Chandigarh, Sept. 7 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court has directed Chandigarh Administration to ensure structural stability of the buildings and the surrounding area while allowing installation of lifts in Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) multi-storey units. The high court bench of justice Anupinder Singh Grewal and justice Deepak Manchanda was hearing a plea from city residents, Nirupama Luthra and others demanding that UT be directed not to allow installation of lifts in high income group (HIG) flats of the CHB. In May, acting on the demand from senior citizens and persons with disabilities, the UT Estate Office had allowed the CHB unit dwellers to install lifts, but with necessary approvals. The installation was to be allowed provided the design is manually approved by a private architect empanelled with the UT administration. Before seeking design approval, the allottees had to obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the CHB. The conditions also included that before issuing an NOC, the administration will serve a 15-day notice to all allottees in the block so that they have the opportunity to opt in and contribute equally to the cost. The term "block" refers to all housing units connected by a common staircase. In older buildings that don't have sufficient internal space to accommodate lifts, the administration had granted permission to construct lifts on a nearby suitable land, subject to certain conditions. During the hearing, the petitioners counsel had told court that the petitioners are not against the installation of lifts per se, but they want to ensure the structural stability of the building, lifts and the surrounding area. The court disposed of with plea with directions that "while installing the lifts, the structural stability of the buildings, lifts and the surrounding area shall be ensured."...