The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) announced that the third master plan is still undergoing inter‑departmental consultations and statutory procedures, which could delay its finalisation by six months. The state government has already issued an order to expand the Chennai Metropolitan Area across five districts.

मुख्य बिंदु (Key Takeaways)

  • The Third Master Plan 2026‑47 will need a minimum of six months for finalisation.
  • The expanded Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) will grow from 1,189 sq km to 5,904 sq km.
  • Environmental conservation, blue‑green infrastructure and public open spaces are core components of the plan.

The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) has confirmed that finalising the city’s Third Master Plan (TMP) will take at least six months, owing to ongoing inter‑departmental consultations and required statutory clearances.

Background and Original Timeline

Initially, the draft of TMP‑2026‑47 was slated for release in January 2026, coinciding with a government order that expanded the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) from roughly 1,189 sq km to 5,904 sq km across five districts. The expansion aims to bring unplanned peripheral zones under a cohesive development framework, address infrastructure gaps, and unlock new growth corridors.

Current Consultation Process

A senior CMDA official explained that weekly stakeholder meetings are being held with key agencies—including the Greater Chennai Corporation, the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board, and the Forest, Environment, Housing, Water Resources, and Revenue Departments. These sessions focus on data validation, corrective inputs to the draft, and alignment of sector‑specific priorities before the plan is forwarded to the state government.

Environmental Focus and Public Participation

The upcoming master plan will dedicate a chapter to conservation, covering lakes, blue‑green infrastructure, urban parks, and open‑space reservations (OSR). Existing reserved forests and OSR lands will remain protected, while proposals for additional green belts within the enlarged CMA are under review. Once the draft is published, a mandatory two‑month public consultation period will commence, during which CMDA will host stakeholder meetings to gather objections, suggestions, and recommendations from resident welfare associations, industry bodies, and civil‑society groups.

Future Governance and Planning Authority

Although the government has already issued the order to expand the planning area, the Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) currently retains planning permission authority for the newly added zones. CMDA has requested amendments to the relevant rules so it can assume planning responsibilities, enabling comprehensive zoning, wider road networks, and OSR allocations in the expanded region.