Chapter XIV Land Use and Planning Strategy

What the chapter covers

Chapter XIV Land Use and Planning Strategy explains why zoning and development regulation are used in the Chennai Metropolitan Area. Zoning separates conflicting activities and can reduce pollution, excessive noise, traffic congestion and visual problems. It can also protect open space, prime agricultural land and ecologically sensitive areas, while reducing the cost of providing public services.

The chapter is a policy and historical account. It does not identify or reclassify a particular property.

First Master Plan framework

The First Master Plan designated the permitted use of every parcel in the Chennai Metropolitan Area. Its land use plan was enforced through Development Control Rules forming part of the Master Plan.

Key provisions described in the chapter include:

• A person intending to carry out development must apply under the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971, and obtain planning permission.
• The zoning classifications included primary residential, mixed residential, commercial, light industrial, general industrial, special and hazardous industrial, institutional, open space and recreational, agricultural and non-urban uses.
• The Chennai Metropolitan Area was divided into George Town and the Continuous Building Area, Chennai City, municipal and township areas outside that first category, and the rest of the metropolitan area.
• Before 1975, land use and subdivision controls covered only limited areas and did not provide statutory standards for roads, open spaces and other essential infrastructure.

Implementation issues and reclassification

Chapter XIV identifies practical problems with the First Master Plan. Some sites had more than one zoning designation, existing non-objectionable activities could not expand, and privately owned land designated for public purposes sometimes remained unacquired. The chapter also records concerns about restrictive use groupings, lengthy reclassification procedures and residential plot standards that were high compared with affordability.

Landowners could request land use reclassification, with applications examined individually on their merits. The chapter records 1,543 reclassifications across the city, municipalities, town panchayats and panchayat unions from 1977 to 2004. Reclassified sites ranged from a single plot of about 150 square metres to more than 25 hectares.

Relevance to property owners and buyers

A buyer, owner or developer should understand that the planned land use of a parcel can control what development is allowed and whether planning permission or reclassification is needed. Chapter XIV does not provide the current zoning of an individual survey number, so the relevant land use plan and planning records must be checked separately.