Delay will imply nod for plans of compact buildings: Deputy CM Panneerselvam

Applicable to buildings under 1,200 sq. ft

Buildings less than 1,200 sq. ft. in area will be deemed to have been approved if planning permission is not given within 30 days of submission of applications, Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam announced in the Assembly on Saturday.

This would be applicable to areas under the jurisdiction of the Directorate of Town and Country Planning(DTCP) and Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA).

Mr. Panneerselvam, who holds the the Housing and Urban Development portfolio, made the announcement while concluding the debate on the demands for grants of the department.

Earlier, initiating the discussion, he told the House that under the scheme of regularisation of unauthorised buildings, CMDA had received 3,434 applications and DTCP 3,305.

The scheme, which covered buildings built till July 1, 2007, would be in force till December 21. In view of the Madras High Court’s orders, CMDA and DTCP had been processing the applications but no orders were passed.

As for regularisation of plots/layouts, 62,726 applications were made to the CMDA online. for their individual plots. Local bodies coming under the Chennai Metropolitan Area had forwarded 4,535 unapproved layout frameworks, seeking in-principle approval from the Authority. As on May 21, CMDA gave its nod for layout frameworks to 4,374 unapproved layouts.

DTCP has received online applications for 46,212 layouts, 5,93,575 individual plots and 1,57,663 sub-divided properties.

In February this year, the government modified the scheme to enable owners of individual plots in unapproved layouts to apply for regularisation of their properties. The pre-requisite was that applications for the layouts should have been submitted on or before November 18, 2018.

So far, DTCP had regularised 16,828 layouts, fetching a revenue of about ₹751 crore. The amount would be used for development of infrastructure in the layouts, Mr. Panneerselvam added.

A senior government official clarified that though the deadline for unapproved layouts expired in November last year, owners of plots in layouts for which applications were given before the deadline were still eligible to apply.