Peri-urban areas of Chennai face threat of unplanned development

C Shivakumar

Chennai:

Peri-urban areas of Chennai is facing the threat of unplanned development as Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority has yet to complete a single detailed development plan.

CMDA sources told Express that DDPs for Villivakkam, Velachery, Ambattur, Nazarethpet and Perumbakam, with the objective of providing land uses as well as improvement of infrastructure in these areas has yet to be prepared.

Currently, the detailed development plan for Villivakam is nearing completion but is hit by encroachment on the Metro Water conduit pipeline.

“Ninety-nine per cent of Villivakam DDP is ready but we have been hit by the issue over whether to recognise the encroachments on the Metro Water conduit in Villivakam,” a senior CMDA source said.

He said that slum board has issued patta to these encroachments but CMDA does not recognise it. “There is a legal tangle. We are checking whether Slum Board has issued the patta following a government order,” he said.

Sources said the Second Master Plan for Chennai Metropolitan Area came into being on September 2, 2008 after which CMDA initiated action to prepared DDPs for areas in CMA in a phased manner. These include land use zoning, creating infrastructure like parks an play fields, link roads besides identifying commercial and industrial areas so that balanced development takes place.

Soures said that preparation of DDP for Velachery is also progressing smoothly and is expected to be completed this year. However, DDPs for other areas are likely to take time.

It is believed CMDA has currently dropped the idea of preparing detailed development plan for Ambattur as it feels the area is already developed and through DDP only the existing activities will be recognized and regulated.