BIS scraps new seismic zonation plan after govt flags construction cost surge

New Delhi: Three months after the Centre announced a new seismic zonation for India with an additional Zone 6 covering the entire Himalayan arc in the highest risk zone and almost 60% of Indian land mass in moderate to high-risk zone - the 2024 version of IS 1893- the new seismic code bringing stricter construction and building safety standards has now been withdrawn.

In a significant regulatory reversal, the previous standard IS 1893 of 2016 is back in effect, it is learnt. A March 3 gazette notification by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) confirms that its previous November 6, 2025, notification on updated IS 1893 of 2025, 'stands withdrawn with immediate effect'. ET gathers that the BIS withdrew the Code earlier this week following the intervention of the Cabinet Secretariat. The latter is learnt to have stepped in after the ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) raised concerns over inadequate stakeholder consultation and huge construction cost escalation involved in meeting new earthquake resistant building standards.

MoHUA argued that the 2025 code impacted several projects and the real estate sector at large, stalling residential as well as infrastructure construction besides introducing additional costs of possible retrofitting: an estimated 10%-15% cost hike in Zone VI and V alone.

ET gathers that the Cabinet Secretariat also cautioned that the seismic code must be revised only after full stakeholder consultation and a comprehensive financial impact assessment, besides allowing for a phased transition rather than a blanket switch. "MoHUA raised serious red flags over the new code with the Cabinet Secretariat pointing out how it would hugely push up construction costs by more than 20% for residential buildings and up to 50% for infrastructure projects. Technical feasibility of implementing some of the mandated Zone VI areas was also questioned, besides the inadequacy of consultations with developers and other stakeholders before the announcement of the Code," an official well versed with the issue said.

"Overall, it was felt that the new seismic zonation and mandated construction design elements were far too theoretical and did not factor in that even current seismic construction requirements are hardly complied with. A more stringent regime, when even the existing one was poorly followed, did not make much sense. Many also felt that the 2025 assessment of earthquake risks was far too high given that over the last decade, there has not been much change in the country's earthquake profile to warrant such a move," the source added.

Previously, the Indian landmass was divided into four seismic zones- II, III, IV and V. The November 2025 BIS notification introduced Zone VI bringing the entire Himalayan arc - from J&K to Arunachal Pradesh- in the latter. Earlier it was split between Zone IV and V.

The new code also upgraded several cities to high-risk zones and termed any city located on the border of two seismic zones as part of the higher-risk zone- impacting numerous cities from Jaipur to Ahmedabad to Alwar. It also brought in numerous new safety features seeking retrofitting of critical infrastructure such as hospitals and schools, strengthening of non-structural elements in buildings and the need for strict verification of real estate projects for earthquake resistant construction.