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Tamil Nadu Cuts High-Rise Approval Time by 45 Days in Reform Push
Chennai developers save 30–45 days on high-rise approvals after Tamil Nadu lets CMDA issue permits directly, cutting a ministerial review layer that added ₹30–₹40 per sq ft in costs.
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Chennai builders just got a month back on every high-rise application. Tamil Nadu amended its building rules this week to let the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority grant or reject planning permission for high-rise buildings without sending the file to the state government. The change cuts 30 to 45 days off the approval timeline, according to real estate industry sources.
The reform targets a bottleneck developers have complained about for years. After the CMDA's technical panel finished its review, the file had to go to the relevant minister for a separate government order. That step added weeks with no technical value, industry executives said. The new rule stops that referral at the CMDA desk.
Cost savings follow. Developers estimated the extra bureaucratic layer added ₹30 to ₹40 per square foot in carrying costs, including interest on land and construction debt during the waiting period. For a large project spanning months of construction financing, a 45-day delay compounds meaningfully on project internal rate of return.
Haresh Kishor, managing director at KG Foundations, called the reform a "red tape killer" and said the savings come mainly in time, interest cost, holding cost, and uncertainty. In large projects, even one month saved has a meaningful impact on project IRR and funding cost, which eventually gets passed onto the end customer, he said.