CHENNAI: Could Chennai have a satellite city on the southern outskirts as in Pune and Kolakata? This is what the State planning department has mooted in a bid to decongest the city. It is learnt that the State government is working on a proposal to develop a satellite city on 500 hectares to 1,000 hectares land in the south of Chennai towards Chengalpet.
Officials from the planning department said that the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority has been asked to send a proposal for creating the satellite city in such a manner that it doesn’t pose fiscal challenges.
Sources indicated that the state government is looking at land pooling on a large scale along with comprehensive urban planning to woo people.
Land pooling, a more equitable scheme where landowners would become partners in the joint venture development, was announced in 2012-13 based on Justice Mohan Committee recommendations. While the draft land pooling policy is ready, several issues remain.
Officials claim that the government is looking at implementing the scheme either through a government agency or through a trust model or by a corporate special purpose vehicle model. With land being a scarce commodity, the satellite city or sub-city is being planned to be created in partnership with farmers or land-owners.
The idea is to create a residential new town, said officials privy to the information, adding that the plan is to compensate farmers or land-owners by providing residential flats or money as compensation, government jobs or skill development programmes for family members and farmers so as to undertake a swift process of land acquisitions.
The idea is to decongest the city but past exercises have highlighted that such schemes had been a failure. The 1972 proposal to develop 178 acres of land to create a satellite town at Marimalai Nagar to regulate population growth of city, as suggested by the First Master Plan, has been a non-starter with the CMDA trying to reclaim the lands which it had acquired 40 years ago.
Similar has been the status of Manali New Town, a satellite town in North Chennai proposed in early 90s which has also never materialised. Interestingly, no responsibility has been fixed on officials for the failure of the scheme.
While sources blame planners for focusing less on planning and more on lucrative area plans unit and enforcement, it is learnt that the CMDA has hardly any new projects in its pipeline.
Officials claim that the proposed sub-city will accelerate socio-economic growth and address major challenges faced in the existing Chennai city.
The move by the state government also comes in the wake of the city looking at second airport besides a new bus terminus being proposed in Kilambakkam to decongest the Chennai Moffusil Bus Terminus in Koyambedu.
The state government has identified Madurantakam and Uttaramerur in south of Chennai as possible sites for the second airport along with Gumidipoondi and Sriperumbudur.
City saturated
500 hectares
Minimum area of land likely required for developing the proposed satellite city in the southern part of Chennai. Officials claim that the proposed sub-city will accelerate socio-economic growth