A quaint village on Chennai’s East Coast Road on the cusp of development

Poonjeri was once known for farming. But it is now part of the CMDA’s New Town Development Plan for Mamallapuram, a heritage town. The CMDA is identifying projects to promote tourism, heritage, and business travel. The plan will cover 123.48 square kilometres

Until about two decades ago, Poonjeri was a small village by the side of the East Coast Road. Brisk farming marked the area, with paddy and groundnuts grown in the main. All that has changed now.

Mamallapuram to get a major facelift with a New Town Development Plan

With Mamallapuram (aka Mahabalipuram) in the global news in the last three years, a facelift is planned for the historical port town. The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) plans to prepare a 20-year New Town Development Plan for the Mamallapuram New Town for the period 2025 to 2045. The development includes 25 villages with a total area of 123.48 sq km in the historical town of Mamallapuram (aka Mahabalipuram).

The Proposed Mamallapuram New Town Planning area includes villages from Thirukazhukundram and Thiruporur Taluk.

The World Bank is providing support to the State government in designing and implementing the Urban Mobility and Spatial Development project. This has three components – strengthening integrated planning of infrastructure and service delivery; enhancing infrastructure and service implementation and accelerating sustainable urban mobility through innovative financing, the CMDA said.

This quaint village is on the cusp of development: it is part of the New Town Development Plan of the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) for Mamallapuram, a heritage town.