Mehul H. Doshi, president, CREDAI Chennai, said the delegation also emphasised the importance of strengthening public transport.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
With Tamil Nadu’s real estate sector eyeing its next phase of expansion, a delegation from the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (CREDAI) met Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Wednesday and discussed issues pertaining to the sector.
“Eliminating corruption will significantly boost investment in the State. We discussed several issues concerning our industry, particularly delays in approvals. Faster clearances through an effective single-window system will lead to quicker project execution and faster development. We also discussed the city’s infrastructure needs and emphasised the importance of strengthening public transport connectivity to support future growth.” Mehul H. Doshi, President, CREDAI, Chennai, told The Hindu.
“We represented about the Ramsar issue. We brought to the Chief Minister’s notice that the one-kilometre influence zone notification has affected nearly 8,000 acres of patta land and more than 1.5 lakh patta holders. We requested his intervention to resolve this issue,” said S. Sridharan, Executive Committee Member, CREDAI National. “Apart from land owners, including government departments, there are many people who own small land parcels of land, half a ground /one ground, who are also affected badly. They are unable to obtain loans from banks. The public in these areas is not able to secure loans for essential needs such as marriages and medical expenses. The Chief Minister heard our concerns and instructed officials to take up the matter and resolve it at the earliest,” Mr. Sridharan added.
According to Credai Chennai, the existing Pallikaranai Marsh protection framework already provides environmental safeguards for the core marsh area. However, the subsequent Ramsar-linked regulatory framework, including the arbitrarily fixed 1 kilometre “influence area” presently under challenge before the High Court, has adversely impacted over one lakh patta landowners through planning paralysis, financial uncertainty, and severe hardship to the common man and general public, including restrictions in availing ordinary banking and financial facilities for personal and family requirements. The said influence area now runs through the middle of the Chennai Metropolitan Area, including Velachery, Perungudi, significant portions of OMR, Sholinganallur, Semmencherry and parts of multiple Metro Rail corridors.
“Given the continuing uncertainty surrounding delineation, implementation and notification, we humbly request the government to kindly consider scrapping the present Ramsar designation pertaining to Pallikaranai, particularly since the notification process has remained incomplete even after four years without finalisation through due process,” a letter that was handed over to the Chief Minister said.
Credai members in the letter said: “Alternatively, we respectfully request the constitution of a high-level interdepartmental committee with representatives from all concerned departments to comprehensively examine the issue and complete the notification exercise within a defined timeline of 30 days, while protecting the legitimate interests of genuine landowners, homebuyers and planned urban development.”
The real estate association also requested that all projects above 1 lakh sq. ft. should be brought under the Guidance Tamil Nadu’s single-window platform to ensure seamless coordination and faster approvals across departments and agencies. As part of improving ease of doing business and reducing approval timelines, they requested the government to expand the scope of the self-certification and automatic building approval system under the single-window mechanism. At present, such approvals are available only for limited built-up areas up to 3,500 sq. ft.
Published – June 04, 2026 12:40 am IST
