Building near Bhimtal, Naukuchiatal or Sattal lake: what to check first

The lakes are why so many families want to live here: Bhimtal, Naukuchiatal, Sattal, Khurpatal and Naini lake itself. They are also fragile, and a plot within sight of the water attracts more rules and more scrutiny than an ordinary hill plot. Sort these questions out before you pay an advance, not after the drawings are made.

Why lake areas are treated differently

• The lakes are fed by springs and streams in their catchments. Building over a recharge area cuts the water that reaches the lake; Sukhatal, for example, is a key recharge zone for Naini lake.
• Sewage and runoff from new buildings end up in the water if drainage is not planned.
• The slopes around Nainital have a long history of landslides, from the 1880 Sher-ka-Danda slip to the ongoing trouble at Balia Nala.
• Excavated earth dumped downhill blocks streams and eventually reaches the lake.

Court orders and what they mean for you

The Uttarakhand High Court has, in past orders, directed that no fresh construction take place within 2 km of the Bhimtal, Nainital, Khurpatal, Sattal and Naukuchiatal lakes until a specialised institution had assessed how much building those areas can carry. The National Green Tribunal has also examined illegal construction in the Nainital lake catchment. How such orders stand today, and how the authority applies them to a particular plot, can change. For any plot within walking distance of a lake, this is the first question to settle.

What to check for a plot near a lake

1. 01Distance from the lake, and the land use shown for the plot in the master plan.
2. 02Whether any part of the plot is forest land, green belt or a recharge area. A lot of land around Sattal is forest, where private building is not possible at all.
3. 03Signs of slope movement: cracks in nearby walls and roads, leaning trees, springs appearing after rain.
4. 04Sewer connection. If there is none, there must be room for a septic tank and soak pit at a safe distance from the water and from neighbours' springs.
5. 05Access. Lanes around Naukuchiatal and Sattal are narrow, which affects both the rules and the cost of carrying material in.
6. 06Seasonal streams (gadheras) crossing or bordering the plot. They look harmless in May and are not harmless in August.

Our site checklist for plots near Kainchi Dham, Bhimtal and Sattal covers the rest of what to look at on the ground.

Designing lightly near water

• A smaller footprint that steps with the slope instead of a large cut into the hill. See designing a house on a sloping plot.
• Retaining walls with proper weep holes and drains, so water is led away rather than trapped. Here is how retaining walls on hill plots should be built.
• Roof water collected, stored or led into recharge pits, not thrown onto the slope below.
• Excavated soil used on site or carted away, never tipped into a nala.
• Setbacks respected on every side; on lake slopes they also protect the neighbour below. See setbacks, height and floor area rules.

Planning a homestay by the lake?

Many lake-side plots are bought for a homestay. Registration has its own conditions on top of the building rules, including who can register and how many rooms are allowed. Read building a homestay in Bhimtal, Nainital or near Kainchi Dham before you fix the number of rooms.

Orders and zoning around the lakes change, and they apply plot by plot. As a DLDA approved building planner in Bhimtal, we check what applies to your land before you commit to it.

[S-01] Related serviceDLDA Approved Building PlannerBuilding maps drawn to the by-laws and taken through DLDA approval for you.