After a long wait, work on digitisation of old planning permission documents for buildings constructed in the Chennai Metropolitan Area has started. The work will be completed in three months.
“At least 1,000 planning permits are issued every year by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA). The retrieval of old documents is a challenge. We have issued work order for the digitisation of plan documents,” said an official.
Digitised copies of the approved plan copy, planning permit, approval letter and receipt of fees paid to the urban planning agency by the builder will be kept permanently available for the public, said the official.
According to sources, the CMDA has been destroying documents older than 10 years. Therefore, retrieval of detailed information related to issue of planning permission for many of the multi-storeyed buildings, IT buildings, special buildings, layouts or institutional buildings is not possible even when requests are made under the Right to Information Act.
“The CMDA only maintains a register of planning permission given for buildings constructed before 10 years. As a result, monitoring of violations in many such buildings is a challenge,” says an official. After the completion of digitisation work, officials would be able to check violations or plan documents on the same day of receiving a complaint.
Documents from 2007
While the CMDA started work on issue of planning permission in 1975, the digitisation would be restricted to documents related to planning permissions issued from 2007 to 2017.
The CMDA would use the database to regulate construction in the Chennai Metropolitan Area through issuance of Planning Permission under section 49 of the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act 1971.
Enforcement action against buildings that have violated development regulations even after getting completion certificate may increase after the digitisation work, officials said.
