Coimbatore : The local chapter of Credai requested Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, K Palanisamy for certain procedures and changes which will give a boost the sector, a major employer even in the current pandemic.

In a representation, with 14-point charter of demands, Credai President Surender Vittel requested for specified time of clearance along with a “one time only” query, since the current approval process through Local Planning Authority (LPA) and Directorate of Town and Country Planning(DTCP), Corporation takes anywhere from a minimum of 6 months to 1 year.

Any new concept / requirement of customers lower gestation time to capture the market and such long approval time makes the designs obsolete and CREDAI has been requesting for specified time of clearance along with a” one
time only” query, he said.

Files can be cleared automatically, on lapse of ‘specified time’, since the plans are loaded on to a software with sufficient checks on adherence to rules,he said.

The spread of the pandemic has limited the travel of people in Coimbatore to Chennai and at present every file of 15,000 sq.ft. of building and above has to go to Chennai DCTP for approval.

In the current circumstance due to COVID Pandemic, CREDAI Coimbatore has requested for approvals of up to 2 Lakh Sq.Ft. in Coimbatore LPA itself which would reduce unnecessary commute and contact / physical interaction, Vittel said.

At present, the various ‘No Objection Certificates’ (NOC) have to be obtained
along with recommendation from local Panchayats and the procedure is unclear leading to unethical practices in various departments.

An online single window application and tracking system, should allow the status of the of the application at LPA, DTCP, Corporation or any central or state government department, linking all approvals, thereby making the system seamless and efficient. Currently, we face delays at each department, making
the real estate industry opaque with incremental cost of compliance, Vittel said.

A transparent on line approval process would help connect with the various departments easily and CREDAI has always been ready to
partner with such an effort which has become the need of the hour with the lock down.

Other demands include creation of local Offices for approval process at each district level similar to CMDA, Chennai, which would de-centralize approval process reducing time and travel involved to Chennai for every approval from all over the State, Reduction of approval charges, Lowering of Registration Charges and Incentives for Women.

Vittel also sought the government to provide labour data available with the Government bodies, as the sector wanted to employ labour from Tamil Nadu, as the the exodus of the migrants has created huge labour crises due to non-availability of Construction labour and wanted to extend the DTCP software to Coimbatore Corporation.