Chennai: The much-awaited regularisation of unapproved plots has brought cheers among plot owners and realtors, but a few no-nonsense officials at Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority fear that the new regularisation norms would promote more illegality in town planning and make Chennai more prone for flooding and natural calamities.
“The rules for the regularisation of unapproved plots and layout scheme earlier restricted construction activities and conversion of farmlands. There were specific rules under which no layout can be regularized without allocating open space reserve land and space for other public amenities like roads, parks and school areas. The amended regulation now makes easier even if a plot has failed to allocated space for public amenities,” said a CMDA official.
The government drafted the regulations based on an injunction from Ma-dras high court. The drafts were released in May eadline for regularisation was closing in, the housing department released the new draft in October 2017. The government also extended the deadline to six months.
Heeding to layout promoters and realtors, the department has diluted the regulation rules. Now a promoter can get approval order if he has sold just one or two plots. For instance, if a promoter developed 100 plots and he sold one or two plots, he should be giving out open space reserve and stipulated road width by the older draft. But the amendment omitted the rule.
With rapidly increasing unplanned residential areas, particularly which are located in Chennai suburbs, suffer more during monsoon owing to the unchecked development. “In Nerkundram in Ch-ennai, a layout has been developed without any planning. If two vehicles have to face on a road, any one of the drivers has to go reverse all the way because of the narrowness of the roads. More and more unplanned layout would add to this type of woes,” a source said.
Take cue from AP govt
In Andhra Pradesh, the layout of sold plots has been regulated. “If the government is making headway with its weak regulation rules, many urban areas will suffer from Chennai-like floods. In a state where urbanisation is rapid, meticulous planning and stricter rules are paramount to reduce man-made disasters. The state should follow in the footsteps of Andhra Pradesh. But some officers in the housing department are helping the real estate sharks to bend rules,” sources added.
