Center withdraws revised zoning after backlash from ministries and infrastructure agencies

Less than four months after issuing a review of India’s earthquake zoning framework, the Center withdrew its own notification following a major backlash from several government departments, metro rail companies and infrastructure authorities anticipating a rise in construction costs of large projects across the country, The Hindu has learnt.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) issued a gazette notification on November 6, 2025, introducing revised zoning of areas vulnerable to earthquake hazard under the updated IS 1893 (Part 1): 2025 code, which governs the design of earthquake-resistant structures. The revised standard was intended to replace the existing IS 1893 (Part 1): 2016 framework that currently guides structural design standards across the country.

However, the revised notification has now been withdrawn through a new Gazette Notification of 3 March 2026, effectively restoring the previous code with immediate effect.

The reversal comes in the wake of strong objections from multiple government agencies, including the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), several north Indian railway companies, the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) and other infrastructure bodies which have pointed out the potential impact of the revised Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment (PSHA) framework on construction costs.

This development also has major implications for India’s construction sector, which has begun to express concerns about the potential rise in project costs. Developers have warned that the revised zoning framework could disrupt financing for ongoing projects, with some noting that several high-rise projects under construction could be at risk of becoming “stranded assets” if costs escalate sharply after the financial close.

The BIS notification issued in November last year significantly revised India’s seismic risk framework by incorporating updated PSHA-based modeling and new risk criteria. Under the proposed classification, more than 60% of India’s land area would fall under moderate to high seismic hazard zones, marking a major shift in seismic hazard mapping in the country.

One of the most notable changes in the revised framework was the introduction of a new high-risk zone VI, subjecting parts of Kashmir, the north-east and the Kutch region of Gujarat to more stringent seismic design criteria. Several other areas across the Himalayan belt are classified as Zone V, indicating significant earthquake vulnerability.

Such changes would have required major revisions in structural design standards for buildings and infrastructure projects, including stronger foundations, additional reinforcement in structural components and higher safety margins to withstand greater seismic forces.

One of the strongest objections to the revised zoning framework came from within the government itself. In a letter to the Cabinet Secretariat in February 2026, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs cited “certain technical and financial concerns” arising from the review of ISA 1893.

The agriculture ministry’s letter, obtained by The Hindu, said the proposed revision could have “materially significant financial implications on infrastructure and construction projects”, especially for large public works such as metro rail systems and urban infrastructure.

Officials familiar with the communications said the ministry highlighted the implications of metro rail projects in several cities, noting that higher risk values ​​would require stronger structural design and additional reinforcement, which could lead to a significant rise in construction costs.

According to officials familiar with the discussions, the National Dam Safety Authority also raised scientific objections to the revised risk values ​​when the draft was circulated to stakeholders in mid-2025.

Senior NDSA officials said the body examined the draft framework and found that the proposed risk standards were significantly higher than suggested by its own assessments.

“We reviewed the draft and felt that the values ​​were too high,” a senior official said. “The suggested risk value was much higher than what we were reading from our site investigations.”

Officials added that higher risk values ​​would automatically translate into higher costs for infrastructure projects.

“Once an area is classified as high seismic risk, you need stronger structures and additional safety measures, which increases infrastructure costs,” the official said.

Technical discussions within government agencies also raised questions about the methodology used in the revised seismic risk assessment. Experts acknowledged that the underlying scientific framework was solid, but noted that the peak ground acceleration values ​​proposed in the revised model were much higher than those typically used in international practice.

In high-level discussions following the November 2025 notification, experts noted that peak ground acceleration values ​​in the revised framework were allowed to rise to approximately 1 g, whereas global practice generally keeps them closer to 0.4 g. This raised questions about whether risk standards in India should be equated with highly seismic regions such as Japan or Taiwan.

The revised zoning map will also have major implications for the cost of infrastructure and housing projects across the country. One official familiar with these meetings explained that even relatively small changes in seismic design standards can have ripple effects on construction costs.

For example, a 10% increase in Shear Strength Calculations could result in a 1-2% increase in construction costs, as builders will need to use more cement, steel, and stronger foundation systems to meet revised structural integrity standards.

The impact was not uniform across the country. According to preliminary assessments within government agencies, about 45% of India’s land area will see no change in zoning, largely covering relatively stable Zone II and Zone III areas across south and central India.

However, about 42% of the country would have seen an increase in one region, including parts of Gujarat, northern India and the northeast, where the shift would have raised building construction costs by 10-20% due to more stringent design requirements.

A smaller but critical portion — about 6% of the country, including parts of the Himalayan belt and Gujarat — would see a rise in two regions, which officials said could push up construction costs for residential and institutional buildings by more than 30%.

Officials also warned that the impact would be particularly severe on dam infrastructure, where high seismic risk values ​​could have pushed construction costs up by 10% to 20% in many areas, and up to 50% in the most vulnerable areas, due to more stringent structural safety requirements.

The cost implications could extend beyond large infrastructure projects to ordinary housing construction. Officials noted that nearly 80% of housing in India falls under what engineers classify as “non-engineered” construction — typically self-built homes built without formal structural design or engineering oversight.

For these homeowners, revised seismic design standards would have meant much higher construction costs, potentially making townhouse construction prohibitively expensive in many areas.

By contrast, the remaining 20% ​​of “engineered” construction — largely formal real estate projects in urban areas — is likely to pass on higher construction costs to buyers, industry observers say.

The real estate sector also expressed concern about the economic impact of the proposed zoning changes.

Zoning classifications already influence construction costs across cities depending on the seismic class, a senior executive from a prominent real estate developer in south India said.

“In Chennai, we spend more on structure than we do in Bengaluru or Hyderabad because of zoning,” the executive said. “Chennai falls under Zone III, while Bengaluru falls under Zone II, so even for similar buildings, we end up spending more on structural elements.”

He added that the revised zoning framework could have resulted in higher costs in many cities.

“There were quite a few people in the industry who were not happy about this because the cost of construction would have been 15-20% higher than it currently is,” he said.

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