The Hindu : `Secretariat idea, a ruse to change DCR rules'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 03, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

`Secretariat idea, a ruse to change DCR rules'

By K. Ramachandran

CHENNAI April 2. Is the talk of converting the Queen Mary's College here, into the seat of State administration a reality? Or is it a deliberate attempt to divert the public debate on some more crucial changes which may occur on this ecologically-fragile stretch?

Concerned citizens of Chennai have started raising the questions in the wake of the `secretive' moves for amending the city Development Control Rules. The DCR amendments seek to remove the Marina and Kamarajar Salai from the list of stretches, where multistorey developments are expressly banned.

Civic activists note how the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority, which has remained unresponsive to civic needs for better urban and transport system, took just a day to moot the necessary changes in the DCR. But still civic activists are concerned that the Government has not countered the loud protests from several quarters against the move to pull down the 80-year-old college and use the site to build a statuesque Secretariat building.

Queer response

However, there have been some queer responses from the administration. In the past three months or so, the establishment explained that the existing Secretariat building at Fort St. George was in disrepair. Earlier this year, the Government announced the creation of a new administrative city, about 30 km south of Chennai. It also talked about developing the Santhome stretch to accommodate multinationals and diplomatic enclaves.

However, there are those inside and outside the establishment, who believe that the whole exercise could be a "red herring" thrown to mislead the citizenry.

M. G. Devasahayam, former Administrator of Chandigarh Capital City, says that ever since the announcement of using the Marina for building highrise modern structures for MNCs and embassies/consulates, there have been certain marked trends. He says the Government is not responding to protests against the move to pull down the QMC. But it wants to change the DCR, quietly and without any transparency. "The idea of a new Secretariat seems more a ruse for getting the rules changed... , after which there will no more be hurdles to creating the modern enclaves even east of the Beach Road, right up to the Adyar estuary.

G. Dattatri, a former CMDA planner, says it is sad that Chennai has no urban plan now. The old master plan is dead and the second master plan, a non-starter. Now, there is a possibility of use of Section 32 (1) of the Town and Country Planning Act, which gives the government overriding powers to vary the rules and then inform the people through a public notification, instead of following the procedures of preliminary notification, calling for objections and deciding on any issue after considering the public objections.

However, Mr. Dattari says, now is the time for civic activists and heritage lovers to come together and come out with an alternative plan with inputs and participation from all stakeholders including government, the people, experts, Non-Governmental Organisations and activists.

In the early 1950s, the Rajaji administration banned highrise buildings on the shoreline to ensure a healthy life for Mylapore and Triplicane citizens. During the late 1970s, an idea to build a highrise structure on the Lady Willingdon College campus was stopped for the same reason.

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