CHENNAI: The state government on Monday announced that the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority would create a new growth cluster through land pooling on 600 acres at Madambakkam. The state would also soon unveil policies to promote ethanol blending, green hydrogen and e-vehicles.

Governor R N Ravi, while making his customary address to the assembly, said land would be pooled with the consent of landowners and classified based on their use to promote planned development, while ensuring that the benefits of development are shared with the land owners.

Majority of the land owners had given willingness to participate in the project and work would be completed shortly, he said. “In the next phase, a satellite town is proposed to be created near Mamallapuram along the East Coast Road following the same model. The upgradation of ECR as a four-lane road coupled with development of this satellite town will anchor future growth of the Chennai metropolitan area,” Ravi said.

The government has been expeditiously implementing six large schemes at 1,334 crore, as a result of which 3tmcft of storage capacity would be added and 7tmcft of storage would be reclaimed, he said. Long pending projects like Thamirabarani-Karumeniyar-Nambiyar and Athikadavu-Avinashi are nearing completion, the governor said.

The government reiterated its commitment to construct a greenfield international airport at Parandur in Kancheepuram district. “The state government has begun preparatory works for setting up the airport.

This will help cater to the growing demand of air traffic, improve livelihood of the locals and further economic development of the state,” Ravi said. Steps were being taken to procure 2,213 BS-VI buses and 500 electric buses with KfW funding and 1,000 BS-VI buses with state funding, and they would be deployed this year, he said.