CHENNAI: Chennai is spreading out.

Statistics thrown up by studies clinch the increasing development of suburbs as residential areas chiefly due to the outward migration of city dwellers in the last decade, according to Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority Vice-Chairperson R. Santhanam.

Between 1991 and 2001, 10.19 lakh city dwellers have moved to suburbs, while the inward migration from rural areas to Chennai stood at 9.37 lakh.

According to Mr. Santhanam, the figures not only indicate that residents were shifting from increasingly commercialised city centres to suburbs, but also reinforces the need to adopt an integrated action plan to put in place infrastructure.

"Otherwise peri-urban areas will become a big slum," said M.G. Devasahayam, Managing Trustee of Citizens Alliance for Sustainable Living (SUSTAIN), at the `World Habitat Day' celebrations held last week.

Speakers at the celebrations, organised by SUSTAIN and the Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI), emphasised the need and came up with ways to maintain Chennai as one of the `Magnets of Hope', which is the UN-Habitat's theme for World Habitat Day 2006.

According to Mr. Santhanam, the city, which will have 10 million or more residents in another 20 years, needs concerted and integrated action by authorities to decongest and check the traffic and population influx brought in by a globalised economy. They should put in place employment generation activities and road networking, look at the feasibility of allowing more multi-storeyed buildings in the Chennai Metropolitan Area, conserve heritage buildings, and develop satellite townships.

While finalising recommendations related to building laws and land zoning in the CMDA's second master plan, authorities should also take into account that the city is in seismic zone III as well as prone to cyclones.

They should also take steps to provide houses for those 8.2 lakh urban poor, currently living in "high dense and objectionable areas such as river embankments," added Mr. Santhanam.Meanwhile, SUSTAIN and SICCI have signed a memorandum of understanding with the city of Hamburg to exchange ideas of good urban development practices such as integrated transport, green business, water management and environmental planning.

Mr. Devasahayam mooted the setting up of a "non-formal union of municipalities and panchayats" to make better use of the powers and autonomy of the local bodies to make Chennai more liveable, particularly the fast developing peri-urban areas. SUSTAIN Trustree G. Dattatri and Director Anand R. Doss participated.

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