CHENNAI: The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority has relaxed the norms to woo those having unauthorised one-ground plots in eight villages which come under aquifer recharge areas to get them regularised.

This comes in the wake of the deadline to regularise plots under regularisation scheme, which was implemented notifying the Tamil Nadu Regularisation and Unapproved Layout and Plot rules in 2017, coming to an end next month.

A CMDA official said that a Government Order was issued to relax the regulation for development in aquifer recharge areas in Kottivakkam, Palavakkam, Neelankarai, Okkiamthuraipakkam, Injambakkam, Karapakkam, Sholinganallur and Uthandi by reducing the minimum plot extent to 220 square metre from the earlier 440 square metres.

Similarly, the minimum frontage area was reduced from 15 metres to 12 metres. It is learnt that following the relaxation of norms, those having one-ground plots in the aquifer recharge area will come forward to regularise their plots.

After the State extended deadline by six months to regularise nearly 13.5 lakh plots in 27,000 unapproved layouts across the state, the regularisation scheme has yet to pick up.

Large-scale developments were banned till 2007 to preserve the aquifer recharge area to protect the ground water table of coastal Chennai. Interestingly, since 1980 developments were banned in this area to preserve aquifer potential in this area. However, considering the demand for land in view of IT developments and as aquifer recharge could be achieved by rainwater harvesting, a proposal to lift the ban was taken.

The rise in unapproved layouts is due to panchayat presidents approving layouts without the concurrence of planning authorities. There was an unprecedented rise in unapproved layouts during the last one decade.