CHENNAI: The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority has embarked on an ambitious plan to create self-sustaining and holistic neighbourhoods for the metropolitan area that’s set to expand five-fold.
With several suburban areas like Gummidipoondi, Arakkonam, Thiruthani, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur and Mamallapuram, among others, coming into the CMA fold, increasing the CMA limits from 1189 to 5904 square kilometres, the development authority will be carrying out an economy study that will help to build newer localities with better living conditions in sectors like health, education, lifestyle, infrastructure, jobs, connectivity and investments.
CMDA floated tenders last week to appoint a consultant to carry out a study titled ‘Sustainable Economic Growth Strategic Plan in Chennai Metropolitan Area’. The 24-week long study, with experts in economy, urban planning and data, will primarily focus on a spatial study to identify potential locations for creation of newer industries in sectors like automobile, ITEs, real estate, power and electronics, among others which will boost localised jobs. It will also identify localities for real estate and office spaces.
Further, the scope of study would look into identifying spaces and scope for potential recreational activities including nightlife, street life and other leisure activities including walking and open-spaces. The study that would be carried out through field visits and data analysis, will also gather details of types of employment which people are involved in CMA areas based on locations, their salary and wages.
The CMDA has six satellite towns in the pipeline in the expanded CMA areas, and the study will help in strengthening these towns.
CMDA member secretary Anshul Mishra said economic planning is critical to urban planning. “We are also focusing on the creation of transit oriented corridors interlinking the CMA areas. Decongestion of core city areas and how sectors in core city areas can be made more efficient by being shifted to other localities will also be looked into,.” he said.
Some sectors which are likely to be moved out of the city include the automobile mechanic hub in Pudupet which causes immense congestion in the core city. Experts said electronics hubs like Ritchie Street too have better potential to expand in outer areas.
K M Sadanand, president, Association of Professional Town Planners (APTP), said decongesting the core city is a cyclone, yet one of the key measures.
“Buses from Broadway were shifted to Koyambedu and now they are again shifting to Kilambakkam. We should identify major spatial lands in these added localities and let it for private developers to invest in them for recreation activities like malls, sports and leisure. We should have bigger sports stadiums and multi-purpose grounds which are lacking inside the city,” said Sadanand.
Dr N Ezhilan, state planning commissioner member, said there must be an eco-friendly urbanisation with green outlays, broad pedestrian walk spaces, and buildings cleared with environmental impact assessments that could withstand extreme heat and heavy floods. “The areas for development and buildings in those areas should be flood-resilient,” he added.
KR Shanmugam, professor and director of Madras School of Economics said Tamil Nadu’s growth has been higher than the country’s average but still, the urban expansion could be managed well. “It may create more job opportunities in the expanded areas, but we have experiences on how some added areas in Chennai still lack basic infrastructure,” he said.
