The inordinate delay in getting government approvals to build
residential apartments in Tamil Nadu has resulted in cost overruns and increase in
property prices, blame leading builders and bodies, in Chennai, who have appealed to the
state government to introduce a ‘single window clearance system’ to issue
permissions for building apartments in the state.
Citing the presence of such system in other southern states and
its successful implementation, they urged the state to have such facility,
which they said, would benefit the sector immensely.
Recently, a few builders from Chennai affiliated to Confederation
of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) and Builders
Association of India (BAI) have met state housing minister R Vaithilingam and
submitted their grievances. They wanted the government to scrap the mandatory NOC
from multiple government departments, and instead suggested setting up a single
location or agency.
Builders were vocal about the delay in receiving planning
permission and said that the delays along with red-tapism and high cost of
construction material are affecting the industry’s growth.
Referring to the successful implementation of such system in
Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad, Sandeep Mehta, MD of Jain Housing and President,
CREDAI Chennai, said, certain approvals have become outdated today. “The practice of getting NOC from traffic
police should be done away with as builders include provisions of Development
Control Rules relating to parking,” he said.
Ram Prabhu of BAI said in some states like Bangalore and Pune,
the time taken to issue approval is not more than two months. This facilitates
to complete the project in time and also builders can pass on the benefits to
end-users.
He blamed the inordinate delay in issuing approvals for high
construction cost. “For exaple, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority
(CMDA) would take as long as two years in certain cases,” he pointed out.
Emphasising the need for faster approval of building plans, which
ultimately benefit the end users, director of Doshi Housing, Mehul Doshi, said, “The
biggest stumbling block is the time-consuming and complex approval process.
Even if one applies with necessary papers, it would take 6 to 24 months to get
all approvals depending upon the size and type of the project. Also, we will be
kicked around from one department to another for NOC and other clearances. A
single window model is
what we are looking for faster approvals, which will create adequate supply in
the market and keep a check on the spiraling prices.”
T Chitty Babu, Managing Director of Akshaya Homes, said, “Due to
inordinate delays construction cost goes up between Rs 400-500 per sq ft, which
has to be passed on to end users.”
Denying any laxity from their part, CMDA officials said they had
issued planning permissions to 549 special buildings in 2012, 528 in 2013, 88
multi-storey buildings in 2012 and 75 in 2013.
“Some of the approvals were issued in less than two months
and CMDA’s transparency was for all to see,” an official added.
