Bhopal: Around 1,200 families living in the cantonment area of Pachmarhi, a popular hill station in Madhya Pradesh, have welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to lift a 25-year-old ban on construction and restrictions on building heights, saying the order fulfilling their long-standing demand will change the lives of residents.
A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai and justice K Vinod Chandran on Wednesday lifted the construction ban, granting permission to residents to construct buildings up to four storeys (ground plus three floors) on their land and allowing development in the region.
During the hearing, senior advocate Vivek Tankha, representing the Pachmarhi Cantonment Board, pointed out that the plots in the cantonment area and argued in favour of increasing the heights of the buildings.
“The average plot size in Pachmarhi is 300 square feet, making systematic construction difficult. The court granted the permission and it would improve the economic prospects of locals,” advocate Uttam Anand Sharma, who worked with Tankha on the case, said.
Welcoming the decision, Sanjay Pal, a local resident, said: “We were living in dilapidated houses due to this ban. More than 1,200 families were affected. The Supreme Court’s permission will change the lives of people from Pachmarhi.”
The special area development authority, a government body responsible for all development planning and execution, also hailed the top court’s verdict. “The people of the hill station fought a long battle. Now people will be able to fulfil their dream of living in a pucca house,” Pachmarhi special area development authority’s former chairman Kamal Dhoot said.
{{/usCountry}}The special area development authority, a government body responsible for all development planning and execution, also hailed the top court’s verdict. “The people of the hill station fought a long battle. Now people will be able to fulfil their dream of living in a pucca house,” Pachmarhi special area development authority’s former chairman Kamal Dhoot said.
{{/usCountry}}Wildlife experts and activists, however, sounded caution for unchecked and unplanned construction in the ecologically sensitive area.
“The state government should keep a check on construction as Pachmarhi is the only hill station of the state. With its rare plant species in hilly areas, the Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve is spread across nearly 5,000 square kilometres. Like Uttarakhand, disaster may happen [here] due to unplanned construction work,” state wildlife activist Ajay Dubey said.
The apex court’s order followed the state government’s May 6, 2025 decision to exclude 395.95 hectares of land from the Pachmarhi Sanctuary, which was originally notified in 1977 under Section 18(1) of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. The reclassification of this land under Nazul (government-owned) permits legal transactions including purchase, sale, and development.
For decades, residents struggled to maintain or repair their homes, many of which are in dilapidated state, due to a construction ban imposed by the Madhya Pradesh high court in 2000. The sanctuary notification lacked clear demarcation, leading to confusion and restrictions on development. The high court order had come on a petition filed against the construction of hotels and other buildings within the sanctuary area.
The high court also constituted a six-member committee, which later recommended that the Nazul area under SADA and the army cantonment on the Pachmarhi plateau be excluded from the sanctuary boundaries.
In an interim order in 2004, the high court directed the exclusion of cantonment and civil/nazul area of the hill town and 33 revenue villages from the Pachmarhi sanctuary. The Supreme Court accepted the panel’s recommendations for excluding 395.939 hectares of civil/nazul land from the sanctuary.
The modern-day Pachmarhi traces its history back to 1857, when Captain James Forsyth of the Madras Infantry in the British Army and Subhedar Major Nathoo Ramji Powar noticed the plateau en route to Jhansi.
Later, it was developed as a sanatorium for British troops in the Central province, and Powar was made Kotwal-in-charge of the armoury. Till the 1967, Pachmarhi also served as the summer capital for the Central province. Pachmarhi is a small community, and most of its land is under the administration of the army’s cantonment board.