CHENNAI: The State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RD&PR) department has instructed the village panchayats in Tamil Nadu to conduct Gram Sabha meetings on Independence Day, August 15. In a circular announcing the conduct of the Gram Sabha meetings, the director of RD&PR also instructed the village panchayats to include in the meeting agenda among other things the self-certification based on immediate approval of building plans in rural areas. The director also asked the panchayats to deliberate on the post-approval inspections and prevent the intervention of middlemen and encourage people to directly apply and secure approval through self-certification.

The department has also advised the rural local bodies to ponder over online application on the website www.onlineppa.tn.gov.in to secure approval for their plots and residential and commercial buildings in rural areas. The rural local bodies have been advised to post the gram sabha proceedings on a real time basis on an android app developed for the purpose.