Tamil Nadu has raised the permissible height for specified non-high-rise buildings from 18.3 metres to 19.5 metres, reduced parking requirements for IT offices and expanded the types of development allowed in Chennai’s restricted aquifer recharge area under amendments issued to the Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules, 2019.
The amendments issued on October 26 also revise provisions covering commercial zoning, institutional and transport terminal buildings, hotel dormitories, swimming pools and accessibility. However, individual projects will continue to be governed by applicable road-width, floor space index, setback and other planning requirements.
Kirlosh Kumar, secretary of the housing and urban development department, said the higher height threshold would allow developers to plan higher ceilings and more aesthetically designed buildings. He also said accessibility compliance for persons with disabilities, elderly people and children would be mandatory before a completion certificate is issued.
Under the revised provisions, IT offices will require one car-parking space for every 75 square metres of floor area, compared with one space for every 50 square metres earlier. The two-wheeler parking requirement has been reduced from one space for every 25 square metres to one space for every 50 square metres. A Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority official said the revised norms would bring IT-office parking requirements in line with those for commercial buildings.
The amendments also alter land-use provisions along wider roads. In designated residential and primary residential zones, qualifying sites that abut and gain access from roads at least 12 metres wide may be deemed to have commercial zoning under specified circumstances. Outside the Chennai Metropolitan Area, a separate amended provision sets the corresponding road-width threshold at 9 metres. The CMDA official said this could reduce the number of reclassification files.
In Chennai’s restricted aquifer recharge area, the permitted height for specified non-high-rise residential and commercial buildings has been increased from 9 metres to 14 metres. The existing limit of six dwelling units remains applicable to the covered category. The revised rules also allow specified hostels and dormitories up to 500 square metres, working women’s hostels, old-age homes, certain government offices, restaurants and tourism-related developments, subject to prescribed conditions. Hotels, beach cottages and recreational activities on plots of at least one hectare are also covered by specified provisions.
The revised rules retain high-rise floor space index norms at 2.0 for roads measuring 12 metres, 2.5 for 15-metre roads and 3.25 for 18-metre roads. Maximum plot coverage remains at 50 percent. Other amendments prescribe dormitory facilities for drivers at hotels and lodges, define open kitchens and revise swimming-pool deck and clearance requirements.
Accessibility provisions specify dimensions for accessible washrooms, including minimum clear floor space of 900 mm by 1,200 mm at the wash basin, knee clearance of 480 mm and a basin height between 750 mm and 850 mm. Toilet grab bars must be provided on both sides and positioned 300 mm to 350 mm from the toilet’s centre line. The rules also set deck and clearance requirements for swimming pools, including a minimum 3-metre deck between adjacent pools and 2 metres of unobstructed overhead clearance.
