Jathiadevi anti-magnet township spans 177 villages, extends into Solan district

Shimla, Nov 7

The proposed Jathia Devi Anti-Magnet Township, conceived as an alternative planned urban centre to ease mounting population and infrastructure pressure on Shimla, has a planning jurisdiction spread over 177 revenue villages covering 7,657.05 hectares across Shimla and Solan districts.

The township was envisaged as a conscious planning intervention to counter the disproportionate expansion of Shimla, where urbanisation has been spreading rapidly along major highways and adjoining settlements. The objective was to develop an alternative growth centre with planned residential and urban infrastructure, thereby discouraging further concentration of population and commercial activities in the already densely populated capital region.

According to a notification issued by the Himachal Pradesh Town and Country Planning Department on January 18, 2024, the Jathia Devi Planning Area was constituted by transferring identified revenue villages from the existing Shoghi Special Area and Shimla Planning Area into a separate planning jurisdiction under the Himachal Pradesh Town and Country Planning Act, 1977.

The geographical spread of the proposed township extends beyond Shimla district, with as many as 50 revenue villages in Kandaghat tehsil of Solan district included within its boundaries. These villages account for 2,494.33 hectares and have a recorded population of 4,889 according to the 2011 Census.

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The remaining 127 villages fall in Shimla district. Together, the 177 revenue villages have a recorded population of 18,192, while the total geographical area works out to approximately 76.57 square kilometres.

The Solan component includes Sharer, Mundi Khurd, Mundi Kalan, Kanair, Nagalthi, Ser, Sunkhi, Kahla, Danwati, Sulani, Katoh and Dihari, among other villages.

The notification also specifies that the existing legal status of buildings and land-use restrictions will remain unchanged, as these areas were already covered under the Town and Country Planning Act.

The inclusion of villages across two districts gives the proposed anti-magnet township a wider regional planning dimension. It reflects an effort to create an alternative urban growth centre beyond Shimla’s existing municipal and peripheral areas, with the broader objective of promoting planned and decentralised urban development in the region.

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