Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is likely to drop 15 infrastructure projects announced for the 2025-26 financial year at an estimated cost of Rs 299 crore, as it faces a severe financial crunch.
According to the report, CMDA had traditionally focused on urban planning and building approvals. During the previous DMK government, then chairman and former minister Sekar Babu directed the agency to take up infrastructure works, with project suggestions sought from MLAs.
As CMDA began executing works that are typically handled by local bodies and other departments, its reserves were depleted. While the agency earns around Rs 400 crore annually through building approvals, officials said the current situation has left it struggling to fund even projects where tenders were already issued and work is nearing completion.
The projects were paused when the Assembly election was announced. After the change in government, a review of their status raised questions over how new works could proceed when funds are insufficient for ongoing commitments.
An official from the Housing and Urban Development Department said the projects have been recommended to the respective departments through letters, and the inability to implement them was also conveyed in a recent CMDA meeting chaired by minister Rajkumar. The projects reportedly include upgrades at Bharathi Women’s College (Rs 25 crore), improvements to nine government schools in Chennai (Rs 25 crore), 15 “Chief Minister’s Libraries” across Chennai (Rs 40 crore), a public library in the Broadway area (Rs 30 crore), and development works in the Kundrathur Panchayat Union (Rs 25 crore).
