Chennai: A bill seeking to remove the requirement for district collector’s prior concurrence for development of wetlands in non-planning areas drew opposition from AIADMK and Left parties in the Assembly on Tuesday. DMK and PMK sought a detailed discussion on the bill before it could be passed.Housing and Urban Development Minister B Rajkumar, who introduced the bill to amend the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971, said the existing requirement had resulted in avoidable delays in processing and disposing of planning permission applications.Under the existing law, local authorities require prior concurrence of the director of Town and Country Planning department for development in areas outside designated planning areas. For wetlands, the collector’s concurrence was also mandatory. The bill proposes to do away with the latter and empower the director to grant prior permission.AIADMK, CPI and CPM opposed the move immediately after it was tabled, while DMK and PMK sought further clarification through a detailed debate.The bill also proposed full-time posts of chairperson and Member-Secretary in the Urban Development Authority to ensure greater focus, continuity and faster decision-making in spatial planning, infrastructure and land development. The district collector will continue as a member of the authority for coordination with the district administration.“In order to simplify the procedure for permission for development of land, reduce procedural delays and improve the ease of obtaining such permission, the govt has decided to dispense with the requirement of obtaining the prior concurrence of the district collector for the development of wet lands in non-planning areas, and to entrust the director with with the power to give prior concurrence to the local authority in the case of wetlands,” Rajkumar said in the statement of objects and reasons.
