Now, common portal for planning permits in TN

Builders and citizens will soon have an exclusive, State-level online portal to apply for building plan approvals and other permits, as the Housing and Urban Development department has taken measures to create a single-window portal to avoid confusions and ensure transparency.

The department has appointed Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency (TNeGA) as the nodal agency for developing the web portal.

"The development of the online portal is nearing completion. A review meeting was conducted last week with officials from Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), Greater Chennai Corporation, Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) and Commissionerate of Municipal Administration," an official said.

During the meeting, the officials were apprised of the features of the new web portal and collected suggestions from them. The new web portal is being developed following the notification of Tamil Nadu Combined Development Regulations and Building Rules.

Once the Housing and Urban Development department rolls out the single-window portal, the public could apply for building plan permissions through it irrespective of the locations of the construction. Presently, builders have to use individual web portals of the Corporation, CMDA, DTCP and other local bodies while applying for planning permission.

Recently, the CMDA and Chennai Corporation had mandated online system for building plan approvals. In the case of Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) alone, the builders have to visit CMDA website for big construction projects and Chennai Corporation website for the small projects. For the buildings less than stilt-plus-three floors and ground-plus-two floors, builders should visit Chennai Corporation website.

The new web portal would include processing of planning permissions, building permission applications, completion certificate and occupancy certificate. Builders would also be able to apply for layout approval for lands coming under the jurisdiction of DTCP, Chennai Corporation and the Commissionerate of Municipal Administration. Once the applications are filed through new portal, they would be routed to the concerned department for scrutiny.

"The portal will also have details about architects, licensed surveyors and engineers who have been mandated to register their profile. Presently, these details are available in CMDA and Chennai Corporation websites," the official added.