The Madras High Court, Madurai Bench, on Friday stayed the operation of a Government Order (G.O.) issued by the Tamil Nadu Housing and Urban Development Department on 8 January 2026, which exempted certain religious buildings from obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the district collector for planning approval.
The interim stay was granted by a Bench comprising Justices G Jayachandran and N Senthilkumar, while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Kalanithi, a real estate businessman from Madurai. The Bench observed that the G.O. appeared to grant retrospective relief, which could not be done through an executive order.
The G.O., issued by the Housing and Urban Development Department and signed by its Secretary Kakarla Usha, stated that religious buildings which began functioning between 2019 and 2024 need not obtain a collector’s NOC for planning permission, provided they complied with the Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules, 2019.
Under the order, buildings that had originally received approval for non-religious purposes such as residential use or auditoriums but were later used for religious activities during the period from 4 February 2019 to 6 March 2024, could be retrospectively regularised without insisting on a collector’s NOC. The exemption was also extended to applications for religious buildings that had been kept pending for want of an NOC during the same period. Further, even applications submitted after 7 March 2024, were permitted to receive planning approval without seeking an NOC from the district collector.
The background to the G.O. includes growing complaints from several parts of Tamil Nadu about religious buildings being constructed or operated in densely populated residential areas in violation of approved building norms. In many cases, structures sanctioned as residential buildings were allegedly being used as prayer halls or places of worship. Although courts had ordered the demolition of such unauthorised constructions in some cases, officials were accused of hesitating to take action despite confirmed violations.
The policy shift was first announced by Chief Minister MK Stalin during a public event in Chennai in December 2025, where he stated that planning permission for religious buildings would be granted without insisting on a collector’s NOC.
In his petition, Kalanithi contended that under the Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules, 2019, no planning permission could be granted for the construction of any religious building without a No Objection Certificate from the district collector. He argued that the NOC was a statutory safeguard meant to assess communal sensitivity, law and order concerns, suitability of the proposed location, and other public interest considerations.
He further alleged that the January 8 G.O. effectively sought to retrospectively validate religious buildings that had come into existence in violation of the law. Such regularisation, he claimed, would endanger public order, peace, and communal harmony. The petitioner urged the court to quash the G.O. and direct district collectors to examine issues of public order and morality before granting permissions for religious buildings.
According to the State government, although the relevant building rules came into force in 2019, standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the speedy disposal of applications seeking collector’s NOC were framed only in 2024. Citing this delay, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) and certain religious institutions had represented to the Chief Minister, seeking exemption from the NOC requirement for religious buildings that had been functioning between 2019 and 2024.
The court adjourned the matter to 20 February 2026, for further hearing.
Source: The New Indian Express
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