CHENNAI: Three years have passed but the two pilot projects for Chennai under Amrut Scheme is yet to take off. The state is now making efforts to redevelop the historic George Town, where the first settlement of the city of Madras began.
Chennai was selected among the 25 cities for two pilot projects under the Union government's Amrut Scheme. George Town has been selected for the pilot, where-in 150 hectares will be redeveloped while Agaramthen Village (St Thomas Panchayat Union) was selected for the pilot under the town planning scheme.
CMDA recently invited officials from various departments to share ideas for the proposed development of the local area plan at George Town. This comes after CMDA planned to redevelop in-house after its initial plans to hire independent consultants on a part-time basis for a year to develop the pilot did not take off.
It is learnt that discussions were held with members of NGOs, Chennai Corporation, Metro Water, Railways, MTC, street vendors, and Association Presidents at George Town.
Vanessa Peter of the Information and Resource Centre for The Deprived Urban Communities (IRDUC), who took part in the discussion, said she suggested that the plan also include a home for the homeless and play areas for children besides the need of inclusivity.
“They have mapped everything from an architectural point of view. They should map social amenities too. Local area plan is not about infrastructure to make the cities beautiful. It also means better access to social amenities," she said.
The George Town area identified for the pilot town planning scheme is bound by Basin Bridge Road on the North, Rajaji Salai on the East, North Fort Road and Periyar EVR Salai on the South and Wall Tax Road on the West.
The area selected for the pilot scheme is classified under different land use zones, which include primary residential, mixed residential use zone, institutional and industrial use zones, as per the Second Master Plan Land Use Map.
Association of Professional Town Planners (APTP) president K M Sadanand said redevelopment is not possible in George Town. "They can only improve amenities like roads, drainage and any government land. But when it comes to private land, it will be time-consuming and the cost will be higher," he said.