Dream Merchants Find No Takers As Outskirts Lack Water Supply, Proper Roads And Sanitation Despite Big Plans
One gauges a city by the quality of its in frastructure, espe cially the quality of its roads. And this is key to real estate growth.
Chennai, though, has grown primarily through its suburbs despite an appalling lack of basic infrastructure. Development of residential colonies and commercial activity have long outpaced infrastructure in most newlydeveloped parts of the city .
Not surprisingly, lack of proper roads, water supply and good sewerage network coupled with a poor garbage disposal system has resulted in the real estate sector floundering in the boondocks and stymied demand.
I nve s t o r s and customers, with few options to choose from, have borne the brunt due to the lack of infrastructure.
There has been little appre ciation in capital value in most places outside the core city over the past six years , Devinarayan Housing managing director N Nandakumar said. Take Ambat tur, for instance, where land prices have hovered around `4,500sqft for several years. There are few exceptions to the trend, like Porur, which has showed some promise.
Industry watchers have noted that developers are sitting on huge stocks of unsold apart ments -in the region of 52,000 units, according to an estimate by Jones Lang LaSalle managing director Sarita Hunt.
An abnormal increase in capital values across the city prompted middle class buyers look at emerging suburbs for their housing needs in the past decade. Developers take up resi dential projects in the suburbs hoping that basic infrastructure will magically arrive by the time projects are completed. That has never been the case in Chennai.
Developers were forced to look at promoting housing stock on the outskirts due to growth in manufacturing and IT sectors in localities on the city's fringes over the past 20 years. People working in these sectors obviously looked for housing in the vicinity of their workplaces.Those who settled in these neighbourhoods have found that the cost of apartment maintenance very high and quality of life is best forgotten about, SSPDL managing director Prakash irector Prakash Challa said.r, Some devel opers even pro mote projects in completely uninhabitable areas. “Cus tomers or their agents over look due dili gence and beG lieve develop ers who tell them that the necessary infrastructure is on the way,“ said Pride Group managing director Arvind Jain.
“Builders are keen on developing suburbs.“ Akshaya managing director T Chitty Babu said.“We try to provide all facilities needed, but it is a challenge to ensure that there is drinking water, sanitation facilities and uninterrupted power supply .“
“There is always high demand for homes in well-connected areas, because they are accessible, safer, healthier and cheaper to live in,“ Pharande Spaces chairman Anil Pharande said.
Developers are willing to be part of any government initiative to improve basic infrastructure, Nandakumar said.
If the government fast-tracks all ongoing infrastructure projects, the demand for housing will improve in the suburbs, Newry developers managing director S Sridharan said.
The government has failed to take any major initia tive to improve basic infrastructure on the outskirts of the city in recent years except for the Chennai Mega City Development Mission, to improve roads, provide streetlights, sewerage and water connections and storm water drains in extended parts of Corporation of Chennai.
As the corporation accounts for just 36% (426sqkm) of Chennai Metropolitan Area's (CMA) 1,189sqkm, lack of infrastructure outside of the core city is a dampener for the housing sector, developers say .
Places beyond the city's limits have no sewerage network, and residents make do with bad roads. The authorities have only tarred arterial thoroughfares and Metrowater is yet to cover most developing regions.
“All the emerging residential hubs in the peripheral areas are beset by the same problems,“ Devinarayan Housing managing director N Nandakumar said.
Despite paying water tax, people who live in most parts of the extended city depend on private tankers for drinking water.
S Geethaa, a flat owner in Elcot Avenue in Sholinganallur, said her apartment complex, which has around 200 residential units, is fully dependent on drinking water supplied by private takers. In Adambakkam, though Metrowater has laid water lines, it has not managed to ensure that supply is adequate. Of the 42 areas that were merged with Chennai corporation in 2011, the utility has laid water lines only in eight localities. Officials say they are covering a further 28 areas under the Mega City project, but the pace of work has been slow.
The condition of roads is a major worry for suburban dwellers. “In Indian cities, the amount of time one takes to travel between home and work makes or breaks a residential location,“ Pharande Spaces chairman Anil Pharande said.
