3rd Master Plan for Chennai Metropolitan Area to be Delayed

Chennai: The release of the third master plan for Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) is expected to be delayed by at least a year since the new government wants to add new guidelines for buildings to facilitate vertical growth and to withstand climate change impact.

CMA is spread over 1,189 sq km and had a population of nearly 8.65 million in 2011. It is the fourth largest urban agglomeration in India after Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata metropolitan regions.

The metropolitan area covers the entire Chennai district and parts of Tiruvallur and Kanchipuram districts. Chennai district is completely urban. As per CMDA’s second master plan, CMA’s population is expected to increase to 14.8 million by 2035.

The Chennai city Corporation, with an area of 176 sq km, witnessed a population growth to nearly 4.65 million in 2011. In the same year, the city area was revised to 426 sq km with a population of about 6.6 million.

The third master plan is a comprehensive blueprint for Chennai’s growth, land use and infrastructure from 2026 to 2046, replacing the second master plan.

The initial draft of the third master plan is undergoing intensive weekly departmental consultations with stakeholders and experts. Data verification is being carried out by taking inputs from the stakeholders and required revisions from the experts had been sought.

The blueprint has been given to international town planning experts to review the project, keeping in view the needs of the middle of the 21st century.

The master plan was expected to be released this year since the timeline for the project starts from 2026, but the government officials feel that the guidelines for vertical growth and climate resilient structures are needed.

Most of the cities in Europe and the United States have allowed vertical growth in a limited area, while keeping a large area outside the city untouched, preserving the natural surroundings, water bodies and forests. However, the discouraging of vertical growth in the past has led to horizontal growth and expansion of the city, resulting in loss of water bodies and agriculture fields.

Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is planning vertical development in designated areas in the city under the third master plan. This is a major shift from the policy four decades ago when policy-makers were against vertical development as it will create pressure on a small area and lead to depletion of groundwater and other resources.

The discouraging of vertical growth in the past has led to horizontal growth expanding the spread of residential areas to the suburban areas where water bodies providing water for irrigation and drinking needs were encroached and polluted. The necessity for providing transport from the suburban areas and the growth of two-wheelers, too, has added to pollution, congestion of roads to the city and global warming.

The government also wants to safeguard catchment areas for water bodies and the water bodies from encroachment, and provide green buffers to make the city climate-resilient. The commercial hubs, too, are being planned in such a way to concentrate them in transit routes of major highways, Metro rail and suburban trains so that people need not use two-wheelers and other forms of transport using fuel fossils. This is another step to reduce pollution and global warming.

When the planning itself is perfect, it is hoped that Chennai’s growth in the next two decades will bring economic prosperity, industrial growth along with preservation of water bodies and greenery.