Tamil Nadu Eases Wetland Conversion Approval Rules

The Tamil Nadu government has transferred approval powers for converting agricultural wetlands to non-agricultural use in non-planning areas from district collectors to the Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP), under a government order issued on November 4.

The change allows the DTCP director to grant prior concurrence directly, removing the earlier requirement for landowners and developers to obtain clearance from district collectors before applying for planning permission.

The Housing and Urban Development Department issued the order following amendments to Sections 47-A and 9-F of the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971, approved during the recent Assembly session.

Department Secretary R. Kirlosh Kumar said the amendments were intended to improve the efficiency of the approval process.

Nine documents required for online applications

Under the revised procedure, applicants seeking conversion of agricultural wetlands must submit nine prescribed documents through the online Single Window Portal.

These include ownership or lease documents, patta, Chitta and Adangal records covering the previous three Fasli years, drainage plans and topographical maps showing developments within a 500-metre radius of the proposed site.

Applicants must also provide an affidavit confirming that the proposed conversion does not involve government poramboke land or property belonging to others.

The government has removed Rule 6 of the 2017 Rules, which required district collectors to conduct inspections and scrutiny. However, safeguards under Rule 7 will continue to apply.

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Mandatory clearances remain in place

The revised framework does not relax existing environmental or land-related safeguards. Applicants will continue to require all mandatory no-objection certificates from the concerned departments.

The revised process replaces the earlier two-stage approval mechanism, under which landowners first approached district collectors for clearance and subsequently sought planning permission from the DTCP.

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Builders expect shorter approval timelines

Representatives of the Builders Association of India said applications under the previous procedure typically took two to three months to receive approval.

The association expressed hope that the revised system would bring the processing period down to 15-30 days.

The changes follow the Tamil Nadu government's decision to remove the Agriculture Department's approval requirement for industrial development on dry agricultural land.

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