CHANDIGARH: The Haryana government is planning a major reduction in the state's National Capital Region (NCR) footprint, a move that could see districts such as Panipat, Karnal, Jind and Mahendragarh lose their NCR status. Under the proposal, the NCR area in Haryana would shrink from 25,327 square kilometres across 14 districts to 10,546 square kilometres, marking a reduction of nearly 60 per cent.
Sources said the Draft Regional Plan-2041, approved in principle at the National Capital Region Planning Board’s (NCRPB) 41st Board Meeting held on October 12, 2021, proposes limiting the NCR to a contiguous circular zone with a 100-kilometre radius from Rajghat in Delhi.
At present, 14 Haryana districts, Gurugram, Faridabad, Rohtak, Sonipat, Rewari, Jhajjar, Nuh (Mewat), Palwal, Panipat, Mahendragarh, Jind, Karnal, Bhiwani and Charkhi Dadri covering a combined area of 25,327 square kilometres fall within the NCR.
Sources further said that according to the agenda circulated among participating states for the NCRPB meeting scheduled for June 16, the re-delineation of the NCR boundary remains a key agenda item as the boundary principles proposed under Draft Regional Plan-2041 are set to be formally progressed.
Under the proposed boundary formula, the NCR area in Haryana would be reduced to 10,546 square kilometres, amounting to a reduction of approximately 60 per cent, as recorded in Chapter 1, Paragraph 1.7.1(viii)(b) of the plan document.
Haryana has adopted a stricter position by conveying its decision to retain only those tehsils within the NCR that fall entirely inside the 100-kilometre radius. If implemented, this rule could affect five to six districts.
While Panipat city, located around 88 to 95 kilometres from Delhi, is close to the boundary and may remain unaffected, the district extends well beyond the 100-kilometre limit. Karnal city, located approximately 113 to 121 kilometres from Delhi, lies clearly beyond the proposed radius, placing most of the district at risk of exclusion.
Mahendragarh is even farther away, at around 112 to 113 kilometres from Delhi, with no significant portion of the district close to the boundary, making it likely to be excluded. Bhiwani city is about 107 kilometres from Delhi and lies due west of the national capital, meaning some of its closer tehsils may remain within the NCR depending on the final boundary. Jind is located around 103 to 115 kilometres from Delhi and lies on the margin, with several tehsils extending beyond the proposed limit.
Charkhi Dadri, approximately 83 kilometres away in a straight line, appears to be the least affected as the city falls within the proposed radius, although some tehsils may still be excluded.
Sources said that, overall, the majority of the area in at least five Haryana districts faces exclusion from the NCR once the new boundary is formally notified.
To soften the impact, Haryana has proposed a one-kilometre corridor on both sides of 11 National Highways, including NH-44, NH-48 and NH-9, for continued inclusion within the NCR.
As Karnal and Panipat are located along NH-44, their urban areas could be retained under this highway corridor provision. Bhiwani may also benefit through NH-148B, while Charkhi Dadri could remain connected through NH-334B.
However, Jind and Mahendragarh are not located along any of the 11 designated highways and therefore do not have a similar corridor-based safeguard.
Sources pointed out that the draft plan does not specify which municipalities the state government wants to retain within the NCR. Haryana currently has nine Municipal Corporations. Of these, Gurugram, Faridabad, Manesar and Sonipat fall within the 100-kilometre radius.
Panipat Municipal Corporation, located on NH-44, is also likely to be retained. Karnal and Rohtak, being close to the proposed boundary and located on major highways, may also continue within the NCR framework.
The draft plan mentions only aggregate figures — 26 Municipal Committees, 13 Municipal Councils and seven Municipal Corporations — and notes that these details were "conveyed" to the NCRPB through a separate state-level communication that is not publicly available.
Exclusion from the NCR carries significant implications. Cities and towns outside the boundary would lose access to infrastructure financing from the NCRPB. Land-use and development regulations would revert entirely to Haryana’s Town and Country Planning framework, removing them from the overriding provisions of the NCRPB Act.
The proposed 30-minute rail connectivity network, Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridors and orbital rail planning under Regional Plan-2041 are designed only for areas within the NCR boundary.
Meanwhile, according to the agenda circulated for the upcoming NCRPB meeting, the concept of the Natural Conservation Zone (NCZ) under the NCR Regional Plan-2021 will be retained in the new Regional Plan-2041.
The agenda states: “The concept of ‘Natural Conservation Zone’ (NCZ) of NCR Regional Plan-2021 will be retained in the new NCR Plan-2041. All statutes, rules, notifications and orders of MoEF&CC, other Central Government ministries and orders of the Supreme Court and High Courts issued from time to time pertaining to NCZ will have to be strictly followed by the NCR constituents.”
Environmentalist Neelam Ahluwalia, who has been campaigning for the protection of the Aravallis, said, “This is a huge relief for citizens who have been campaigning for protection of the Aravallis for many years and those who opposed the ecological dilutions proposed in the Draft NCR Plan-2041 released in December 2021. In 2022, protests were held across the National Capital Region on this issue.”
Noted water conservationist and Aravalli activist Dr Rajendra Singh said, “If the concept of ‘Natural Zones’ proposed in the December 2021 Draft NCR Plan-2041 had been retained and implemented, it would have destroyed more than 70 per cent of the Aravallis and other crucial natural ecosystems across the National Capital Region, which includes Delhi, 14 districts in Haryana, eight districts in Uttar Pradesh and two districts in Rajasthan.”
He added, “According to the Draft Regional Plan-2041, the proposed ‘Natural Zone’ would comprise natural features such as mountains, hills, rivers, water bodies and forests that are notified for conservation under central or state laws and recognised as such in land records. This would have imposed a severe restriction because it would have excluded a majority of forests, the Aravallis, rivers, floodplains and water bodies in the NCR, as very few of them satisfy both criteria of notification and inclusion in revenue records. In many cases, they satisfy neither. By contrast, the NCR Regional Plan-2021, which has been in force since 2005, includes all Aravallis, forest areas and water bodies within the Natural Conservation Zone.”
