Owners of large parcels of land may have to hand over space for developing link roads to other properties in the neighbourhood.
Local bodies and urban planning authorities in the State will start directing owners to set apart link roads, within the site, before giving approval for development of the land.
As per the new amendment to the Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules, 2019, “In the interest of the public for better movement in the area and also to ensure that development does not block access to the properties around, in cases of large developments, where link roads are to be provided, for connectivity to the adjoining land areas through the site applied for development, the competent authority reserves the right to insist the applicant to set apart such road spaces within the site, and the applicant shall hand over the same, for free, through a registered gift deed, to the local body, for declaring it as a public road.”
The new amendment is expected to solve civic problems affecting urban residents, who have to take a circuitous route, owing to lack of connectivity in several neighbourhoods. For example, many neighbourhoods in the vicinity of the Rajiv Gandhi Salai and the East Coast Road do not have proper connectivity, hindering civic infrastructure development.
Residents in suburban areas and added areas of the Chennai Corporation will soon get better connectivity because of the development of new public roads, through the take over of private lands by the local bodies.
Similarly, the new rules will permit better civic facilities in residential areas with very narrow roads. Urban planning authorities will also give approvals for building clinics, polyclinics, dispensaries, diagnostic centres, primary health centres, nursing homes, working women’s hostels, old age homes, special needs homes, reading rooms, libraries, police stations, government offices and local body offices, not exceeding 300 sq m, on roads with a width of 1.5 m, in “continuous building areas” and “economically weaker section areas”.
This will lead to better policing in such areas and improve civic services there.
The new rules also stipulate that written permissions should be issued within 30 days for buildings less than 1200 sq ft.