Chennai, July 30 (IANS) In a major ease-of-doing-business reform aimed at boosting healthcare investments, the Tamil Nadu government is set to introduce a single-window clearance system for hospitals, bringing an end to a fragmented approval process that has long been criticised for delays and procedural hurdles.
The Government Order (GO), which has been under preparation over the past week, is expected to be issued shortly after Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s review meeting with the Health and Family Welfare Department on Friday, according to official sources.
The proposed mechanism is expected to significantly reduce the time required for obtaining approvals for new hospitals, cutting the process from several years to just a few months. Once implemented, Tamil Nadu will join states such as Maharashtra and Gujarat, which already have single-window systems to streamline regulatory clearances for healthcare projects.
Officials familiar with the development said the reform is part of the government’s broader efforts to accelerate investments in the healthcare sector while making regulatory procedures more transparent and efficient.
The initiative is also expected to strengthen Tamil Nadu’s position as one of India’s leading destinations for medical infrastructure and healthcare services.
Industry stakeholders said the existing approval process, particularly after the submission of building and project designs, often involved multiple departments and prolonged delays, resulting in uncertainty for investors. They alleged that obtaining clearances had become cumbersome, with demands running as high as Rs 40 lakh to Rs 50 lakh in some cases.
The new framework, which is expected to introduce a transparent and standardised fee structure, is intended to eliminate such irregularities and improve accountability.
According to stakeholders associated with healthcare infrastructure projects, approvals for at least seven to eight doctor-promoted hospitals are currently pending in Tamil Nadu, while similar projects in other states have progressed much faster.
They noted that the proposal for a single-window system had remained under consideration for more than a decade despite repeated representations from the healthcare industry.
The long-awaited reform is expected to provide a major fillip to private investment in hospitals, encourage expansion of healthcare infrastructure and improve the overall ease of establishing medical institutions in the state.
Officials confirmed that the GO is likely to be issued following the Chief Minister’s review, paving the way for a faster, more transparent and investor-friendly approval process for hospital projects across Tamil Nadu.
–IANS
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