INDIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Vivek Chandy, Archana Tewary, Kumarmanglam Vijay and Brijita Prakash, JSA
4.2 Legislative and Governmental Controls Applicable to Design, Appearance and Method of Construction Construction of new buildings and refurbish - ments in any state is governed by the National Building Code, applicable town and country planning statute, and applicable municipal law, including building by-laws framed by planning authorities. Building and development con - trol regulations require various approvals to be obtained from different authorities for construc - tion or refurbishment of buildings. Zoning regulations sometimes have provisions for the protection and preservation of proper - ties identified as heritage properties. Consents from the pollution control board, environmental department, fire department, airport authority, water supply and sewerage board, and electric - ity board are also required. 4.3 Regulatory Authorities There is no single regulatory authority or statute to govern the entire real estate sector. The rel - evant authorities have been covered separately above. 4.4 Obtaining Entitlements to Develop a New Project To develop a new project, an application must be submitted to the jurisdictional municipal/ planning authority along with all relevant title documents, plans/designs/drawings of the development and in-principle approvals from the relevant authorities. The municipal/planning authority will provide consent once it is satisfied that the building, when constructed, would comply with building by-laws.
In some jurisdictions, a certificate is also issued by the municipal/planning authority after the pil - lars are constructed, confirming that the con - struction has commenced in compliance with the sanctioned plan. After completion of development, the municipal/ planning authority also issues a certificate con - firming that the building is fit to be occupied. Although minor deviations may be compounded by paying a fee, major deviations in develop - ment may result in the project not being issued Applicable town and country planning/municipal statutes prescribe timelines within which plan - ning authorities are required to grant approval or reject plans for development of buildings. Where a plan submitted for approval has been rejected or not expressly approved, the appli - cant may prefer an appeal to a higher authority, which is required to grant or reject the applica - tion within a prescribed time period. Where no response is received, the plan is often deemed to have been approved, though such deemed approval is not preferred, and developers still pursue written approvals. a completion/occupancy certificate. 4.5 Right of Appeal Against an Authority’s Decision In the event of any arbitrary action by a plan - ning authority, the aggrieved party can approach a High Court, invoking its high prerogative writ jurisdiction. 4.6 Agreements With Local or Governmental Authorities Government entities enable parties to procure land for the development of strategic projects/ areas by entering into:
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