An amendment issued by R Kirlosh Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Housing and Urban Development Department, states that government departments, government agencies and joint ventures developing industrial layouts or estates will no longer be required to transfer 0.5% of the project area to the concerned local body. The OSR land will instead be reserved and maintained by the applicant agency for its own purposes, it said.

Under the Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules, 2019, developers of large projects such as industrial estates are required to earmark 0.5 per cent of the project area as Open Space Reservation and transfer it to the concerned local body.

However, the amendment clarifies that this requirement will not apply to industrial layouts or estates developed by government departments, government agencies or their joint ventures.

OSR provisions form an integral part of the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971. Under the Act, developers of projects exceeding 3,000 square metres are generally required to earmark 10% of the land as open space for parks, recreation and other community purposes and transfer it to the local body to preserve green spaces and public amenities.

Officials said the amendment is intended to facilitate the development and maintenance of industrial infrastructure undertaken by government agencies while allowing them to retain and manage the reserved open spaces within their campuses.