The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) has introduced a slew of measures to reduce the inordinate delay in processing the reclassification of land use applications in the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA).

The measures include admission of such applications directly by the planning authority. Hitherto, the reclassification applications must be submitted only to the concerned local body, which would be forwarded to the CMDA for processing.

A recent office order of the CMDA said the reclassification proposals may also be admitted directly to the CMDA along with all enclosures as per the checklist, in addition of admitting in the local bodies concerned.

After introduction of the online admission for reclassification proposals, the applications should be submitted only online, it added.

Presently, scrutiny of registered documents is carried out to verify unauthorised subdivisions and the requirement for Open Space Reservation (OSR).

Noting that the detailed scrutiny of registered documents was time consuming, the order said the process would be taken up at the development stage instead of detailed scrutiny at reclassification level.

However, a disclaimer clause that the land use variation approval is not confirming the ownership right of the applicant over the property under reference and any claim on right or title over the property shall have to be proved before the appropriate/competent court to decide on the ownership’ may be included, the office order further said.

Yogesh Kabirdoss, Economic Times, Chennai