A group of residents of Chengalpattu has given an emphatic call for the formation of a new district with Chengalpattu as its headquarters.
In their petition submitted to the district collector K. Baskaran here on Monday, they said Kancheepuram district remained the largest district in the State even after the bifurcation of the erstwhile Chengalpattu-MGR district into Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts in 1997.
Pointing out that the bifurcation of the existing district would speed up administrative processes, the petition added that the clubbing of eight taluks — Alandur, Tambaram, Chengalpattu, Sholinganallur, Tiruporur, Thirukazhukundram, Chengalpattu, Madurantakam and Cheyyur — would alleviate the problems faced by people of these taluks, particularly those along the coast, in commuting to Kancheepuram.
Further, a spurt in industrial activity and the establishment of numerous institutions of higher education has triggered brisk real estate activity in this belt, which already benefits from good road and rail connectivity with Chennai, said the president of the Committee for Formation of Chengalpattu District, N. Kanakaraj.
In 1788, erstwhile Thondaimandalam, comprising present-day Kancheepuram, Chennai, Tiruvallur, Vellore and Tiruvannamalai districts, was brought under the district administration by colonial rulers, who, in 1763, got the district of Chengalpattu known as Chennai Jagir for the maintenance of an army, from the Mughals.
In the early 19th century, Karunkuzhi, near Madurantakam, became the district headquarters and remained so till 1859 when the office of the district administration was shifted to Saidapet (in present day Chennai), except for a period of 10 years (from 1825 to 1835) during which Kancheepuram served as the district headquarters.
Later, in 1968, the collector’s office was shifted to Kancheepuram when former Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai fulfilled a poll promise that the office would be shifted from Saidapet to Kancheepuram. Subsequently, after his demise, the district was renamed Chengai-Anna and later, Chengalpattu-MGR after the death of former Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran.
