CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Housing and Urban Development Department has decided to drop the proposed land pooling scheme for Madambakkam and five of the seven schemes planned for Thirumazhisai, following opposition from residents and landowners in the proposed development areas.
Sources said the declarations of intention for the Madambakkam scheme and the five Thirumazhisai schemes had lapsed, while the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) has submitted the draft schemes for the remaining two Thirumazhisai land pooling areas to the government for further approval. CMDA member-secretary AR Rahul Nadh confirmed the decision when contacted but did not explain the reasons.
The decision marks a setback to the CMDA’s plans to promote planned urban development in the two areas, with Madambakkam having been envisaged as Tamil Nadu’s first land pooling area development scheme and Thirumazhisai identified for large-scale residential and commercial development on Chennai’s western outskirts.
In March 2024, the CMDA issued a declaration of intention to make the Madambakkam scheme, covering 600 acres across Madambakkam, Agaramthen and Kovilanchery villages, which was intended to facilitate planned development by pooling land and returning a portion of the developed plots to landowners.
The Thirumazhisai proposal, issued in December 2024, covered 1,605.75 acres divided into seven land pooling schemes, and the CMDA had proposed a 30-metre-wide loop road connecting the Chennai Outer Ring Road with the Bengaluru Highway (NH-48), along with residential and commercial developments and supporting infrastructure.
Under the proposed land pooling model, irregularly shaped private and public lands lacking public access, infrastructure and public facilities would be pooled, reconstituted and redistributed as regular plots, with at least 60% of the developed land returned to landowners and the remainder, of up to 40%, used by the planning authority for roads and other amenities.
The development plan also included parks, institutional spaces, hospitals, sewer lines and stormwater drains, and was meant to prevent unplanned growth.
The Tamil Nadu Land Pooling Area Development Scheme Rules, 2024, framed under the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, require the planning authority, after the declaration of intention, to publish a preliminary scheme inviting objections and suggestions from landowners and the public before proceeding with the final scheme, and the rules also provide for updating land ownership and revenue records following approval.