Experts estimate that communities in areas without good road connectivity often spend up to 15% of their monthly income on transportation.
When the corporation expanded in 2011 it added 17,000 new roads to its jurisdiction.But, as K Ramesh of Manali says, the civic body has laid roads in extended areas but the quality of work has been poor.
GETTING BIGGER NOT BETTER
Every year, state government allots nearly `500 crore to the city corporation and Metrowater for the development of expanded areas under Chennai Mega City Development Mission Under the mission, Chennai corporation spends money on roads, storm water drains and street lights for the expanded areas. Metrowater provides water and sewerage connection to residents in these areas 42 local bodies, including Alandur, Ambattur, Thiruvottiyur and Madhavaram, merged with Chennai corporation in October 2011 As many as 17,000 roads were added to the Chennai corporation after the expansion of the city
A 35-Yr-Old Practice Where `Auction' Determines Agents To Collect Toll
Without a shred of paper showing legal sanctity , Mamallapuram Town panchayat has been collecting an illegal `entry fee' -at the rate of `40 per four-wheelers and `10 per two-wheelers and autorickshaws -for the past 35 years. There is no law, rule or government order permitting such collections, but agents are appointed by the town panchayat on the basis of an `auction'. Worse, no record of amount collected is being maintained.
All these details tumbled out when a PIL filed by an advocate questioning the `entry fee' into the heritage town came up for hearing in the Madras high court on Monday .
The first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice T S Sivagnanam, noting that the government had no answer to this specific query raised in the PIL filed by advocate K Sudhan, said: “Government pleader seeks some time to obtain instructions as to under what act, rule or government order, is the fee being demanded by the Mamallapuram Town Panchayat in respect of vehicles entering the town.“ Several thousand vehicles either enter or pass through the scenic heritage town on East Coast Road (ECR) daily , and they are made to pay the amount by force, by a team of locals who wear neither identity card nor uniform, the PIL said. Narrating his own personal experience, Sudhan told the bench that he was forced to part with `40 under threat during a visit with his family .Even local police cautioned him against lodging a complaint, saying powerful people were engaged in the business.
It was only after returning to Chennai that he sent a list of queries under the Right To Information Act, that exposed illegality surrounding the `entry fee'.
First of all, the executive officer of Mamallapuram town panchayat conceded that there was no law or government order permitting them to collect the `fee' and added that it was being collected on the basis of a `resolution'.
Local residents, staff vehicles of Kalpakkam nuclear power installation are exempted from payment, Sudhan said, adding that there was no legal basis or sanctity for collecting the fee from ve hicles entering or transiting through Mamallapuram.
Noting that those collecting the money do not render any service or improve the heritage experience of visitors and tourists pouring into the shore town, the PIL said the town panchayat had no legal or moral right to prevent the entry of any vehicle that refuses to pay the `entrance fee'. Those engaged for collecting the sum had artificially narrowed down the road by placing metal barricade, it said.
The PIL seeks to save thousands of tourists visiting the heritage town from paying an amount into an `inert category' of revenue collection not found in the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994, Sudhan said. He urged the court to immediately stay fee collection, as it is done without any legal sanction.
L&T wants Rs 74 crore toll arrears as collection ceased at Noyyal bridge for 4 yrs after protests
Subburaj A
Coimbatore:
L&T Infrastructure Development Project Limited (IDPT) authorities have approached the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials and the district administration, seeking payment of toll arrears amounting to `74 crore for the past four years.
The company that built a bridge across Noyyal River in 1998 at Athupalam in the city has alleged that government buses and private vehicles were not paying toll and as a result it was facing a `74 crore loss.
The company had relaxed toll collection after a series of protests from the public and political outfits. But the L&T authorities have said that they would resume collection of toll stringently under an agreement with the state and central government till 2018.
The company officials had sent a detailed letter to the district administration and the NHAI a few days ago that in accordance with a tri-party agreement, the L&T IDPT has to maintain the over bridge and can collect toll from all types of vehicles except motorcycles till 2018.Due to public protest, the firm was not able to collect the toll for the last four years.
