The Tamil Nadu Laws (Special Provisions) Ordinance, 2008
The Tamil Nadu Laws (Special Provisions) Ordinance, 2008, Ordinance No. 4 of 2008, was promulgated by the Governor of Tamil Nadu on 25 July 2008 and published in Tamil Nadu Government Gazette Extraordinary No. 229 on 27 July 2008. It temporarily maintained the existing position and suspended specified enforcement action against certain unauthorised developments in the Chennai Metropolitan Planning Area while the Government developed norms and policies. The Ordinance ceased to have effect one year after commencement, except for things already done or omitted.
What the Ordinance governed
The Tamil Nadu Laws (Special Provisions) Ordinance, 2008 applied only to the Chennai Metropolitan Planning Area. It provided temporary relief from enforcement against specified unauthorised developments while the State Government worked on norms, policy guidelines and practical strategies.
Unauthorised development included:
- Land or building use that departed from planning permission or a building permit.
- Construction without planning permission or a building permit.
- Land use contrary to the Master Plan or an approved detailed development plan.
- Development contrary to the Development Control Rules or applicable building rules, regulations and bye-laws.
- Certain unauthorised occupation of public streets by hawkers and street vendors, and occupation by people in slum areas.
Temporary protection
The Tamil Nadu Laws (Special Provisions) Ordinance, 2008 required the position existing when it commenced to be maintained for the listed categories of unauthorised development. Notices issued before 27 July 2007 by a local authority or another authorised body for action against those categories were treated as suspended, and no punitive action was to be taken during the one year period.
Punitive action included demolition, whether carried out under a court order or otherwise. The State Government could withdraw the protection before the end of the period through a notification in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette.
Cases not protected
The temporary relief did not apply to:
- Unauthorised development started or continued on or after 27 July 2007.
- Activities begun on or after 27 July 2007 in violation of the Master Plan or an approved detailed development plan.
- Unauthorised occupation of a public street, except for covered hawker, street vendor and slum area cases.
- Removal of people in slum areas, hawkers or street vendors under Government policies where land was required for a public project.
Who could be affected
The Tamil Nadu Laws (Special Provisions) Ordinance, 2008 affected owners, occupiers, traders, hawkers and street vendors connected with unauthorised development in the Chennai Metropolitan Planning Area. It also applied to enforcement by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority, the Chennai City Municipal Corporation, municipalities, town panchayats, panchayat unions and village panchayats within that area.
The Ordinance did not grant permanent approval or regularisation. It created a temporary pause for eligible cases while the Government considered longer term measures, with attention to planning, environmental concerns, safety and transport mobility.
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Common questions
Did the Ordinance permanently regularise an unauthorised building?
No. The Tamil Nadu Laws (Special Provisions) Ordinance, 2008 temporarily maintained the existing position and suspended specified punitive action while the Government developed norms and policies.
Did the protection apply to construction started after 27 July 2007?
No. Unauthorised development started or continued on or after 27 July 2007 was excluded from the temporary relief.
Were earlier demolition or enforcement notices cancelled?
Notices issued before 27 July 2007 for the covered categories were treated as suspended during the one year period. The source does not state that they were permanently cancelled.
Did the Ordinance apply outside the Chennai Metropolitan Planning Area?
No. The Tamil Nadu Laws (Special Provisions) Ordinance, 2008 expressly extended only to the Chennai Metropolitan Planning Area.
