CHENNAI: The State government will now come out with a new transport roadmap for the Chennai Metropolitan Area till 2048, which will synchronise with the Third Master Plan (TMP), said official sources.
This comes as the present Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) for Chennai Metropolitan Area, which was prepared during the AIADMK regime, is being reviewed by the government. The mobility plan proposed an investment plan of around Rs 1.5 lakh crore, which was to be finalised after the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority holds its first meeting. But now, officials say it is unlikely to happen.
The idea is that development and transport infrastructure should go together. While the third masterplan is a long exercise, sources say the comprehensive mobility plan is likely to come up in the next 18 months once the State government gives its approval.
The Comprehensive Urban Mobility Plan was prepared after the State planned to improve upon the outdated Chennai Comprehensive Transportation Study (CCTS) that was unveiled in August 2010. The CCTS focused on the mobility needs of car users, while the comprehensive mobility plan was to address the mobility needs of all people and the infrastructure required for all modes, as well as to integrate both the land use (i.e., the spatial distribution of activities) and transport systems.
Official sources told TNIE that the present CMP focussed only on Metro rail corridors and could not take into account the expansion of the city. “We are waiting for in-principle approval from the State government,” sources said. It is learnt once the file is cleared, a tender will be floated to find a consultant.
“The plan is likely for 20 years and will be an evolving one. It will be frequently updated every four or five years,” sources said. This could mean the plan will take into account the new airport and electric vehicles and the proposed satellite cities, besides the proposed expansion of the Chennai Metropolitan Area, including the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor, among others.
Former Anna University professor of urban engineering KP Subramanian, however, questioned the decision of going in for a new comprehensive plan without implementing the existing one. “There is no reason why the plan should be aborted even without giving a fair trial of implementation, and opting for preparation of a new plan when the process to prepare for the TMP has been rolled out. The ideal approach will be to make the CMP an integral part of the TMP,” he said.
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