Owners can go online for Corpn permission to demolish buildings

The executive engineers of the Chennai Corporation zones have mandated the online process in their respective zones on May 15.

As per the civic body rules, owners of existing buildings should avail permission before demolishing the structures. They are also required to remove the construction debris.

An official from the civic body said, “We were accepting online applications for demolition of buildings. The owners will have to submit building plans and other supportive documents with the applications. This new system will help owners submit their building plans online in a click.”

The official added that the civic body, on an average, receives over 10,000 applications seeking building plan permission, building approval and demolition of buildings every year. Of the total 10,000 applications, 2,000 applications are for the demolition of existing buildings.

With the online application process, the civic body would give building owners the option to pay online or through demand drafts. The Corporation collects charges based on the size of the buildings to be demolished.

In another development pertaining to the town planning wing of the Chennai Corporation, the civic body has also made online application mandatory while applying for building approvals from May 15.

Explaining the difference between building plan approval issued by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) and building approval issued by the civic body, a CMDA official said that the authority would only issue building plan approvals for multi-storied and special buildings, while Chennai Corporation issues building plan approval for buildings up to two floors.

“Irrespective of whether the building plan approval is obtained from the CMDA or the Corporation, building owners should avail building approvals from Chennai Corporation. Building approval is issued after examining the stability of the buildings,” the CMDA official said.