Regularisation of Unapproved Plots and Layouts Rules, 2017, Operational Guidelines

What the guidelines govern

The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority operational guidelines cover unapproved layouts in which any or all plots were sold and registered on or before 20 October 2016. They also cover unapproved individual plots or subdivisions sold and registered by that date.

Only owners who have rights over the property were eligible to apply. General power of attorney holders and agreement holders were not entitled to apply. Regularisation under the scheme is only for residential use, irrespective of the land use zone in the relevant development plan.

Documents required

An owner or licensed surveyor had to submit the application to the relevant local body with documents including:

• A layout or subdivision plan showing plot dimensions, roads and their widths, public open spaces, public purpose plots and survey field numbers.
• The sale deed or title deed.
• Patta, Permanent Land Register or Town Survey Land Register records in the applicant's favour.
• An encumbrance certificate issued not more than one week before the application date.
• For agricultural land, a Tahsildar's certificate or status report addressing waterways, common field irrigation channels, flood level and inundation status.

Layout cases also required an Auto CADD framework prepared by a licensed surveyor, showing roads, the approach road, measurements, sold and unsold plots, public purpose plots, open space reservation land and relevant field measurement records.

Approval process

The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority inspects and scrutinises layout frameworks forwarded by local bodies and may grant in-principle approval. In-principle approval of a layout framework does not regularise individual plots. Each plot requires a separate application, local body processing and payment of applicable charges under the cited government orders.

A local body may directly consider an unapproved subdivision containing not more than eight plots, after site inspection and confirmation that it is not part of an unapproved layout.

Exclusions and special provisions

Regularisation is unavailable for land in public water bodies, government poramboke land, open space reservation land, parks, playfields, proposed road or rail alignments, street alignments, or high tension and extra high voltage line alignments. Encroachments on public roads, streets or land not owned by the applicant are also restricted.

Layouts and plots formed before 5 August 1975 are deemed approved. Individual plots regularised under the earlier scheme in G.O.Ms.No.76, dated 27 February 1999, are deemed regularised for residential use. Layouts within 90 metres of a burial ground and within 30 metres of a railway property boundary may be considered under these guidelines.

Approval may be cancelled if obtained fraudulently, or where ownership is restricted by an encumbrance, land acquisition proceedings or a title dispute.