C Shivakumar @ Chennai:
As the Chennai Metropolitan Area has been expanded from 1,189 square km to 8,878 square km by bringing in 1,709 villages of the neighbouring districts of Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Vellore under the Chennai Metropolitan Area, Chennai Metropolitanm Development Authority (CMDA) is now doing away with rudimentary planning and focusing on plans which will generate mobility.
A top official told Express that CMDA is looking beyond detailed development plans for Chennai. “The focus is now on grid of roads and transit oriented development,” he said.
He was reacting to the concerns of planners who claim that the current metropolitan area is undeveloped as only 10 per cent of city has detailed development plans.
Planners have stated that under the existing Chennai Metropolitan Area there are 57 detailed development plans and that too being prepared in 1980s. "Currently for the last 10 years, five detailed development plans are being prepared and none has final approval," said K M Sadanandh, president of Association of Professional Town Planners.
Sadanandh told Express that 90pc of Chennai Metropolitan Planning Area (CMPA) has mere land use plans which have not updated even once in the last 10 years since the approval of the Second Master Plan.
According to Association of Professional Town Planners, the second masterplan has various committees which include traffic and transportation, investment and infrastructure, land use and environment, shelter, economy and employment that are supposed to meet every three months to make suitable recommendations to the authority on review of master plan for every two years. Surprisingly none of the committees have met once since the approval of Second Master Plan.
When queried on it, the CMDA official said that he will look into the issue.
Stressing on the need for formation of Town and Country Planning Board to advise the government on development activities, Sadanandh said that he had sent in his proposal to the housing department wherein he had also suggested formation of Metropolitan Planning Development Authority for cities having more than one million population based on 2011 census.
What planners want:
1. Convene various committees to review Second Master Plan. None of the committees hardly met
2. Quality of technical and administrative manpower requirements is not adequate for expansion of CMA.
3. Lack of qualified town planners as qualified town planners have not been recruited directly in the last 25 to 30 years
4. Purpose and outcome of expansion of CMA is not revealed
5. Out of 125 sections of Tamil nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971, over 50 sections are non-functional and inactive
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