TN Govt announces zero tolerance approach to delays in approving construction plans

To prevent corrupt practices and facilitate the construction plan approval process, the Tamil Nadu government has announced a zero-tolerance approach to delays.

Warning city planning officials against disciplinary action in case of any administrative negligence, manual intervention or failure to enforce online processes in granting building plan approvals, P. Madhusudhan Reddy, director of city administration, said the approvals must be done within the statutory time limits.

“Any fee related to the approval must be received through online payment modules only. Applicants, architects, structural engineers or any third party need not appear in person to resolve clarifications or queries,” he said in a memo issued to all corporation and municipal commissioners on May 26.

Mr. Reddy said that the entire framework of interaction should be done online and in a transparent manner.

As specifically mandated by the government, the guidelines came with zero tolerance for delay. Any failure to enforce online transparency protocols would result in disciplinary action, he said.

“Landing Permits” and “Building Permits” should be issued within specific time guidelines, under the strict supervision of superior authorities, “so that the public is not subjected to any inconvenience or hardship”.

Mr. Reddy re-emphasised compliance with online processes and said Assistant Engineers (Planning)/Junior (Planning)/any other officer of the Municipality/Corporation shall not call the applicant, registered engineer or architect to personally visit the office and all checks should be done online only.

Any communication/complaints must also be made through the online portal only, he said.

Highlighting the time limit for granting approval for Category I and Category II applications, Mr. Reddy said any deviation from the guidelines would be taken seriously.

Published – 31 May 2026 22:45 IST