Mountain City (Jubbarhatti Township) Master Plan — HIMUDA's Counter-Magnet City for Shimla

What kind of "master plan" actually exists

There is no single, fixed master-plan document for Mountain City that has stayed unchanged over time. The project has been re-scoped at least three times since it was first conceived, and each version has its own land figures, costs and phasing. With the National Green Tribunal restricting construction in the Greater Shimla Planning Area, HIMUDA had decided to abandon the modern township project at Jathiadevi, near Jubbarhatti airport, after signing an MoU with Singapore on February 27, 2017. The project never took off because the NGT restricted construction to two and a half floors, making it economically unviable, and the MoU was scrapped in August 2019.

The name later resurfaced under two labels for what is largely the same Jubbarhatti/Jathia Devi site: HIMUDA received approval to acquire land for the establishment of new township 'Mountain City', near the Jubbarhatti airport, as a counter-magnet city to decongest Shimla city. Government press material and the 2024–2026 board minutes refer to the same site simply as the "Jathia Devi project."

Total planned area vs. area actually committed

Figures for total land differ by report and by date, and should not be added together as if they describe one static plan:

• Early concept (pre-2019, TCE master plan): Tata Consultants had already submitted a master plan for the satellite township to be spread over 1,944 bighas of land, with HIMUDA to begin work on 250 bighas while formalities for transfer of 350 bighas of land from the Industries Department were being fulfilled. This version was superseded after the Singapore MoU collapsed.
• Land-acquisition phase (2023–2025): HIMUDA had acquired 35 hectares at Jathia Devi, though around 100 hectares more would have to be acquired for the full-fledged self-sustaining township. That combined figure (~135 ha) is the land base referenced in most 2023–2025 reporting, and was still being pursued as of April 2025 acquisition updates.
• Current Phase 1 (approved Feb 2026): In the first phase of the Jathia Devi project, HIMUDA would develop 919 residential units on 21 bighas of land, with an estimated investment of Rs 1,327 crore.

In short: the 135-hectare figure is the land HIMUDA has acquired or is acquiring; the 21-bigha, 919-unit figure is the much smaller slice actually committed to construction as of early 2026. No published document confirms what share of the 135 hectares the current Phase 1 represents, and no overall completion year has been stated for the full township.

Timeline of the project

Land use and phasing approach

No published land-use split (percentage of area for residential, commercial, industrial, green/open space) has been located for Mountain City / Jathia Devi as of this writing, so no percentage breakdown is shown on this page. What is documented is the phasing approach itself: HIMUDA plans to develop the township in a phased manner with residential, commercial and civic infrastructure, ensuring planned growth and regulated urbanisation. The Jathia Devi Planning Area notification is a zoning/jurisdiction instrument — it defines which villages fall under regulated development control — rather than a parcel-by-parcel land-use map.

Population and employment targets

No official population or employment target figure has been published for Mountain City. The closest quantified metric available is the Phase 1 housing count: HIMUDA would develop 919 residential units on 21 bighas of land in the first phase of the Jathia Devi project. Earlier coverage of the broader counter-magnet strategy for Shimla notes the underlying rationale — Shimla's population rose from 13,960 in 1901 to 169,572 in 2011 and was projected to reach 210,277 by 2022 — but this is context for why a counter-magnet township was proposed, not a stated target for Mountain City itself.

Planner / consultant

Tata Consulting Engineers Ltd (referred to in some reports simply as "Tata Consultants") prepared and submitted the master plan for the satellite township. The firm's continued role was confirmed later: Tata Consulting Engineers Ltd delivered an in-depth presentation on the Jathia Devi project to the state government in August 2024.

Where to find official plan documents

No single downloadable "master plan PDF" for Mountain City/Jathia Devi was found publicly hosted at the time of writing. The primary official channels to check are:

• HIMUDA's official site for scheme notices, land-acquisition notices and board-meeting outcomes: himuda.hp.gov.in
• Himachal Pradesh government press releases (board-meeting summaries, cost/phase approvals): himachalpr.gov.in
• Town & Country Planning Department notifications (e.g., the Jathia Devi Planning Area notification under the Town and Country Planning Act, 1977) — published via state TCP Department gazette notices.

Readers should treat any figure on this page as provisional and check these sources directly for the latest board decisions, since the project's scope has changed multiple times since 2017.