Maximum Chennai

CHENNAI: If you are finding it increasingly difficult to find a seat on the bus, or parking space for your car, look no further for reason than the Census 2011 data. As a resident of Chennai district, you now have 7% less space for yourself than you had ten years ago.
The provisional census figures released by the government on Thursday have show that after North East Delhi, Chennai district is the most densely populated, with 26,903 people living in every square kilometre of the city.In 2001, with a population of 43 lakh, the density was 24,231. Of the 46 lakh people living in the district now, a person who had 431 square feet of space in the city in 2001 now has only 400 square feet.
This virtual space includes space for all the activities you choose to do everyday, including your living space, playing, walking, driving, parking and a host of other things. We are however better than the district of North East Delhi where each person's living space has been reduced by 26% in the past ten years.
Experts don't see the growing density as a negative. "Cities like Hong Kong and New York which have the highest density of population are successful and sought after as these cities manage the high density of population in an orderly manner," said Raj Cherubal, project director of Chennai City Connect, an NGO that works with the government on urban management.
In fact, the increase in density is a positive sign and reflects the prosperity of the city. The challenge is to improve the quality of life of the residents and maintain the high density. "The onus is on the government to improve public transport, water supply, infrastructure and have more schools and hospitals per square kilometre. This can be done with public-private partnerships," he said.
Some others are not very convinced with the way the census has arrived at the density statistics. Former member secretary of Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), Vikram Kapoor said these figures could be distorted as they included only the area under the jurisdiction of the Corporation of Chennai and did not include the metropolitan area of Chennai. "In the past ten years, a major portion of the development has taken place in the suburbs of Chennai and the growth of population has also been high in that region," he said. He added that the calculated density of population was for 174 sq km of the city, while if the metropolitan area were included it would have come to almost 1,100 square kilometres. "To know the right picture about Chennai district, we need to take into account all the 1,100 sq km," he said.
City planners felt that Chennai district ought to be divided into Chennai and Chennai suburban on the lines of Mumbai to get a clearer picture. Social scientist Bernard D'Sami, who works with Loyola College, said migrant labourers have added immensely to the city's population density.