The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Residents of mixed-use areas bear the brunt

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Monday, Sep 29, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Residents of mixed-use areas bear the brunt

A. Srivathsan

Many commercial conversions in residential areas still illegal

— Photo: M.Karunakaran

The number of mixed residential buildings in the city is on the rise. An aerial view of Besant Nagar.

CHENNAI: It was late in the evening and a tired Dhayanithy and his family members returning home from a function found it impossible to enter their house. The gate was blocked by vehicles parked in front. It took a while and a not so pleasant conversation to get the vehicles removed. “The shops are to blame,” he points out exasperatingly. “This row was a quiet stretch of MIG housing blocks, now it is almost a shopping street.”

Dhayanithy’s neighbhours, a few blocks away, in Besant Nagar, were not willing to wait till things worsened in front of their houses. They took a major eatery chain to the court and obtained interim injunction against the conversion of the house into a shop.

The plight of residents in T. Nagar, Gandhi Nagar, Alwarpet, Anna Nagar and many other places in the city is similar. Car parking along the road and in front of the house, snarling traffic, noise and, at times, kitchen waste and large quantities of garbage strewn around are daily ordeals they deal with. Houses along the city roads plead “do not park in front of this gate.”

Small utility and corner shops are not the issue. They are seen as service providers to the residential neighbourhoods and building rules permit them.

The shops and offices in question are the relatively larger commercial ventures that attract large number of visitors, vehicles and abet further commercialisation of the area.

Shop owners in Besant Nagar and elsewhere look at the spread of shops as inevitable. Besant Nagar and Anna Nagar, planned more than 30 years ago, were built as residential enclaves and only portions of their layouts were designated as commercial plots. “But, the city has dramatically changed over a period of time and mushrooming of commercial buildings is an outcome of the changing spatial dynamics,” many shop owners and patrons argue. Along with this, buildings dedicated to IT are allowed everywhere and have no restrictions. Government policy and rules facilitate this and are equally to blame, they add.

The situation and arguments are familiar. Delhi witnessed similar unregulated spread of commercial activities in the residential areas before breaking into a civic crisis. After hearing the protests from the residents, the courts intervened and directed all unauthorised shops to be closed leading to violent protests and more arguments.

The Delhi master plan had to be modified to accommodate the violators of land use regulations. Is Chennai about to witness something similar?

Building rules divide the city into different use zones and activities within these zones are strictly regulated. Chennai’s first master plan, notified in 1975, designated various areas into primary residential, mixed use, commercial and industrial use zones.

Areas marked as ‘primary residential use’ were meant for residential activity alone and commercial establishments up to 400 sq. ft. were allowed.

However, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) had the powers to sanction shops up to 3,000 sq.ft. on a case-to-case basis in the primary residential areas. In a mixed-use area, commercial establishments up to 5,000 sq.ft. are permitted.

A government planner pointed to unauthorised conversion of two floors of a residential complex in Besant Nagar, built by a well-known builder, after completion.

Like many other rules in the city, land use regulations, too, are not enforced and residents face the brunt.

Shop owners and residents who were keen to capitalise on the demand for commercial spaces anticipated the new master plan to accommodate violations and facilitate further conversions. The new rules do allow for spread of shops in residential areas, but they come with a caveat.

Commercial establishments can now be built in any part of the city as long as the road width is more than 18 metres.

Shops up to 5,000 sq. ft. can come even in primary residential area provided the road width is more than 12 metres. But, there are conditions. This rule will not apply to areas such as Besant Nagar, K.K. Nagar, Anna Nagar and other planned layouts. In such cases, the original planning scheme will prevail.

Similarly, in as many as 56 of the 96 planning zones in Chennai, where detailed development plans have been prepared, as per the previous master plan, the new rules will not apply. This holds many of the commercial conversions in residential areas as still illegal.

Planners at CMDA point out that a mix of residential and commercial are ways to reduce commuting distance between place of living and work, they create vibrant urban spaces and accommodate changing needs. Many residents agree with this but point out that the city should also provide for quiet residential areas for those who desire them.

They insist that the city must keep to its guarantee of keeping designated areas as residential zones and when commercial activity is allowed parking and other norms must be strictly enforced.

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