Only 5% covered under master plan

CHENNAI: Only five per cent of the state’s area is covered under the master plan, leaving 95 per cent as no planning area, according to a report by the Institute of Town Planners of India (ITPI) Tamil Nadu regional chapter. The area covered under the Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) is 1.28 lakh square metres,  whereas the area covered under master plan is only 6,950 square metres of the state, the report said. “As the no plan area is 1.21 lakh square metres, which is 95 per cent of the DTCP area, urban development is taking place in a haphazard manner,” the report added.When City Express contacted sources in Town and Country Planning Department, they confirmed that 95 per cent of the DTCP area was non-plan area and gave the reason that the masterplan could be prepared for cities only.Meanwhile, ITPI has urged the government that preparation of regional planning should cover the remaining 95 per cent of the state in the 12th Five Year Plan.Interestingly, DTCP, which is having 27 composite local planning authorities, 88 single local planning authorities, eight new town development authorities and 12 regional offices, has prepared 1,625 Detailed Development Plans which fall within the master plan area and covers an area of five per cent of the state.Meanwhile, there has also been a demand for a review of the Chennai Metropolitan Area. Stating that Chennai Metropolitan Area is the smallest metropolitan area in extent in the country, ITPI report states that it is limited to 1,189 square km. In other metropolitan cities, larger regions have been declared and Comprehensive Regional Planning made. Examples include the National Capital Region   for Delhi, Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Bengaluru Metropolitan Region and the Hyderabad Metropolitan Region.“It has become necessary to review the Chennai Metropolitan Planning Area declared in 1973-74 taking into account the faster development taking place in the areas beyond the declared metropolitan area such as at Sriperambudur, Kelambakkam, Thiruvallur and M M Nagar,” the report added.“Unplanned urbanisation results in imbalanced and lopsided development. Pattern of urbanisation among districts reveal a dismal dichotomy ranging from 100 per cent in Chennai to 11 per cent in Ariyalur, the report added.