CHENNAI: Building rules in TN are being rewired to create cities and towns with more green spaces, wider roads, easy access to public transport, improved parking, resilient planning and simplified planning parameters.
For a review of the 2019-enacted Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules (TNCDBR), Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) roped in Ahmedabad-based CEPT Research and Development Foundation Ahmedabad that completed it after stakeholder meetings across TN.
The review recommends stratification of planning regulations based on type of plan authority/local body, increasing buffer zones around lakes/water bodies, reducing complexity of plan approvals, changes in Open Space Reservation (OSR) use, making universal access mandatory in all buildings. Stratification of regulations will be in development authority areas, municipal corporations, special grade municipalities, town panchayats, village panchayats. “Industrial areas may get a separate authority,” said a CMDA official. Amenity Space Reservation (ASR) will be introduced within OSR to ensure amenities such as sports facilities, convenience shopping, market, parking lots, schools/health centres are developed on a small percent of OSR land (10% of the total land) gifted by the developer to the plan authority concerned.
Living close to public transport corridors will have its benefits as CMDA plans a different set of rules include revised setbacks for high-rise and non-high-rise buildings.
The amended TNCDBR will focus more on environmental considerations, proposing incentives on property tax for maintenance of RWH structures. There will be a new set of rules for mechanical parking. “Parking calculation will be based on a percentage-of-built-up area approach instead of current method based on dwelling units,” he said.
Urban experts, however, wonder who will enforce these regulations in local bodies where there is a dearth of qualified town planners, engineers or architects. “In panchayats and other local bodies, we cannot find qualified persons. We used to send planning officers to assist BDOs in clearing plan permit applications,” said N V Rakhunath, retired chief planner, CMDA.
