CMDA to hire a consultant to map housing demand in Chennai till 2046

 C Shivakumar @ Chennai

How many houses will Chennai require till 2046? Will there be an adequate supply of housing stock within the city? These questions will be answered by a study to be carried out by Chennai Metropolitan Development  Authority (CMDA). The study will be conducted by a consultant hired to assess the housing demand and supply patterns in Chennai Metropolitan Area.
The idea is to support the design of appropriate policies that can be supported through the third master plan, which is currently being prepared with the help of the World Bank.
According to sources, CMDA has decided to prepare the third master plan for 1,189 sq km and a strategic regional plan for the expanded area of 5,904 sq km.
Across CMA, the growing demand for affordable housing has brought a sense of urgency to address shelter needs across the housing spectrum, especially for low and middle-income households. Further, mixed housing (catering to a diverse range of affordability levels, tenure arrangements, and sizes) is essential to plan for an inclusionary and equitable metropolis.
CMDA will engage a consultancy to develop an overall, long-term, strategic plan that provides a comprehensive framework for meeting the projected housing requirements over the third master plan period.
The idea is to facilitate both improvements in the existing housing stock as well as the planning and realisation of diverse new housing solutions. These could be in the form of affordable housing, student housing or others through the regeneration of existing areas and planned development of green-field sites. The housing options will depend on unit size, tenure, urban form, and location, amongst others. Socioeconomic groups may be studied by household size, livelihood, and income categories and defined in per-capita household income.
The study will also address the challenges and specific requirements of unplanned areas in the city.
Earlier, Tamil Nadu carried out a demand assessment of 8.30 lakh houseless households in urban areas under PMAY's four components --- in situ rehabilitation, credit-linked subsidy scheme, beneficiary-led construction (BLC) and affordable housing in partnership (AHP). As per the housing for all missions, the houses constructed should be in the name of the female head or joint name.