Circular Na.Ka.No. 29945/C1/2015, 25 October 2018

What the circular governs

Circular Na.Ka.No. 29945/C1/2015 dated 25 October 2018, issued by the Office of the Head of the Registration Department, Chennai, governs registration of plots in unauthorised layouts that have received in-principle approval from the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority or the regional office of the Town and Country Planning Department.

The circular responds to complaints that documents were being accepted for registration based only on in-principle approval, without confirmation that development and regularisation charges had been paid.

How regularisation works

The circular describes regularisation as a two-stage process:

• The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority or the regional office of the Town and Country Planning Department gives in-principle approval to the unauthorised layout.
• The relevant local body collects the applicable development and regularisation charges from the owner and then issues the final regularisation order for the individual plot.

In-principle approval is therefore conditional. It does not by itself confirm that the individual plot has completed the local body regularisation process.

Requirement for document registration

For a plot in an unauthorised layout that has received in-principle approval, the registration document must be accompanied by a copy of the final order issued by the relevant local body after the required charges have been paid.

Registration officers are instructed to:

• check for the local body's final order relating to the plot;
• attach a copy of that final order to the document presented for registration; and
• scan the final order together with the registered document.

The circular refers to an earlier Registration Department circular dated 10 August 2018, which required a copy of the layout approval order issued by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority or the Town and Country Planning Department to be attached. The present circular makes clear that, where approval is only in principle, the local body's final order following payment of charges is also necessary.

Who is affected

The requirement affects owners and buyers dealing with plots in unauthorised layouts that have gone through in-principle approval. It also applies operationally to all Deputy Heads of the Registration Department, District Registrars and registration officers who process such documents.