CHENNAI: The State government will set up new urban development authorities for Madurai, Coimbatore-Tiruppur Area, and for the fast growing Hosur area, according to Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan. The State has had only one development authority for the last 45 years, unlike in other states in the country.
President of the Association of Professional Town Planners (APTP), K M Sadanand, who has been advocating for multiple authorities, welcomed the move by the State government.
“There is a need to have 15 development authorities across the State,” said Sadanand, hoping that the State government will go in for more development authorities later. He also said that the prevailing rules, law, and acts should be strengthened and all the bodies engaged in the planning process should be merged into one.
According to data accessed by Express, in the 226 municipal corporations in India, there are 215 development authorities. States like Karnataka, which has 11 municipal corporations, have 32 development authorities.
So is the case with Andhra Pradesh, which has 14 municipal corporations and has 18 development authorities. “It is only in Tamil Nadu where we have 15 municipal corporations but only one development authority,” said Sadanand.
Meanwhile, the minister highlighted only seven per cent of area across the State is planned. “This Government will ensure that the coverage under Master Plans is enhanced to 22 per cent,” he said.
He said that his government is committed to ensuring that Tamil Nadu is made entirely slum free within a period of 10 years.
He said the total provision for the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board in the Revised Budget Estimates 2021-22 is Rs 3,954.44 crore. He said new Slum Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy will be formulated in consultation with all stakeholders to ensure that slum dwellers are treated fairly and humanely when they are resettled from objectionable poramboke lands including water courses.
The minister said the Second Tamil Nadu Housing Sector Strengthening Project with World Bank assistance will be taken up shortly. The negotiations for the first phase of the Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable Housing for the Urban Poor with Asian Development Bank assistance have been recently concluded, the minister added.
A dubious distinction
According to data accessed by Express, in the 226 municipal corporations in India, there are 215 development authorities. States like Karnataka, which has 11 municipal corporations, have 32 development authorities. So is the case with Andhra Pradesh, which has 14 municipal corporations and has 18 development authorities.