CHENNAI: The delay in getting approvals for buildings and layout plans will come down further as the state housing and urban development department has proposed to introduce an AI-enabled online planning approval system called Single Platform for Efficient Expedited Development (SPEED).
As per the revised Budget estimates, SPEED will integrate Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP), and rural and urban local bodies, which grant approvals at various levels, to provide planning permissions to the public across the state in a timely and transparent manner. SPEED will be developed at a cost of Rs 40 crore.
While welcoming the move to introduce AI technology, S Ramaprabhu of Builders’ Association of India (BAI) cautioned that the government should ensure all the records related to revenue and registration departments are digitised before launching the new initiative.
“The AI system should be monitored at every level and all property documents should be linked with Aadhaar. On the other hand, beneficiaries are getting plan approvals under self-certification schemes within 10 minutes. The AI system will further reduce the duration,” he added.
If implemented, Tamil Nadu will be the first state to adopt AI technology to issue building plan approval in the country.
“If AI-enabled SPEED is implemented successfully it will result in faster approvals and reduce interest costs for developers, translating into lower prices for end users,” said Mehul H Doshi, president, CREDAI Chennai.
Comprehensive master plan for Chennai
The government has allocated `25 crore to CMDA to prepare a comprehensive master plan for the expanded Chennai Metropolitan Area, covering 5,904 sq.km to serve as a roadmap for its long-term growth and transformation. This plan will be benchmarked against global best practices and internationally acclaimed metropolitan planning frameworks.
Presently, CMDA is preparing the Third Master Plan (2027-2046), covering an area of 1,189 sq.km, and a draft plan is expected to be released in a few months.
Amid reports that CMDA is under financial stress due to the implementation of ‘Vada Chennai Valarchi Thittam’ taken up during the earlier regime, the revised budget did not make any allocation for VCVT projects.
In total, under the revised Budget estimates, `8,852 crore has been allocated for the housing and urban development department. The interim budget presented by the previous DMK government in February had allocated `7,547 crore.