CHENNAI: The state housing and urban development department recently issued a G.O. relaxing the ‘public purpose’ reservation norms for industrial layouts or industrial estates developed by the government departments or government agencies.
As per the order issued on June 29, government departments or agencies like SIPCOT (State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu) and TIDCO (Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation) are not required to transfer 0.5% of the project area to respective local bodies. The relaxation is also applicable to joint venture initiatives that include the government.
However, the 0.5% area should be reserved and maintained as a ‘public purpose’ reservation. An amendment has been made to Rule 47 sub rule (8) in the Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules, 2019, to include the new relaxation.
Previously, any promoter, including government agencies, developing layouts should reserve 1% of the project area for public purposes, in addition to the 10% Open Space Reserve (OSR). The promoters were mandated to transfer 0.5% of the project area to the local bodies and another 0.5% to the electricity department free of cost, through a registered gift deed before the actual sanction of the layout.
While the government industrial projects are exempted from transferring 0.5% to local bodies, the implementing government agencies should continue to hand over another 0.5% of land to the electricity department. Layout projects developed by private promoters should continue to do both.
A department source clarified that the move is to avoid delays in approving the industrial layout projects, and SIPCOT or TIDCO will continue to maintain the public purpose reserve.
Meanwhile, on July 3, the department issued an order to extend the timeline to receive applications from educational institutions, which were constructed prior to January 2011 in non-plan areas, to one year.