CHENNAI: The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is now in a fix over relaxing setback violations for regularising unauthorised buildings. This is because the Madras High Court has warned that officials will be taken to task if they regularise buildings with such violations.This comes in the wake of the deadline to regularise unauthorised buildings built on or before July 1, 2007, coming to an end in the next 10 days (March 20).
Till now, the CMDA has received 18,601 applications for regularisation of building violations, of which 737 with setback violations have been regularised.The CMDA is now seeking legal opinion on filing a review petition against the Madras High Court order and also whether to carry out regularisation of buildings with setback violations.Official sources said 600 more applications for regularisation are presently under the CMDA’s consideration.
Section 113 of Town and Country Planning Act empowers the government to exempt building or class of buildings developed on or before July 1, 2007, from all or any of the provisions of the Act or any rule or regulation made there under, subject to guidelines.Sources indicated that the Advocate-General had suggested not to regularise setback violations of unauthorised buildings. However, the judgment is unlikely to affect the orders that had already been passed by the government in regularising or relaxing setback violations.
The Madras High Court on September 27, 2017, passed an order that said, “If any setback violations are regularised by authorities namely the CMDA, Chennai Corporation, Housing and Urban Development Department or such other authorities, they should be taken to task and they shall be posted in a non-sensitive post.”
Interestingly, the court judgment comes even as unauthorised constructions mushroom in the city. Town planners and activists had alleged that such activities were done in connivance with government officials as there were no checks or simply because of the inability to fix responsibility.Tragedies like 11-storeyed Moulivakkam building collapse or Chennai Silks fire have been blamed on developers, but no official from the CMDA was held responsible, developers alleged.
Building blocks
1 The deadline to regularise unauthorised buildings to end on March 20
2 Till now, CMDA has received 18,601 applications for regularisation of building violations
3 737 applications pertain to setback violations
4 Madras High Court on September 27, 2017, passed an order that if any setback violations are regularised by authorities, namely CMDA, Chennai Corporation, Housing and Urban Development Department, they should be taken to task