Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ - Planning Sanction and Approvals

The Fire NOC is issued in two stages by the Fire and Rescue Services Department. A Provisional Fire NOC is obtained during the planning and approval stage, before construction starts. The final Fire NOC is issued after construction is complete and the mandatory fire-fighting setup is physically in place — full hydrant arrangement, sprinkler provision, fire alarm/PAS system, extinguisher slots and adequate setbacks for fire-vehicle movement. AWH’s liaison and development team drives both stages, coordinating with Fire alongside Health, BDO and Industries & Factories. For an occupant, a registered lease is required before the Fire NOC can be processed. The fire licence is renewed thereafter as an annual compliance.

A Wetland NOC is issued by the District Collector and requires NOCs from every department in the chain — agriculture, BDO, DTCP, revenue, RDO and DRO. Because it depends on that full revenue-and-planning chain rather than a single desk, it is among the slowest clearances in the set; plan it in the same band as the other multi-department clearances, where departmental coordination runs 90–120 days, and start it early. It is triggered where the parcel is wet land, which is why the FMB/village map is checked at diligence stage for water bodies, roads, HT lines and cemeteries. AWH’s liaison team carries the follow-up across departments.

Hazardous chemical storage is licensed principally by PESO — the Petroleum & Explosives Safety Organization — under the Explosives Act 1884 and the Petroleum Act 1934, on top of the normal building sanctions. PESO approval governs petroleum storage tanks, LPG and gas-cylinder storage, explosives, calcium carbide, inflammable substances and compressed gases. TNPCB consent applies in parallel, with the unit slotted into the Green, Orange or Red pollution category.

The physical requirements are specific: a fire hydrant system, explosion-proof electrical fittings, safety distance between tanks and buildings, spill-containment areas, blast walls and ventilation systems. Gas storage additionally needs cylinder cages, no ignition sources nearby and fire-protection systems; chemical warehouses need chemical segregation, spill-control systems, chemical-resistant flooring and proper ventilation. Every stored chemical must carry an MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet), updated at least every three years and kept with the shipment documents, and the goods must be classified under the UN Dangerous Goods classes. Under the Factories Act the obligation is framed as employee safety — occupational safety, health and working conditions per government norms, with hydrants, extinguishers and sprinklers matched to the material stored, and trained, certified staff.

A factory licence is a post-construction approval, required wherever manufacturing or assembly is involved, and it is issued by the Industries & Factories department. It follows plan sanction: once the sanction is in hand, the liaison and development team coordinates with Health, Fire, BDO and Industries & Factories — a stage that runs 90–120 days and continues as an ongoing process until completion. Two prerequisites are non-negotiable. First, a registered lease: industrial tenants cannot operate without one for the factory licence, and without it many authorities reject applications outright. Second, the factory licence then becomes a supporting document in its own right, required later when applying for the HT power connection.

Environment Clearance (EC) is a pre-construction approval, secured during the planning and approval stage alongside the TNPCB Consent to Establish, Land Use/CLU conversion, building plan sanction, labour department licence and electrical connection licence. It belongs to the mandatory pollution and environment NOC set for a Grade-A industrial facility, and is driven by the liaison and development team with the state government — the CTE alone runs 60–90 days. Environmental and social diligence is carried out earlier still, at