TN zeroes in on two options for Chennai Mega City

C Shivakumar

Chennai:

The state government has zeroed in on two options suggested by Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority as it plans to expand Chennai Metropolitan Area, CMDA sources said.

CMDA sources told Express that the state government is studying two different models – either to add another 3,270 square km to the Chennai Metropolitan Authority’s extent of 1,189 square kilometer or extend it to 8878 square km totally.

Under the first option, planning area will fall within a radius of about 50 km for the Chennai Central Business District and will contain the whole of the Chennai District, Gummidipoondi, Ponneri, Uthukottai, Ambattur, Thiruvallur and Poonamallee Taluks of the Thiruvallur District, and Tambaram, Sriperumbudur and Chengalpattu Taluks of the Kancheepuram District extending up to 4,459 square km.

The second option includes the whole of Chennai, Thiruvallur and Kancheepuram Districts and the Arakkonam Taluk of Vellore District which extend to a total of 8,878 square km.

The objective of expansion of CMA is to earmark areas for economic developments generating employment, providing infrastructure integrated with major land use patterns to serve the region besides providing for a system of hierarchy of settlements in the region, assessing their development potentials, and assigning future population and activities for further growth.

But the biggest challenge for the authorities will be how to regulate development in such vast area. Sources said as Tamil Nadu Town and Country Act provides for constitution of a regional planning authority it will be grossly inadequate for the proposed Chennai Mega Regional Planning and Development. “The provision contained in the Act is for District level Regional Planning, and not for planning for a mega region like Chennai where the constitution of the CMDA itself is in a much higher order than a Regional Planning Authority set up as contained in the Act,” CMDA sources said.

As such the government is studying two alternatives. The first includes enacting a separate act as that of National Capital Region or Bangalore Regional Planning Authority Act and have a separate institutional set up higher than the CMDA. The other option includes expanding Chennai Metropolitan Area covering proposed region as done in Hyderabad, and in Mumbai, and make the proposed regional planning area fall under the jurisdiction of CMDA. Sources feel the second option is better when compared to the first one as the first alternative will involve a time consuming process of drafting a new act.

Box:

Option I:

Area containing the Chennai City, the rest of CMA, and the taluks around the CMA extending over 4459 sq km. (i.e. adding 3270 sq.km. to the CMA’s extent 1189 sq.km.) may be delineated as the Regional Planning Area.  This planning area will fall within a radius of about 50 km for the Chennai CBD  and will contain the whole of the Chennai District, Gummidipoondi, Ponneri, Uthukottai, Ambattur, Thiruvallur and Poonamallee Taluks of the Thiruvallur District, and Tambaram, Sriperumbudur and Chengalpattu Taluks of the Kancheepuram District.

Option II:

In addition to the area stated in the Option-I, the area containing Thiruthani and Pallipattu Taluks of Thiruvallur District, Arakkonam Taluk of Vellore District and Kancheepuram, Uthiramerur, Mathuranthakam, Thirukalukundram and Cheyyur Taluks of the Kancheepuram District may be delineated as the Regional Planning Area. The Regional   Planning Area suggested as Option-II includes the whole of Chennai, Thiruvallur and Kancheepuram Districts and the Arakkonam Taluk of Vellore District.  It will extend over 8878 sq.km totally