CMDA shoots down Mayor proposal to relax norms for housing

Relaxation will have serious implications on
natural ventilation, safety aspects: CMDA

C Shivakumar

Chennai:

Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority has shot down Chennai Corporation’s proposal to reduce the minimum area required for construction of a residential house in the city.

The proposal to reduce the minimum area required for construction of a residential house from 80 square metres (861 square feet) to 50 square metres (538 square feet) was mooted by Chennai Mayor Saidai Duraiswamy as he felt the smaller plot size will benefit common man and help make houses affordable for weaker sections.

CMDA sources felt the plot extent is a basic planning parameter which determines the extent of built up area, set back spaces and relaxing it will have serious implications on natural ventilation and safety aspects.

However, CMDA officials said it will delegate powers to Chennai Corporation to relax the planning parameters only if there are demonstrable hardship, family partition, court cases depending on the genuinity as done by CMDA.

It is believed  a survey was carried out following the request from the Chennai Corporation in few blocks of the older part of the city which includes Triplicane, Mylapore, Tondiarpet and Purasawalkam. The survey found that even in continuously built up area plot sizes are more than 50 square metre and it indicated that even in most of the old land parcels no further sub-division took place.

Based on the study as well as new development regulation, which came to existence four years ago as part of second master plan, the need does not arise to re-examine minimum plot size.

Interestingly, the planning parameters for ordinary residential building was reviewed and brought down from 90 square metre under Development Control rules in First Master Plan to 80 square metres in 2008 for area other than continous building area (CBA) and economically weaker sections.