Copyright thehindu
The Confederation of Environment Associations of Nilgiris (CEAN-Kotagiri Chapter) has written to the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary N. Muruganandam urging the government to offer relief for poor people in relaxing building rules for them. Surjit K. Chaudhary, retired IAS officer and Chairperson of CEAN, said that the Hill Station Building Rules 1993 was brought in to regulate construction projects in the hills for the conservation of the environment. However, he stated that the rules were “causing avoidable and chronic difficulties to the poor and downtrodden... who are clubbed at par with others, including developers and real estate promoters of bigger developments,” adding that there was no separate provisions under the rules for communities residing in the Nilgiris that would facilitate an easier approval process. Among a list of recommendations, CEAN urged the government to delegate approvals for such applications to the sub collectors and RDOs with houses proposed for construction for people residing in Badaga villages, nathams, tribal settlements and government-approved Adi Dravida colonies and Sri Lankan repatriates to be included in this category. CEAN also said that relaxations should only be allowed for houses up to 600 square feet and not exceeding 23-feet in height, adding that since if the relaxations were allowed and approvals given, that there should also be no need for the government to insist on No-Objection Certificates from different departments. They also added that any construction projects larger than 600 square feet should be strictly subjected to the existing rules, so that any relaxations are not used as an excuse for large constructions.
