Express News Service
CHENNAI: The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) has approved a proposal to reclassify six acres of land in Nandambakkam, which was identified as part of the Adyar river in the second master plan map, as a residential and institutional area.
For the past 17 years, permission to reclassify six hectares of land has been refused. An earlier meeting of the authority, which planned to reclassify a certain portion of the marked land, could not proceed following protests by NGOs who questioned the revenue records submitted by the private entity.
The water resources department said the boundaries were fixed by the revenue department during the construction of a compound wall on the western side bordering the Adyar river. “The area is to be filled to a depth of 1.2m to 2.69m from the existing level to protect against flooding,” the agenda tabled at the authority’s meeting said. Similarly, the Greater Chennai Corporation has said it needs to reconsider the development approval for the plot.
Another proposal was to reclassify part of Periya Eri as a residential use zone. It was classified as a water body in the second master plan. According to the tahsildar’s report submitted during the authority’s meeting, the records of water body alteration in punjai are not available.
Meanwhile, a study on land use plans was conducted involving 43 groups and 86 CMDA officials delineating water bodies in the first and second master plans in the Chennai metropolitan area. The survey revealed that 1,011 water bodies were marked during the first master plan. In addition, some received land use for open space and recreational use (124), partially open space and recreational use, and partially water body (155), for a total of 1,290.
The second master plan has 2,131 water bodies. There was a lack of information for 687 cases and these included 60 government lands classified as Adangal water bodies, 81 as government lands, 126 as private patta lands and 420 as pending ownership and FMB lands.
It was found that Collectors and District Revenue Officers in Chennai, Thiruvallur and Kancheepuram have been asked to submit details of A, Adangal, patta register for 420 cases to ascertain the status. Sources said the final report on the 687 water bodies would be submitted to the government soon.
Former chief planner dr. KR Thooyavan, who helped prepare the first master plan, said The New Indian Express that CMDA’s first master planner G Dattatri had designated the water bodies as open space and recreational use in the first master plan, so they could not be converted into a built-up area. “We didn’t classify them as water bodies,” said Thooyavan, who claims most of the records have been lost.
Wallpaper at a glance
For the past 17 years, permission to rezone the six acres has been denied. A previous meeting of the authorities to reclassify part of the land that had been demarcated could not go ahead after protests by non-governmental organizations that questioned the revenue submitted by the private entity. The water resources department said the boundaries were fixed by the revenue department during the construction of a compound wall on the western side bordering Adyar.