Tamil Nadu Laws (Special Provisions) No. 2 Act, 2010, Act No. 45 of 2010
The Legislative Assembly of the State of Tamil Nadu enacted the Tamil Nadu Laws (Special Provisions) No. 2 Act, 2010, Act No. 45 of 2010, dated 1 December 2010, to temporarily maintain the existing position for specified unauthorised developments in the Chennai Metropolitan Planning Area while the State Government developed norms and policies. It was deemed to commence on 27 July 2010, ceased after one year except for earlier acts or omissions, and repealed the Tamil Nadu Laws (Special Provisions) Ordinance, 2010 while preserving action taken under that Ordinance.
What the Act governed
The Tamil Nadu Laws (Special Provisions) No. 2 Act, 2010 applied only within the Chennai Metropolitan Planning Area. It addressed land uses, buildings and occupations treated as unauthorised because they lacked permission, departed from permission, conflicted with applicable land use zoning or breached development and building controls.
Unauthorised development included:
- Land use not conforming to the Master Plan, a detailed development plan or planning permission.
- Construction beyond or in deviation from planning permission or a building permit.
- Development undertaken without planning permission or a building permit.
- Certain unauthorised occupation of public streets by hawkers and street vendors, and occupation by people in slum areas.
Temporary protection and government policy
The Tamil Nadu Laws (Special Provisions) No. 2 Act, 2010 required the State Government, within one year from commencement, to take possible measures to finalise norms, policy guidelines and feasible strategies for dealing with the listed unauthorised developments. Environmental considerations and sustainable, planned development of the Chennai Metropolitan Planning Area had to be taken into account.
Key temporary provisions were:
- Status quo as on the commencement date was to be maintained for the listed categories, despite any court judgment, decree or order.
- Notices issued before 27 July 2007 to begin action against those categories were treated as suspended.
- Local authorities could not take punitive action, including demolition, during the one year period.
- The State Government could withdraw either concession before the end of the period through a notification in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette.
Cases excluded from relief
The Tamil Nadu Laws (Special Provisions) No. 2 Act, 2010 did not protect unauthorised development started or continued on or after 27 July 2007. It also excluded activities begun from that date in breach of the Master Plan or a detailed development plan.
Relief was unavailable for public street occupation outside the specified hawker and street vendor category. The Act also did not prevent removal of people in slum areas, hawkers or street vendors under government policies where land was required for a public project.
Authorities and duration
The Tamil Nadu Laws (Special Provisions) No. 2 Act, 2010 allowed the State Government to direct relevant local authorities, which were required to comply. Its provisions prevailed over inconsistent Tamil Nadu laws while it operated. It ceased after one year from commencement, subject to the saving for things done or omitted before cessation.
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Common questions
Did the Act permanently regularise an unauthorised building?
No. The Act temporarily maintained status quo and suspended certain earlier notices while the State Government developed norms and policy guidelines. It does not state that unauthorised developments were permanently approved.
Was every unauthorised development in Chennai protected?
No. The Act applied within the Chennai Metropolitan Planning Area and excluded unauthorised development started or continued on or after 27 July 2007, along with the other specified excluded categories.
Could a local authority demolish a covered development during the protection period?
Punitive action, including demolition, was barred during the one year period for covered categories where the relevant conditions applied. The State Government could withdraw the concession earlier by notification in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette.
Is the Act still operating?
The Act stated that it would cease after one year from its commencement. It preserved the legal treatment of things done or omitted before that cessation.
