The Tamil Nadu government has implemented a new rule requiring hotels and lodging houses to provide dormitories for drivers accompanying guests. According to the State Housing and Urban Development Department’s order, at least one bed should be provided for every car parking space in hotels, along with a separate toilet and bathroom for every eight beds in the dormitory. This requirement must be fulfilled either within the hotel premises or within 250 meters from the hotel. The provision of driver dormitories will now be a prerequisite for planning permission, and existing hotels will be required to rent rooms or construct facilities to accommodate the drivers.
This decision was made based on a recommendation by former Chief Secretary V Irai Anbu, who noticed that many people preferred traveling long distances in their personal vehicles with hired drivers. However, while they book rooms for themselves, the drivers are typically left to sleep in cars or on verandas, resulting in a lack of adequate rest and potential accidents. To address this issue, Apoorva, the secretary of the housing and urban development department, decided to make it mandatory for all hotels and lodges to provide dormitories for drivers, with a reasonable fee being collected for the accommodation.
The move has been positively received by industry professionals. S Ramaprabhu, the committee chairman of the Municipal and DTCP, Builders Association of India, welcomed the decision, stating that while some star hotels already offer this facility, now even smaller hotels will have to provide dormitory facilities. Lalgudi N Srinivasan, the joint secretary of the Chennai Tourist Taxi Owners Association, also expressed support for the new rule, noting that around 40,000 cab drivers in Chennai will benefit from having access to proper rest facilities instead of sleeping in their cars.
Civic officials have observed that the city has approximately one percent of its water stocks available, which is enough to meet the water requirements for three days.
