CHENNAI: A year after granting Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) the power to issue planning permission for high-rise buildings, the state government has again made it mandatory for such buildings (taller than 18 metres) to get approval from the government, instead of the CMDA.
On Monday, the state government amended the Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules (TNCRB), 2019, to nullify the GO issued on April 21, 2022, that granted the power to the CMDA.
According to the new amendment, a multistorey building panel of CMDA will scrutinise the plan for high-rise buildings and forward it to the government along with its recommendations. The government will then issue an order regarding permission. The decision has been welcomed by real estate developers as it may end the delay caused by time taken by various committees of CMDA to clear files.
A developer said it is easier to get the approval from the minister rather than having to go through multiple channels for approval. “If there are any grievances, it can also be resolved by the minister directly,” he said.
Usually, it takes more than a month once it is recommended by the multistorey building (MSB) committee and sent to the minister for the application to be cleared. President of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI) S Sivagurunathan said developers are expecting that files, once recommended by the panel, would be cleared within 10 days. Officials, however, said it may all depend on the recommendations of the MSB committee.
‘Over 40 lakh square feet of construction work delayed’
On April 21, last year, former housing secretary Hitesh Kumar Makwana through a GO gave powers to the CMDA to give approvals to buildings above 18 metres to 30 metres. Constructions above 30 metres will have to be cleared by the High Rise Building panel chaired by vice chairperson of CMDA (housing secretary), CMDA member-secretary along with commissioners of Chennai, Avadi, Tambaram, municipality commissioners and executive officers of town panchayats. Current housing secretary Selvi Apoorva, however, said there have been flaws and it has been addressed by bringing in the amendment.
Under the new amendment, plan for high-rise buildings in Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA ) shall be scrutinized and forwarded to the government with the recommendation of a panel chaired by CMDA
member-secretary and by a panel chaired by the Director of Town and Country Planning for buildings outside the CMDAcmda. According to sources, several applications for high-rise buildings of above 30 metres height are pending for approval for nearly two months as the High Rise Building Committee headed by vice-chairperson of CMDA and various commissioners did not sit for nearly two months