The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is planning a
scheme to utilise open space reservation (OSR) in large-scale
developments for various purposes including developing sport facilities.

The
development regulations of the second Master Plan for Chennai stipulate
that in sites with an extent of 10,000 square metres or more, 10 per
cent of the area excluding road shall be reserved as open space and
transferred to the authority or the local body designated. The CMDA,
while sanctioning the planning proposal, takes over these reserved sites
and hands them over to local bodies for development and maintenance of
parks and playgrounds.

Since the second Master Plan, 13,35553,111
square metres of land has been marked as OSR. These OSR lands are
maintained as parks by the local body.

Sources said that as the
city lacks open spaces for recreation and sports due to the growing
demand for land, the CMDA was looking at several proposals to develop
the OSR besides increasing the green cover by planting trees.

They
said there were plans to develop sports facilities in the reserved OSR
in coordination with local bodies and the Sports Development Authority
of Tamil Nadu. The plan is to nurture youngsters in various sports and
also provide them with sports infrastructure.

It is not only
sports but also the dwindling green cover which is worrying CMDA and the
Chennai Corporation. Last year the Corporation proposed to build 100
new parks in 2012-13 in the added areas of Chennai Corporation.

The
green cover plan and utilisation of OSR for fruitful activities comes
in the wake of unplanned urbanisation having an effect on land use, the
land cover of the area and the local climate.

Climatic changes in
urban areas are often characterised by increase in air temperatures
compared to nearby areas, which is termed the urban heat island effect
(UHIE). Major factors contributing to elevated air temperatures are the
size of the city, population, reduced vegetation cover, increased
density of built-up spaces, thermal properties of materials, increased
energy or fuel consumption, waste heat from buildings and vehicular
emissions.

A study has highlighted the existence of the heat
island effect in Chennai with increasing air temperatures in a radial
fashion from the suburbs towards the city centre where the mean max
urban heat island intensity reaches 2.48°C during summer and 3.35°C
during winter. This highlights the need for protecting the green cover
in the city and using the OSR for useful activities.