Layout Approved by DTCP? Or PU?

I have been asked many times by many persons over mail, phone and in person what is the difference between Approval [of plots] by DTCP and Panchayat Union [PU]? What is the validity of PU approval?

Somebody say unapproved layouts are simply called panchayat approved as a selling technique. Someone says panchayt can approve layout but it has validity for 3 years from the day of approval.

Most of persons have got confused idea about these panchayat union approved plots. Hence, I want to throw some light over this matter of approval which itself becomes an article.

First let us consider who is/ are authorized to sanction or approve the formation of residential layout.

The city of Chennai and its outskirt area are under the jurisdiction of CMDA, formerly MMDA. Remaining parts of Tamil Nadu are covered by DTCP, which has its regional offices at various parts of the state.

The layout within the territorial jurisdiction of regional offices [when the total area of layout is less than 10 acres in rural and 5 acres in urban locations] are dealt by these regional offices of DTCP. The larger layouts are dealt by head office of DTCP at Chennai.

Procedure for approval

The application for approval of layout is received by the local body. Local body means corporation, municipality, town panchayat, panchayat union, etc.

The local body shall scrutinize the application and forwarded to DTCP with its recommendations for technical approval and planning permission.

The DTCP may technically approve, modify or reject the layout and send the same to the local body, which shall accord its final approval. Thus the applicant shall get the layout approved by and from local body.

Who is approving authority?

In light of the above, it is clear that the final approval authority is local body only, which approves the layout after getting technical advice from DTCP (Head or regional office)

Duties of Local Body

In earlier paragraphs, it is mentioned that the local body shall scrutinize the application and forward it to TCP [HO or RO, as the case may be].

The list of aspects for scrutiny are:

• Ownership of lan by verifying all the relevant documents.

• Compliance with master plan and development plan

• Process of acquisition by government

• No effect by land reforms act 1961, urban land ceiling act 1978 or land acquisition act.

• Objections on the basis of water logging, drainage, health, surrounding, quarries, buriel grounds, cemetery, etc.

• Approach from and to neighbouring layout.

• Follow up by Local Body

On receipt of layout proposal approved technically by DTCP [HO/RO], the LB shall ask the applicant to hand over the open spaces, roads and public purpose lands [park]. When the promoter of layout handed over the same, the council of local body shall grant approval to the layout. Now-a-days, sometimes, the local body accords its approval without getting any advice from DTCP.

The layout is considered to have been approved only after it is finally approved by local body.

The local body shall intimate sub registrar office that it has no objection for registration of documents selling the plots of the said layout. The street and other public purpose reservations shall be taken over and maintained by local body.

In this context, I leave the matter to the reader of this article to think and decide whether the layout approved by local body [panchayat union] is valid one on legal aspects.

However, I shall try to throw some more light on difference some practical aspects between layouts approved by LB on getting advice from DTCP and directly by LB without getting any advice

A.Sri Vijayan,

Engineer, Lawyer,

Poompuhar Nagar,

Kolathur, Chennai