Housing dept asks CMDA to regularise buildings in Red Hills catchment areas

CHENNAI:  The State housing department has directed the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority to regularise unauthorised constructions built across 27 villages, which are designated as catchment areas of Red Hills Lake, saying that Chennai’s First Master Plan of 1975 did not classify these places as catchment areas and all constructions made before the Second Master Plan, which came into effect on September 2, 2008, can be regularised.

Spread across 4,500 acres, the Red Hills reservoir is one of the largest water sources of the city. The 3,300 million cubic feet storage capacity reservoir has been providing water to the city even during times of drought. Construction of buildings in catchment areas may impede the flow of rainwater into the lake, sources said. Experts say the decision could set a bad precedent and may encourage more such illegal constructions and trigger demands from across the State for regularizing such constructions.

The housing department’s directive seems to have ignored the CMDA resolutions of 1990 and 1991 that imposed a complete ban on urban development in 23 villages and partial ban in four villages falling under the lake’s catchment areas. As per the 1990 CMDA resolution, a copy of which was accessed by TNIE, all patta lands should be reclassified as agricultural lands and no request for reclassification of land in these villages should be entertained after 1990. But sources said unauthorised constructions based on fake approvals from local panchayat authorities continued in the villages. Though CMDA never approved any project after 1990 in these areas, it just issued notices to a few projects and failed to take any follow-up action on unauthorised constructions.

Now, based on a petition filed by a private institution, an appeals committee of the housing department has recommended that all constructions made before September 2, 2008, can be legalised. Based on this recommendation, housing secretary Hitesh Kumar Makwana has directed the CMDA to legalise buildings — including educational institutions, industries, commercial and residential projects — in and around Red Hills Lake built before the cut-off date of 2008. 

Former Anna University professor of urban engineering K P Subramanian says, “Regularising illegal developments in the catchment area, for whatever reason it may be, will disturb ecological equilibrium and cause environmental deterioration. It may be cited as a precedent in the future and open floodgates for such developments.” The government may do well to adopt a cautious approach, he said. 

Interestingly, the appeals committee has even recommended that constructions made before September 2, 2008, may be considered for planning permission for all developments including proposed and existing layouts, reclassification, non-high rise buildings (residential, industrial and institutional), high-rise buildings, regularisation under 113-A and 113-C schemes, and regularisation of unapproved plots or layout schemes introduced in 2017 (unapproved subdivision or layout formed prior to September 2, 2008).

Factfile

Twenty-seven villages are covered along the Red Hills catchment area and development in these areas is prohibited

The government in 2015-16 had sought clarification from the Master Plan Unit of the CMDA over the status of industries and educational institutions that were developed before the preparation of first and second master plans

EPS slams govt
Former CM EPS has slammed the DMK government for trying to reclassify catchment areas into institutional areas to benefit private firms. Officials are confused over implementing the order without taking into consideration objections raised by the PWD and Metro Water, the ex-CM said.