Environmental group flags dilution of Tamil Nadu agricultural land conversion rules
Poovulagin Nanbargal expressed concerns that recent amendments could weaken scrutiny during the approval process for converting agricultural land for non-agricultural use.
The environmental organisation Poovulagin Nanbargal has raised concerns regarding recent amendments to the rules for converting agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes in Tamil Nadu, according to The Hindu.
The changes follow amendments to the Tamil Nadu Change of Land Use (From Agriculture to Non-agriculture Purposes in Non-planning Areas) Rules, 2017, issued by the Housing and Urban Development Department on Wednesday.
The organisation questioned the removal of a previous requirement for the District Collector to personally inspect land and examine various factors before granting approval. Poovulagin Nanbargal said the revised process appears to rely more on applicants uploading documents and submitting self-attested declarations.
Under the amended Rule 4, the Director of Town and Country Planning must obtain No Objection Certificates (NOCs) from the Revenue Divisional Officer, Joint Director of Agriculture, and Executive Engineer of the Water Resources Department for wetland cases.
Applicants for developing wetlands must now submit documents through a Single Window Portal, including a topographic plan for developments within a 500-metre radius and an online affidavit regarding land types. They must also provide sale or lease deeds, patta, site plans, and chitta and adangal records for the past three Fasli years.
Poovulagin Nanbargal stated there is insufficient clarity on which officials will conduct physical inspections. The group also criticised the government's haste to make agricultural lands available to private players for industrial development.