CHB houses in Chandigarh no longer need the Board's NOC for rooftop solar

What happenedCHB order of 13 Oct 2026: no NOC for rooftop solar on CHB houses

The Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) no longer asks its allottees for prior approval or a no-objection certificate (NOC) before they put up rooftop solar. CHB's order, dated 13 October 2026 and issued in the name of its chairman, H Rajesh Prasad, says the UT Administrator has allowed this as a need-based change, CHB's term for changes allottees may make to their homes, for all CHB dwelling units, with immediate effect. In the order's words, “No prior approval / NoC is required from CHB”. The panels must be put up strictly within the guidelines of PM Surya Ghar, the national rooftop scheme, through CREST, the Chandigarh Renewable Energy, Science and Technology Promotion Society.

The Tribune reported the change on 15 October. It said the change covers more than 66,000 CHB houses, and that the UT Administrator, Gulab Chand Kataria, approved it.

CHB's earlier rules had set conditions for solar on a shared roof. Item 25 of CHB's order of 3 January 2023 on need-based changes let allottees put solar panels on the terrace only with the consent of all the allottees of the block, and with a structural stability certificate on CHB's form from a structural engineer on the Chandigarh Administration's panel. After a review of that order in the light of a 2023 Supreme Court judgement, CHB said in an order of 10 March 2026 that it would put clauses 1 to 21, 24 and 26 to 28 into effect. Clauses 22, 23 and 25, the solar clause, were not on the list, and the order gave no reason. CHB's published orders do not make clear how the solar rule stood between March and October.

The shared roof is not a new issue. The Tribune reported on 2 December 2025 that residents' welfare associations had raised a CHB roof-right issue at a meeting on the national scheme in Chandigarh. The report said it was holding back rooftop solar in nearly 60,000 CHB flats, and the groups asked for a policy change. Concerns were also raised about accepting a power of attorney and other documents for installation approvals.

The new order says it replaces all earlier orders on the matter. It does not mention the consent of the other allottees of a block, or the structural certificate. Neither the order nor The Tribune's report says how the owner of a flat shows the right to use a roof shared with the rest of the block.