Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government has introduced a set of restrictions to speed up the district-level scrutiny of building permit applications, following complaints of delays in processing construction approvals.
Outside the Chennai Metropolitan area, building permissions are handled through the Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) via district offices. Applications submitted online are reviewed by these offices, but slow scrutiny has reportedly led to delays in granting approvals.
To address this, the state has directed that construction permissions should be issued within 21 days from the date of receipt of an application, with procedures kept transparent. DTCP Commissioner Kiran Gurrala has now issued an order listing 15 rules for officials and seven rules for applicants.
Key directions include conducting a site inspection within the first week of receiving an application, seeking clarifications within a week based on field findings, and avoiding fresh queries that create new issues outside the prescribed process. The head office will review the quality of clarifications sought by district officials.
The order also states that applicants must submit all required enclosures at the time of filing, upload drawings only after ensuring compliance with public building rules, provide survey sketches showing development within a 500-metre radius, and file applications only through duly registered professionals. If clarifications are not provided, officials must issue a warning that the application will be returned after seven days.
