All of Kancheepuram and Tiruvalluvar districts as well as Arakkonam taluk in Vellore district are set to be added to the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA), declared Housing and Urban Development Minister Udumalai K. Radhakrishnan in the Assembly on Monday. This would expand the area covered under CMA to 8.878 sq km from its current 1,189 sq km.
The move is intended to counter the effect of growing population in Chennai, regulate development in suburban areas and build infrastructure on par with economic activities, Times of India reported the minister as saying. The minister also said the government would be working on the urban and economic development plan for the expanded areas and this is expected to be completed in an year.
The development initiatives for the expanded CMA includes transport, environment protection, infrastructure and agricultural land protection. The minister also shared plans to utilize the areas under flyovers in Chennai and suburban areas effectively as parking lots and green areas.
Mr.Radhakrishnan also shared news on re-development plan for areas currently under Chennai Metropolitan Area like Triplicane and George Town. These areas will get wider roads, infrastructure development, public space and safe buildings to improve the environment and the safety of people living here.
“Mahabalipuram will get a 6.79-acre new bus stand at a cost of ₹10 crore. The bus stand will function as a centre for Chennai, Chengalpattu, Kalpakkam, Puducherry.”, The Hindu reported the minister as saying.
The proposal is pertaining to declaration of Mega Chennai Region (MCR) and not the expansion of the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA). The CMA and the MCR are two distinct areas. Mega Chennai Regional Planning Authority (MCRPA) would be constituted for MCR. Functions and powers of the CMDA and MCRPA are different. The CMDA would continue to be responsible for the development of the CMA as per the Master Plan, while the MCRPA would prepare Mega Chennai Regional Plan (MCRP). The prime Objective of the MCRP is to minimise the intra-regional disparities in terms of city sizes and distribution and economic and social development. The prospective Plan would propose to freeze the growth of Chennai through aggressive development of cities such as Vellore, Kancheepuram, Thiruvallur and other towns and cities within the MCR using investment strategies as a tool for employment generation and infrastructure provision besides conservation of natural resources.
Proposed Mega Chennai Region (MCR) & Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) are similar to the NCR (National Capital Region), & DDA (Delhi Development Area).A Regional Plan (RP) would be prepared for the MCR by the Mega Chennai Regional Planning Authority (MCRPA) to be constituted as per Tamil Nadu Town &Country Planning Act, 1971. The RP would restrain the overgrowth of Chennai by proposing aggressive & conscious pumping of investment in to tier II & III cities for generation of employment and infrastructure development & thereby attracting migrants, who otherwise would go to Chennai. The MCRPA would take a call on population distribution among cities & towns, investment pattern, economic, social, & spatial development within the Region. The CMDA & other Planning Authorities would prepare Master Plans (MP) within the frame work of the RP. The CMDA would cause the development of the CMA as per the MP, which may have to be reoriented inconsonance with the evolved strategies of the RP.