Chennai: After burning through nearly ₹3,000 crore in two years and slipping into a negative balance of ₹1,500 crore, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) has decided to exit construction activity and, instead, stay within its core mandate of urban planning and approvals.In the last two years, the CMDA funded for Vada Chennai Valarchi Thittam, Mudhalvarin Padaipagams, libraries, Thirumazhisai Bus Terminus, Mudichur Bus Termibus, Ornametal fish market, besides more city based infrastructure on bus terminus and building development.“About ₹3,000 crore has been spent on construction works alone in the last two years, and our balance is in negative of ₹1,500 crore now. There’s no money left for any new construction. Construction is not CMDA’s mandate. Despite lacking an executive wing with different tiers of engineers to monitor execution, the authority ventured into special infrastructure and construction projects,” an official said, adding that the CMDA did not have the wherewithal to review the quality and maintain the assets post construction too as they lack the engineers.After elaborating this at a recent review meeting, the CMDA then concluded that it had strayed from its original role of scrutinising planning approvals, creating residential and commercial layouts, collecting scrutiny fees, and ventured into full-fledged construction works.“We end up handing over the assets to other departments to maintain. This doesn’t fetch any revenue for CMDA too,” officials said. In the past, CMDA gave money to other departments for specific projects based on proposals, and had not ventured into full-fledged construction by itself.The review found that even the corpus revenue built up since 1972 through interest earnings had been exhausted entirely. The TVK govt has now removed the CMDA ministry created by DMK govt, and the department now is directly handled by the housing ministry as it was in the past.The CMDA was instrumental in creating neighbourhoods like Anna Nagar, Mogappair East, West, OMR, Koyambedu, and Virugambakkam among others. Officials said no such new neighbourhood plans were created in the last five years besdies an on-paper town-ship in Thirumazhisai.“CMDA in the last two years did not create any new plotted development areas, neighbourhoods, layouts and landpooling which is its mandate. Now, we will move back to these basics, and exit from construction,” the official said, adding that the money revenue for CMDA now stands at ₹15 crore, and they are planning to increase it through land pooling projects and layout creations.