Tamil Nadu state transport corporation (TNSTC) had agreed to pay `50 per bus daily for using the bridge. The TNSTC failed to pay `1.75 crore from 2010. “The private firm sent the letter to us. Already the matter was pending before the Delhi high court. The firm failed to collect toll for the last four years. Then how can the NHAI bear their loss,“ asked G Manuneethi, divisional engi neer, National Highways, Coimbatore.
Since the late 1990s, vehicles coming from Palakkad have to enter Coimbatore city via Madukkarai, Kuniamuthur and Avinashi road rail over bridge to reach Neelambur by using Avinashi Road (NH 47). NHAI, state government and L&T IDPT made an agreement to lay a bypass road from Neelambur to Walayar which is 27.76 km in length and construct an over bridge on river Noyyal at Athupalam. It was a `104 crore project. As per the agreement the firm will have the rights to collect toll at Athupalam for 20 years. The same firm has rights to collect toll on the road from Neelambur to Walayar for 30 years.
Consumer Cause, a body of consumers, feels motorists should not suffer for the mistakes of the government and the company .
How water divides: Poor in city get 50 litres, rich double
Chennai
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
People In Perungudi Spend `3,000 A Month On Tanker Supply
The horn of a Metrowater tanker is the sweetest sound to residents in the working-class neighbourhood of Kallukuttai in Perungudi. As it blares out, hundreds of women and children pour out of their homes, scrambling for the two pots they are entitled to in the `token' system.
Each resident in the slum, which has no Metrowater pipelines or underground sewerage facilities, is forced to make do with just about 50 litres a person. On the other hand, a man in an affluent locality guzzles up more than 100 litres a day , making the divide pronounced.
Tankers are the only hope for Kallukuttai residents, crammed into tiny dwellings on nine streets spread over 350 acres. They pooled in money to level the streets using construction debris so that Metro water and private tankers can make their way in.
“We need 25 pots a day but get only two from Metrowater,“ said 45-year old Kalavathi, a part-time saleswoman. At 18 litres per pot, Kalavathi's family of seven needs 450 litres (25 pots) a day -64 litres per head, which is less than half the 135 litres recommended by Bureau of Indian Standards.
Kalavathi spends up to Rs 100 daily on water. Most families in the neighbourhood, subsisting on a monthly income of `10,000, spend at least `3,000 on water. Private tank ers fill up a 6,000-litre tank for `1,200. “We pay `4 for every 18litre pot to private tankers,“ said Priya, Kalavathi's neighbour.
As the monsoon nears, spending on water is set to soar. “Last monsoon, women had to wade through kneedeep water with multiple pots,“ said 81-year-old Kuruvamma. “We created a makeshift boat with thermocol fastened by cycle wheel tubes to ferry pot-loads of water,“ she said. The lake besides the slum floods Kallukuttai every year.
Children go to school in bare feet, their shoes and socks tucked in their bags. The groundwater is unfit even for washing, say residents.“Clothes change colour when we wash them with our groundwater,“ said S Valli, a homemaker. Metrowater supplies 50 million litres a dayto areas like Kallukuttai.
It is a pleasant surprise that while the textile city is growing at a fast pace, the national ambient air quality survey (NAAQS) shows that Coimbatore's ambience has improved over the past two years.
The survey conducted by the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate shows that in 2012, the city had 68gm³ (micrograms per cubic metre) particulate matter in air, and the levels reduced to 56gm³ and 48gm³ in 2013 and 2014 re spectively. The level of nitrogen dioxide also reduced in 2013 and 2014, shows the survey. However, sulphur dioxide levels increased margin ally from 3gm³ to 5gm³.This is well within the NAAQS standards for industrial and residential areas.
According to district en vironmental engineer K Ravichandran, the possible reasons for the improvement in air quality could be regular maintenance of roads and regulation of traffic. “The rise in particulate matter is due vehicular pollution. Despite a rise in the vehicular population in the city , the particulate matter in air has gone down. This is due to good quality of roads,“ Ravichandran said.
However, another TNPCB official said the results and analysis could be improved if there was round-the-clock monitoring.
Civic Body Announces Slew Of Projects At Council Meet
The widening of congested Guindy Race Course Road, stalled for a brief while, will be taken up soon, the corporation council announced on Monday . It was among the various road infrastructure projects that were given the nod.
