Need for planned interventions to guide Chennai development

Chennai

The growth of Chennai has brought to the fore its complexities. What was once village-like Madras now finds itself in the midst of change with several infrastructure projects in progress and several more on the anvil. Can the city afford indiscriminate sprawl or would it require planned interventions that guide its development? Over the next decade, with an estimated population of 10 million, Chennai will probably be one of the ten most densely populated cities of Asia. With an area of 176 sq km, it is expected to accommodate 59 lakh people while the rest of the outer metropolitan area (1,013 sq km) is estimated at 66 lakh by 2026.

With the emergence of a liberalised economy in the early nineties, several corporate sectors shifted operations to Chennai. Today, almost 18% of the country’s IT workforce is located in the city, which is also drawing core industrial jobs, especially in the auto sector. To meet the growth needs over the next decade, three specific interventions have been envisaged; the renewal of its historic core and heritage buildings, the densification of intermediate areas and most significantly the provision of social infrastructure and transport links to the peripheral areas.

A prudent decision to retain the FSI to 1.5 while allowing higher FSI with multi-storeyed buildings along the wider roads and in the suburbs has contained the adverse impact on the service infrastructure and drainage systems of the city. While estimates for 2026 indicate that the city could meet most of its water needs of 2248 MLD (with more stringent monitoring), electricity and power requirements would require an additional thermal power plant of 1000 MW, proposed in North Chennai. The Metro-Water Board envisages integrating ground water aquifers, Red Hills reservoir, Palar, Krishna and Veeranam Lake, desalination plants, rain-water harvesting and recycling grey water.

The expanding metropolis has also demanded a road network of 2,780 km with a consequent increase in traffic congestion. In response, widening the radial link roads with the ring roads and integrating them with the metro rail has been envisaged. However, in the absence of quality housing, public amenities, health care and schools in these peripheral areas, Chennai’s citizens prefer to commute long distances to work. Creating social infrastructure in these areas would considerably reduce the pressure on its transportation networks. One of the most complex challenges would be to address the additional requirement for 8 lakh houses (by 2026), health and education needs of populations migrating from the rural hinterlands.

On a qualitative evaluation, how would Chennai mitigate the ecological ramifications of such growth? Protecting Pallikarnai, cleaning the river systems and restoring suburban water reservoirs and lakes, could augment the water requirements of the city (besides Krishna and Veeranam projects) while mitigating the risks of perennial flooding. The Vandalur zoo and deer park are its green assets, sustaining its biodiversity. The city however generates 3,000 tons of garbage a day that could reach a staggering 6,590 tons in 2026. With prudent development guidelines and governance Chennai could re-discover its ethos avoiding some of the perils of unbridled ruthless urbanism, eschewing a more inclusive and participatory urban process.

Durganand Balsavar, Principal Architect of Artes (Times Property, Chennai)

Source: http://content.magicbricks.com/need-for-planned-interventions-to-guide-chennai-development