The Greater Chennai Metropolitan Area, or simply the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA), is the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in India, the 22nd-most in Asia, and the 40th-most in the world. The CMA consists of the core city of Chennai, which is coterminous with the Chennai district, and its suburbs in Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu, and Thiruvallur districts. The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is the nodal agency that handles town planning and development within the metro area. Since 1974, an area encompassing 1,189 km2 around the city has been designated as the CMA and the CMDA has been designated as the authority to plan the growth of the city and the area around it.
Greater Chennai
Chennai Metropolitan Area | |
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Country | India |
State | Tamil Nadu |
Core city | Chennai |
Districts |
|
Area | |
• Metropolitan area | 1,189 km2 (459 sq mi) |
• Urban | 426 km2 (164 sq mi) |
• Metro | 8,452 km2 (3,263 sq mi) |
Population (2018)[2](urban) | |
• Metro | 13,300,253 |
• Metro density | 1,100/km2 (3,000/sq mi) |
Demonym(s) | Chennaivasi, Chennaiite |
Time zone | UTC+5:30 (Indian Standard Time) |
Website | www |
![](https://web.archive.org/web/20221010225418im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/CMDA_masterplan.jpg/200px-CMDA_masterplan.jpg)
Economy
Recent estimates of the economy of the Chennai Metropolitan Area is US$110 billion (over $200 billion with industrial zones)(PPP GDP), ranking it from third to fourth most productive metro area of India, and the third highest by GDP per capita. The metropolitan area doesn't include the nearby industrial zones of Siruseri and Sriperumbudur, due to which these regions' economy doesn't get included in the total economy of Chennai. If these regions are included, the economy of Chennai would be somewhere over $200 billion.
Composition
The CMA is a metropolitan area in Tamil Nadu state, consisting of the state capital Chennai (previously known as Madras) and its satellite towns. Developing over a period of about 20 years, it consists of 2 municipal corporations, 7 municipalities and 14 smaller town councils. The entire area is overseen by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), a Tamil Nadu State Government organisation in charge of town planning, development, transportation and housing in the region. The CMDA was formed to address the challenges in planning and development of integrated infrastructure for the metropolitan region. The areas outside Greater Chennai Corporation (Chennai District) like Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu and Tiruvallur have lacked organised development.
The CMA comprises the city of Chennai and its neighbourhood corporations of Avadi and Tambaram, 8 municipalities, 11 town panchayats and 179 village panchayats in 10 panchayat unions. The CMA has an area of 1,189 km2.[1] It includes the whole of the Chennai District, along with the Ambattur, Gummidipoondi, Madhavaram, Ponneri, Poonamallee and Tiruvallur taluks of the Tiruvallur District, Sriperumbudur and Kundrathur taluks of the Kancheepuram District, Pallavaram, Vandalur and Tambaram taluks of the Chengalpattu district.
The CMA falls in three Districts of the Tamil Nadu State viz. Chennai District, part of Thiruvallur District, part of Chengalpattu District and part of Kancheepuram District. The extent of the Chennai District (covered in Chennai Municipal Corporation area) is 426 km2 and comprises 55 revenue villages in 10 Taluks [viz. (i) Tondiarpet Taluk, (ii) Perambur Taluk, (iii) Purasawalkam Taluk, (iv) Egmore Taluk, (v) Mambalam Taluk, (vi) Guindy Taluk, (vii) Mylapore Taluk, (viii) Velachery Taluk, (ix) Aminjikarai Taluk and (x) Ayanavaram Taluk. In Thiruvallur District out of total district area of 3,427 km2, 637 km2 in Ambattur, Thiruvallur, Ponneri and Poonamallee taluks fall into the CMA. In Kancheepuram District out of 4,433 km2, 376 km2 in Tambaram, Sriperumbudur and Chengalpattu district fall in the metropolitan area.
CMA region has about 3,000 water bodies, most of which have been encroached upon by real estate dealers and small communities.[4]
The Chennai metropolitan area is set to be expanded further, incorporating the entire districts of Chengalpattu, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram, and the Arakkonam taluk, Nemili Taluk of the Ranipet district.[5] In future it may expand further. Plans to expand Chennai Metropolitan Area seven folds from existing 1,189 sq. km to 8,878 sq. km appears to be scaled down in view of opposition from farmers in giving up their agricultural lands. The government is looking at maximum utilization of the available spaces in the core city and urbanized pockets in the suburbs for residential development. Only area well connected with the available rail infrastructure will be included in the expansion plan of CMA. The extent of expansion will be scaled down from 8,878 sq. km to 3,000–4,000 sq. km.[6]
Nodal agencies
Sn | Agency | Responsibility |
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1 | Greater Chennai Corporation (Madras Corporation), Avadi Corporation, Tambaram Corporation, Municipalities and Panchayats | Civic management in their area of jurisdiction |
2 | Tamil Nadu Housing Board | provision of plots and ready-built houses, Sites and Services schemes |
3 | Metropolitan Transport Corporation | Bus Transport |
4 | CMRL | Metro rail transport department |
5 | Chennai City Traffic Police | Traffic Management Schemes |
6 | Tamil Nadu Electricity Board | Electricity generation and supply |
7 | Public Works Department | Implementation & Maintenance of macro drainage system |
8 | Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority | Urban planning, coordination of project implementation |
9 | Chennai MetroWater Supply and Sewage Board | Water Supply & Sewerage facilities for CMA |
10 | Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board | Provision of housing, infrastructure and livelihood programs in slum areas |
11 | Aavin Co-operative society | Providing Milk through co-operative society to the people of Chennai |
12 | Southern Railway | Chennai suburban railway and Chennai MRTS |
Municipal corporations
Municipalities
Districts
- Chennai district (complete)
- Kanchipuram district (partial)
- Tiruvallur district (partial)
- Chengalpattu district (partial)
Taluks
- Alandur
- Ambattur
- Aminjikarai
- Ayanavaram
- Egmore
- Guindy
- Madhavaram
- Maduravoyal
- Mambalam
- Mylapore
- Perambur
- Purasawalkam
- Sholinganallur
- Thiruvottiyur
- Tondiarpet
- Velachery
Expansion
The CMDA regulates developments in the Chennai metropolitan area through the issuance of planning permission under section 49 of the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act 1971.[7][8]
The first plans to expand the CMA were proposed by the CMDA in 2011. The need for expansion arose as several nearby settlements such as Sriperumbudur, Kelambakkam, Tiruvallur and Maraimalai Nagar had been undergoing rapid development and had to be incorporated under the CMDA planning strategy. Also, the planning bodies of other metropolises in India such as Bengaluru, New Delhi and Hyderabad had already redefined their respective metropolitan regions to include much larger areas and corresponding regional planning was being done. The CMA, however, has not been altered since it was first defined in 1974. The area was limited to 1,189 km2 (459 sq mi) which is among the smallest in the country.[9]
In July 2012, the CMDA suggested two options to the Government of Tamil Nadu for expanding the area:
- The first option includes the whole of the Chennai district, Madhavaram, Ambattur, Poonamallee, Ponneri, Gummidipoondi, Uthukottai, and Thiruvallur taluks of the Tiruvallur district, and Alandur, Pallavaram, Tambaram, Sholinganallur, Chengalpattu, Thiruporur, and Sriperumbudur taluks of the Kancheepuram district extending up to 4,459 km2 (1,722 sq mi).