The meeting began after councillors paid homage to former President A P J Abdul Kalam. Soon, the mayor and opposition councillors were caught in a war of words as the severe water shortage plaguing the city took centre stage. Amid the accusations and counter accusations, the house passed 97 resolutions on welfare schemes and development activities, including three important road projects. “The corporation is taking several measures to ease congestion on the city's roads,“ mayor Saidai S Duraisamy said.
The corporation acquired land from Madras Race Club to widen the road but Southern Railway staked claim to the land. Both have now agreed on financial compensation and the corporation has floated tenders for the project that is estimated to cost more than `2 crore. The width will be increased to more than 6 metres, reducing traffic congestion on the road. Bus bays, footpaths and a semi-subway are also planned along the road.
The council also okayed laying a road to link Anna Main Road in Nesapakkam and Erikarai Road in Kodambakkam. At a recent meeting, Metrowater agreed to give 4,644sqm for the project. The council on Monday approved giving `2.5 crore and a pice of land for the same value to Metrowater. The land being exchanged has 30 trees which will have to be cut down. The corporation plans to plant the same number of trees elsewhere. The link road plan was originally proposed under CMDA's second master plan.
Consultants have been appointed to build walkways along the banks of the Cooum as part of a beautification project most of which is being funded by Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust. A 400m walkway will begin from the mouth of the Cooum up to the Napier Bridge costing `3.4 crore. Another walkway will connect Napier Bridge to Periyar Bridge on Pallavan Salai.
The corporation will hire a consultant for a walkway from Monroe Bridge to Chetpet Railway Bridge along the Cooum at `3.2 core.
Assess your property tax, pay online
Chennai: People will be able to calculate their property tax and pay it online soon, as on Tuesday a resolution was passed in the civic body's council meet to allow self assessment of property tax based on rates decided by the corporation. It will ensure that there would not be any complaints on tax determined by revenue staffs, a corporation official said.
Several cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai, already have the self-assessment facility for property tax. The civic body will verify those who are paying less tax than they should and levy a penalty on such offenders.
The decision came after several allegations against civic body's taxmen who assess properties at lower rates after taking bribes from owners. “Self-assessment of property tax will ensure that people are not harassed by corrupt officials,“ a senior officia said. The civic body collected a record `581.82 crore as property tax during 2014-15.
The corporation also recently uploaded on its website the property tax rates, street-wise, for all 15 zones. The property tax rates vary greatly depending on the locality. TNN
Besant Ngr may be 1st locality to get car-free `Happy Streets'
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Corpn Picks Up Idea That TOI Helped Popularise Nationwide
Move over, road hogs in your beastly SUVs and gas guzzling sedans. Chennai is going bipedal: Corporation of Chennai, taking a cue from the `Happy Streets' concept that The Times of India helped popularise nationwide, has decided to make certain localities free of vehicles for one day each week.
Besant Nagar, TOI learns, is likely to be the first locality in the city to be motor vehicle-free -for five hours every Sunday .
At its council meet on Monday, the corporation approved a proposal to encourage non-motorised modes of transport and allow residents of these neighbourhoods to reclaim their roads. The civic body has not yet finalised the localities for car-free Sundays and the date when it will launch the initiative, but officials said a stretch near Besant Nagar Beach will host the campaign first.
“Residents of Besant Nagar expressed interest in the car-free concept,“ a corporation official said. “We are also considering other areas like Mylapore and Anna Nagar.“
The South American city of Bogota, Colombia, and cities like Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Freiburg in Germany -which pioneered the concept to reduce traffic congestion and make roads pedes trian-friendly -inspired the Happy Streets idea.
With TOI's involvement, Coimbatore will start a similar project this Sunday on Diwan Bahadur Road and TV Swamy Road, where motor vehicles will be prohibited, making space for people to walk, jog, cycle and take part in recreational activities (how about a game of gully cricket?).
Road experts and residents welcomed the proposal. “Campaigns like Happy Streets promote an active and healthy lifestyle, and give impetus to equitable street design,“ said Aswathy Dilip of Institute for Transportation and Development Policy .
