CHENNAI: Continuing its measures to simplify and expedite issuance of building plan approvals across Tamil Nadu, the state government is now mulling over a further reduction in the time frame for issuing such permissions to 21 days.
R Kirlosh Kumar, secretary of the housing and urban development department, told TNIE that efforts are under way to implement the 21-day time frame as soon as possible. “We have to improve the (online) system in a way to allow the authorities to dispose of the applications within 21 days,” he said.
A department source said that the decision was to ensure timely disposal of approvals as well as to ensure transparency. As per current norms, planning authorities such as the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) and the Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) should process plan permission applications within 30 days.
A few days ago, the municipal administration and water supply department issued orders to urban local bodies, including the Greater Chennai Corporation, across the state to issue building plan permissions within 27 days. Urban local bodies have powers to approve building plans for construction of structures up to ground-plus-two floors and stilt+three floors having up to eight dwelling units. The CMDA and the DTCP issues the permission for larger structures.
Further, on June 15, the government issued an order simplifying the building plan approval process for high-rise buildings (HRB) in Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) by delegating powers to the CMDA.
Self-certification extended to small industries
With the integration of self-certification features for small-scale white and green industries complete, the housing department’s self-certification portal went live on Monday.
The portal will benefit micro, small and medium enterprises with a built-up area up to 5,000 sq ft on land measuring up to 7,500 sqft. A government order was issued in October 2025 to extend the self-certification scheme to the small industries. The self-certification portal for small residential buildings on 2,500 sq ft land is already in use. S Ramaprabhu of the Builders Association of India opined that the move will ensure simple, faster and hassle-free approvals which will promote growth of industrial and construction sectors.