TN's self-certification fee for planning permission double as that of existing system, flays consumer organisation
The government recently amended the rules and permitted people to obtain planning permission and building permits through a single-window system based on self certification.
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COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore Consumer Cause has urged the state government to reduce exorbitant fees levied under self certification scheme for building plan approvals.
The government recently amended the rules and permitted people to obtain planning permission and building permits through a single-window system based on self certification.
“But the fee remains too high and isn’t beneficial to people. For instance in the Coimbatore Corporation, it costs Rs 88,000 under the self certification system for a 1000 sq ft building as against 37,800 under the existing normal procedure, which is an increase by 132 per cent. For a 2000 sq ft building, the increase has been 143 per cent, from Rs 72,300 to Rs 176000 and 173 per cent increase for 3000 sq ft buildings from 96,560 to 264000,” said K Kathirmathiyon, secretary of Coimbatore Consumer Cause in a petition to Municipal Administration and Water Supply department.
Similarly, in all local bodies the fees for a self certified system has been much more than the existing fees, which would not encourage people to opt for a self certification system at all. Therefore, the public should be given the option to get approval as per the existing procedure also.
In its order, the Municipal Administration and Water Supply department has notified that building permissions granted based on self certification does not require a completion certificate.
“How completion certificate is possible at the time of granting approval itself, which is claimed to be waived. Further, building completion certificate is already exempted for dwelling unit’s upto 8,072 sq ft,” he said
Besides reducing the cost of the self certification scheme to the existing level, the Coimbatore Consumer Cause sought to know why plots in DTCP approved layouts in HACA area are ineligible for the scheme.
“All sites in DTCP approved layouts and regularized plots in unapproved layouts should be considered since they are eligible for plan approval under normal existing scheme,” Kathirmathiyon said. **
