unviable due to restrictions imposed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on high-rise structures to curb unregulated and haphazard construction activity.

The Cabinet gave approval for relaxing norms for setting up Jathia Devi Mountain township primarily to decongest Shimla and have an independent planned satellite city providing affordable housing.

Land Acquisition Status

HIMUDA has already acquired 35 hectares land and 100 hectares more is being acquired. The Himachal Urban Development Authority (HIMUDA) has already acquired two chunks of 350 bighas and 250 bighas at Jathia Devi for the township. (Note: 1 hectare ≈ 2.47 bighas; these figures represent the same land parcels stated in different units.)

The Shimla airport is also located at Jathia Devi and the area is witnessing a lot of development activities.

Planned Development Scope (As of August 2026)

It has now been proposed that the township will have 21 bungalows, 73 villas, 31 residential apartment blocks (eight storey with parking), five apartment blocks (11 storey with parking), six commercial blocks, two mixed use blocks having 32 rooms intended for hotel use, primary school and commercial hall.

The Cabinet allowed relaxation in setbacks, height of floors and building as the satellite township is being set up in larger public interest.

Conditions and Environmental Requirements

The Cabinet approved the real estate project subject to several conditions such as no tree would be cut at the site without the prior approval of the Forest Department, the no objection certificate (NOC) for environment clearance would be submitted before commencing construction work and the NIT or the IIT would vet the geo-technical investigation and structural design report.

Planned Development Framework

The creation of the new planning area of Jathia Devi will ensure planned and regulated development as per the TCP norms.

The Himachal Pradesh government is planning a major urban expansion initiative with the development of a satellite township at Jathia Devi, approximately 14 km from Shimla. The project is being considered under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model and aims to reduce congestion in the state capital by decentralizing administrative functions and housing development.

Funding and Implementation Strategy

The state government has submitted a proposal seeking ₹500 crore from the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs under the Urban Challenge Fund to support this ambitious project. However, the request has not yet received approval, posing challenges to the project's financial viability.

The cost of the township to be developed in the public private partnership (PPP) mode has escalated to over Rs 1,500 crore. (as of August 2026)