Tamil Nadu Laws (Special Provisions) Ordinance, 2007

What the Ordinance governed

The Tamil Nadu Laws (Special Provisions) Ordinance, 2007 applied throughout the Chennai Metropolitan Planning Area. It was introduced because the Government was considering changes to planning law, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority was preparing Master Plan II with the perspective year 2026, and policies concerning slum areas, hawkers and street vendors were under consideration.

The Ordinance required the Government to take possible measures, with regard to the environment, to finalise norms, policy guidelines and feasible strategies for dealing with specified unauthorised developments.

Developments covered

Tamil Nadu Ordinance No. 1 of 2007 covered the following categories:

• Land use that did not conform to the Master Plan, a detailed development plan or planning permission.
• Construction that deviated from or exceeded planning permission or a building permit.
• Development carried out without planning permission or a building permit.
• Unauthorised occupation of public streets by hawkers and street vendors.
• Unauthorised occupation by people in slum areas.

Subject to its conditions, the Ordinance required the status quo existing on its commencement date to be maintained for these categories.

Temporary protection from enforcement

Tamil Nadu Ordinance No. 1 of 2007 treated notices already issued by a local authority or another empowered authority for action against covered unauthorised developments as suspended. It also prevented punitive action during the one year period. Punitive action included demolition, whether undertaken under a court order or otherwise.

The Government could withdraw either the status quo protection or the suspension of enforcement by publishing a notification in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette.

What was not protected

The Tamil Nadu Laws (Special Provisions) Ordinance, 2007 did not provide relief for:

• Unauthorised development started or continued on or after its commencement.
• New activities violating the Master Plan or a detailed development plan on or after commencement.
• Unauthorised occupation of public streets outside the covered categories.
• Removal of slum residents, hawkers or street vendors under Government policies where land was required for a public project.

The temporary protection therefore did not legalise unauthorised construction or permit new violations. Its stated purpose was to protect owners and occupiers from enforcement action for a limited period while the Government developed a final approach.