Plots on approved layouts, layouts covered under the 2017 regularisation scheme, and plots registered by a deed before October 20, 2016, are eligible for the Tamil Nadu government’s scheme of self-certification of residential buildings in urban areas. It was launched recently.
Such buildings will have to be on a plot of up to 2,500 square feet or will have a built-up area of up to 3,500 square feet and two dwelling units. They can have either ground floor or ground plus one floor up to a maximum of seven metres in height.
Applications for self-certified buildings are exempt from payment of scrutiny fees. But, once other necessary charges/fees are paid, the approved plan and proceedings, along with QR code and the applicant’s e-signature, will be generated online “instantly” and will be available for download, according to the amended Combined Development and Building Rules, 2019.
Infrastructure and amenities charges are not applicable to the self-certified buildings. Completion certificates will not be required either. The permission granted under the Rules will be valid for five years and extendable by three more years. The fees for permit renewal will have to be paid as specified by the authorities.
A single window portal (https://onlineppa.tn.gov.in/about-thhub) has been launched for facilitating planning permission to be provided through self-certification. However, the scheme will not be applicable to areas falling under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) and the Hill Area Conservation Authority (HACA), in addition to land classified as agricultural, institutional, non-urban, special and hazardous, open space and recreational use.
The Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) Department issued an order on July 18, besides the two orders issued by the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Department the same day.
To extend the scope of the scheme to villages, the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RD&PR) Department issued an order on July 16. The rates of development charges and building plan approval fees, stipulated by the department, are exclusive of the Construction Workers’ Welfare Fund charges, which will be collected separately in the self-certification module.
However, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami and sections of the builders have said the charges have been doubled in the name of “rationalisation of fees for house building plan approvals”. A senior official said the measure was aimed at consolidating fees charged under different heads.