- The second option includes the whole of Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts and the Arakkonam taluk of Ranipet district and extends to a total of 8,878 km2 (3,428 sq mi).
Chief planners of the CMDA have suggested that the second option is more feasible.[10] Another planning model, similar to the National Capital Region was also examined by the CMDA. In order to plan for balanced regional development, developing a larger road network, implementing an integrated transport plan and identifying a Chennai Mega Region have become necessary.[11]
On 3 July 2017, the Government of Tamil Nadu's minister for housing and urban development, Udumalai K. Radhakrishnan announced its intention to expand the CMA to 8,878 km2 (3,428 sq mi). The extension will cover all of Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts and Arakkonam taluk of Ranipet district, as proposed in July 2012. Having completed a feasibility study, a "strategic regional plan" was now required, and completion of the whole process was expected by July 2018.[12][13]
On 22 January 2018 the Government of Tamil Nadu issued order G.O. (Ms) No.13 to "declare the intention to include additional areas in the Chennai Metropolitan Planning Area" under section 2, clause (23-a) of the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971 (Tamil Nadu Act 35 of 1972). The additional areas to be included were as proposed by the CMDA in 2017.[14][15][16] Under Tamil Nadu Act 35 the Tamil Nadu government is required to allow reasonable opportunity (two months according to §10.3) for inhabitants, local authorities and institutions in the area to comment upon or object to such an expansion proposals.[17] Although less than 100 objections to the expansion plans were received, a public interest litigation action was launched at the Madras High Court in March 2018.[18]
Notes
See also
- Mumbai metropolitan area
- Delhi metropolitan area
- Kolkata metropolitan area
- List of metropolitan areas in Asia by population
- List of metropolitan areas in India
- List of million-plus urban agglomerations in India
- List of districts in Tamil Nadu by Human Development Index
- List of urban agglomerations in Tamil Nadu
References
- ^ a b "Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority". www.cmdachennai.gov.in. Government of Tamilnadu, India. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ "World Urban Areas 13th Annual Edition" (PDF). Demographia. April 2017.
- ^ "India Stats: Million plus cities in India as per Census 2011". Press Information Bureau, Mumbai. National Informatics Centre. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
- ^ Hemalatha, Karthikeyan (10 November 2012). "40 Chennai lakes to get a new lease of life". The Times of India. Chennai. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
- ^ C Shivakumar (24 August 2015). "Chennai Expansion Could Be Tricky, Suggests History". The New Indian Express.
- ^ Yogesh Kabirdoss (11 January 2019). "Government may scale down metropolis expansion". The Times of India.
- ^ "The Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971 (Tamil Nadu Act 35 of 1972)" (PDF). Government of Tamil Nadu. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
- ^ Aloysius Xavier Lopez (10 November 2012). "Challenging times for building panel". The Hindu. Chennai.
- ^ "Final call on Greater Chennai by fiscal year-end". IBN Live. 26 August 2011.
- ^ C Shivakumar (10 August 2012). "Cities / Chennai : Push to expand Chennai metropolitan area". New Indian Express.
- ^ A. Srivathsan (28 October 2011). "Cities / Chennai : Delhi planning model proposed for city". The Hindu. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
- ^ "Metropolitan Area set to expand". The Hindu. PressReader.com. 4 July 2017.
- ^ Mariappan, Julie (4 July 2017). "5-year wait ends, Chennai finally set for seven-fold expansion". The Times of India. TNN.
- ^ "Your word matters in Chennai's expansion". The New Indian Express. 6 February 2018.
- ^ Dabrai, Rohit (31 January 2018). "Chennai Metropolitan Area". www.twenty22.in.
- ^ Krishnan, S (22 January 2018). "G.O. (Ms) No.13" (PDF). Government of Tamil Nadu. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
- ^ "The Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971 (Tamil Nadu Act 35 of 1972)" (PDF). Government of Tamil Nadu. 1971.
- ^ Kabirdoss, Yogesh (5 April 2018). "CMDA to seek public opinion on Chennai expansion, clear doubts". The Times of India.
External links