A mini-Anna Nagar with broad roads, layouts, and even an iconic structure of its own like the tower, is to come up on 800 acres around Agaramthen village, 17 km from Tambaram.
It will be the first housing project under the land pooling scheme in the state. The project will emulate some designs of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), such as designated commercial hubs.
The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is executing the residential project under which 60 per cent of the developed land parcel will be returned to landlords. The rest of the land would be used for roads, including a 100-foot avenue, parks, playgrounds and plots for schools.
The area would developed under the town planning scheme of the planning authority on the lines of Anna Nagar, CIT Nagar, R A Puram and T Nagar, for which the Centre has granted Rs1 crore under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) for capacity building.
Housing and urban development department sources said the CMDA has started engaging with farmers around Agaramthen for the purpose. “Around 800 acres will have all infrastructure to meet parameters required for a layout. We will finalise a distinctive structure on the lines Anna Nagar tower in consultation with experts,” a housing and urban development official told TOI.
Anna Nagar was born when Tamil Nadu Housing Board laid out plots in the late 1960s. Similarly, the CMDA’s project will also focus on developing the land. “One of the key design elements will be every neighbourhood having a central point earmarked for recreational facilities, places for people to gather and small commercial shops,” the official added.
Construction sector experts said that such projects will boost planned development of neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Chennai. Builders Association of India state treasurer S Ramaprabhu said Anna Nagar promoted real estate growth in a radius of around 10km around it. “The reality is people would invest in such plots developed by government agencies that will meet all development rules and regulations,” he said.
Early this year, the state government released the draft rules for the Land Pooling Scheme, two years after its launch.
