Tamil Nadu Combined Development And Building Rules, 2019: An Insight
INTRODUCTION:
On February 2, 2019, the Tamil Nadu government
notified the Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules, 2019 (“Rules”) that revised the existing rules
under the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971 (“TN Act”) and combined
the development regulations of the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority
(“CMDA”) and the regulations for the
rest of the state coming under the purview of the directorate of town and
country planning. These Rules apply to developments, redevelopments, part
constructions or reconstructions and to any additions or alterations to a
building. The main objective behind the Rules are to simplify and streamline
the process of obtaining permits by developers and to impose accountability to
maintain standards and certain social obligations on developers and
professionals like engineers and architects working in the construction
industry.
MANNER
OF OBTAINING PERMISSION:
For any
type of developments two kinds of approvals have to be obtained which are the
planning permission and the building permit. The former is obtained from the
CMDA and the latter from the respective city municipal corporation and both
were governed by different laws and regulations making the process of obtaining
permission for construction quite tedious and time consuming for the
developers. The Rules combine development regulations for
Chennai metropolitan area, rules for the rest of the state to be adhered for
obtaining planning permission under TN Act and integrate building
rules for obtaining building permits under the respective Acts and regulations
of local Governments. Further, under these Rules there are only two kinds of
buildings that can be constructed namely, high rise buildings which is above
18.30 meters in height and non-high rise buildings.
The applicant seeking permission to develop the land
should either be the owner, leaseholder or power of attorney holder and should along
with the application submit proof of ownership, detailed plans, specifications,
site plan, key plan and topo plan for development of land and buildings.
Further, the applicant also needs to remit scrutiny fee to review the
application along with the plans. Before giving permission, the competent
authority may conduct inspection of the site to assess any risks involved in
the development. If
the plan and information furnished by the applicant do not provide all the particulars
necessary to process the application satisfactorily, the competent authority[1]
may within 15 days from the date of receipt of plans or applications require
the production of such further particulars and details as it deems necessary. If the plan and the information furnished by
the applicant are found to satisfy the requirements of these Rules, the
competent authority shall issue the written permission within 45 days after the
receipt of the plan and all other requirements.
STRICT CONFIRMITY WITH THE RULES:
The Rules have to be strictly adhered to as no land, premises or building shall be developed,
constructed, altered, reconstructed, subdivided, changed or put to use which is
not in conformity with the provisions of these Rules. The developments need to
be either in conformity with detailed development plan or the master plan as
applicable to it. In furtherance of this objective, the Rules require the owner
or registered developer to submit a completion report certifying that the
building has been constructed as per the approved plan in order to obtain a
completion certificate. Only after obtaining the completion certificate can the
owner or developer apply for service connections like electricity and water.
REGISTRATION
OF PROFESSIONALS:
The Rules make it mandatory for professionals in the
construction industry like Architects, Engineers, Structural engineers,
Construction engineers, Quality auditors, Town planners and Developers to
register themselves with the competent authority by paying a fee of INR 5000.
The committee to screen the applications of these professionals shall be
constituted by the Chennai Corporation, Commissioner of Municipal
Administration and the Directorate of Rural Development. The registered professionals should clearly indicate
on all plans and documents their designation and registration details. They
have onus not to participate in any development or construction that is in contravention
of the TN Act and these rules and bring to the notice of the competent
authority any deviations that they are aware of.
SOCIAL AND
ENVIRONMENTAL OBLIGATIONS:
1. In any development proposed, where the Floor Space Index (FSI) area
exceeds 4000 square meters either the applicant shall provide housing for lower
income groups for an extent of 10 % of Floor Space Index area with dwelling units
not exceeding 40 square .meters in carpet area or shelter charges as prescribed
in the TN Act. The rate of shelter charges
payable shall be 1% of the Guide Line Valve (GLV).
2. In order to make access easier for the elderly,
differently- abled and children all buildings and facilities used by the public
such as educational, institutional, assembly, commercial, business, mercantile
buildings and group housing constructed on plots having an area of more than 2000
square meters, shall be specially designed taking into consideration the needs
and comfort of such persons.
3. The Rules cast the duty upon any person who
constructs a building within 15 metres of a water body to take adequate
measures to prevent passing of waste from the building into the water body and
contaminating it.
4. The Rules mandate the installation of solar
water heating system in high rise common use buildings like hospitals, hostels,
railway stations, hotels, educational institutions, government buildings and
private residential buildings depending on the floor area. The executive authority before issuing
building permit for the construction of new building shall ensure if it has a
provision in the building design itself for an insulated pipeline from the
rooftop in the building to various distribution points where hot water is
required. Further, installation of solar energy system is mandatory in
all buildings in the category of high rise buildings and non-high rise
buildings exceeding 16 dwelling units and 300 square meter of commercial
building.
CONCLUSION:
The Rules will assist in streamlining the construction industry and promoting ease of doing business. The Central Government passed the Real Estate Regulatory Development Act in 2016 mandating registration of projects and real estate agents and the regulations have been enforced in Tamil Nadu among other states. By mandating registration of professionals and placing accountability on them the Rules further the goal of enhancing the regulation of the real estate industry and making it more transparent for all parties involved that will in turn stimulate the industry.
Contributed by – Bhavani Navaneedhan
[1]
The competent authority for issue of planning permission in Chennai
Metropolitan Area is, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority or a Local
Authority concerned to whom the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority has
delegated the powers for issue of Planning Permission.
The competent authority for issue of Planning Permission in the rest of the State is, the Appropriate Planning Authority delegated by the Directorate of town and city planning
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