Chennai Master Plan to be notified by month-end

The much-awaited second master plan for the Chennai metropolitan area is likely to be notified by the end of this month. Chief minister M Karunanidhi has deputed a group of senior ministers headed by electricity minister Arcot N Veerasamy to give final touches to the draft plan.The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), architect of the master plan, submitted the final draft to the government in February after carrying out modifications as per the latter’s instructions. With the assembly budget session falling during the intervening period and the government not yet decided on the new development rules, the draft plan gathered dust for the past five months. Karunanidhi has asked PWD minister Duraimurugan, higher education minister Ponmudi, transport minister K N Nehru and urban development minister Parithi Ellamvazhuthi, along with Arcot Veerasamy to scrutinise the draft. A team of senior CMDA officials led by vice-chairperson Susan Mathew and member secretary M R Mohan will make a presentation before the ministers.Referring the plan to the group of ministers has a lot of political significance. With general elections round the corner, Karunanidhi, apparently, does not want the new plan to become a tool in the hands of the opposition. Some members of the DMK and its alliance partners have given representations seeking conversion of some residential localities into commercial zones.Some of the major recommendations in the draft plan are increasing the floor space index (FSI) from 1.5 to 1.75 for properties abutting roads that are 15 to 18 metres wide. Roads adjoining the Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS) are to get a higher FSI of 2. For those properties adjoining roads wider than 18 metres, the FSI will be 2 to 2.5. Multistoreyed buildings will be permitted on roads more than 12 metres wide. There will be a clear demarcation between residential and commercial areas.The master plan encompasses a wide range of issues: roads, water supply, lighting, power generation, overbridges, subways, drainage, sewerage, parks, play grounds, promotion of residential plots, apartments and houses, bus transport, traffic management schemes and rehabilitation of slum dwellers, both in quantitative and qualitative terms.Chennai’s population is projected to cross 10 million in the next ten years. The city’s first master plan was approved in 1976. As per the preamble of the CMDA, a new master plan should be released once in 20 years. The draft second master plan for 2011 was submitted by the CMDA in June 1995 but got delayed owing to multiple reasons. The second master plan will focus on meeting the needs of about 60 lakh people and another 66 lakh in the suburbs by 2025.