G.O. (Ms.) No. 173, Special Rules for School Buildings, 2025
The Housing and Urban Development [UD4(1)] Department issued G.O. (Ms.) No. 173 on 6 November 2025, amending the Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules, 2019 for school building sites adjoining National or State Highways. The amendment replaces the site access requirements in Annexure XV and sets conditions for service roads, gates, medians and guard rails.
The Housing and Urban Development [UD4(1)] Department issued G.O. (Ms.) No. 173 on 6 November 2025 to amend the Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules, 2019 in relation to special rules for school buildings. The amendment replaces the site provision in Annexure XV concerning direct access to National and State Highways, and requires the appended notification to be published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette, Extraordinary, dated 10 November 2025.
What the amendment governs
G.O. (Ms.) No. 173 governs access arrangements for school building sites that face or adjoin a National Highway or State Highway. Its purpose is to prevent direct openings onto these highways unless a service road is available, while specifying what an applicant must provide where no service road exists.
The amendment was made under powers referred to in the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971, the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994, and the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998.
Who may be affected
G.O. (Ms.) No. 173 may affect applicants proposing school buildings on sites abutting National or State Highways. It is relevant to landowners, school promoters, developers and professionals assessing whether highway access arrangements comply with the Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules, 2019.
The text does not state whether different requirements apply to existing school buildings or only to new proposals.
Key site and access requirements
The substituted provision in Annexure XV states that:
- A school building site must not have an opening directly onto a National or State Highway.
- Direct access is permitted where a service road is available for the National or State Highway.
- If a site abuts a National or State Highway without a service road, the applicant must provide a service road seven metres wide along the entire site frontage within the applicant's land.
- The applicant may construct and maintain that service road in accordance with the applicable norms.
- The compound wall must be built after leaving space for the service road.
- Entry or exit gates must be at least nine metres and no more than twelve metres wide.
- No more than two gates are permitted.
- The applicant must provide, at the applicant's own cost, a guard rail one metre high over the median separating the main highway from the service road.
- If no median exists, the applicant must construct a median at the roadside end of the service road and provide a one metre high guard rail over it.
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Common questions
Can a school site have a gate opening directly onto a National or State Highway?
Not generally. G.O. (Ms.) No. 173 permits access where a service road is available for the National or State Highway.
What must I provide if my school site faces a highway without a service road?
The applicant must provide a seven metre wide service road along the entire frontage within the applicant's land. The compound wall must be constructed after leaving the service road.
How wide can the entry and exit gates be?
Each entry or exit gate must be at least nine metres and no more than twelve metres wide. The site may have no more than two gates.
Who pays for the median and guard rail?
The applicant must provide them at the applicant's own cost. The guard rail must be one metre high, and a median must also be constructed where one is not already available.
