CMDA without vice-chairman for more than three years

C Shivakumar
Chennai:

Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority is functioning without a
vice-chairman for more than three years and this is having an impact
on major policy decisions, according to CMDA sources.

According to Town and Country Planning Act, the vice-chairman has vast
powers and functions and is more or less equal to the chairman or
minister for urban development.

This post is usually being occupied by principal secretary or
additional chief secretary cadre but after the transfer and retirement
of Susan Mathew, the post has remained vacant since May 2011.

This also had an impact on major policy decisions, including the
Second Master Plan Monitoring and Review Committee. It is learnt that
the vice-chairman acts as a chairman of the six committees that fall
under the Second Master Plan’s Monitoring and Review Meeting and these
committee should have been meeting frequently.

However, in most of the cases it had hardly been convened three or
four times. The meeting of the Second Master Plan Committee on Traffic
and Transportation, which was likely to have been convened after more
than two years on January 5, 2015, was postponed abruptly.

The meeting was to discuss various important infrastructure projects.
It is learnt most of the projects in CMDA is also progressing at a
snail’s pace. It is learnt that housing and urban secretary who is
looking after various departments and has different responsibilities
may not have adequate time to take care of the additional
responsibilities.

Sources say that  peri-urban areas of Chennai is facing the threat of
unplanned development as CMDA has yet to complete a single detailed
development plan. Had there been a vice-chairman then the DDPs would
have reviewed. It is learnt 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.

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

But in the seventh year barring Villivakkam all the DDPs are still pending.

Representation of VC and principal secretary of HOUD in various
committees in CMDA