CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation, and Avadi and Tambaram municipal corporations, and several other urban local bodies in the Chennai region are set to be covered under a 25-year infrastructure planning exercise, with the Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Limited (TNUIFSL) inviting bids to prepare City Infrastructure Development Plans (CIDPs).

The consultancy packages include the GCC and seven town panchayats in the Chennai region under Package V, and Avadi and Tambaram municipal corporations, Maraimalai Nagar and Tiruverkadu municipalities under Package III. The seven town panchayats are Tirumazhisai, Naravarikuppam, Minjur, Gummidipoondi, Tirukalukundram, Tiruporur, and Uthiramerur.

The plans are intended to identify gaps in existing infrastructure and municipal services, estimate future requirements and draw up projects for short-, medium- and long-term implementation.

Earlier, GCC Commissioner GS Sameeran had told DT Next that the CIDP would provide a common framework for planning, financing and implementing urban infrastructure projects, with priorities based on service needs, future growth, climate resilience, financial viability, and citizens' requirements.

The exercise will cover water supply, sewerage and sanitation, stormwater drainage, solid waste management, roads and mobility, urban water bodies, parks and green spaces, public health, social infrastructure, safety, digital governance, and municipal finance. The assessment must cover the entire service chain, from the source of a service to its delivery to households, including individual household connections.

The consultants must also assess population growth, economic activity, land-use patterns and future urbanisation trends while identifying infrastructure requirements. The assignment also requires preliminary environmental and social screening of proposed projects, including risks relating to land acquisition, displacement, livelihoods and vulnerable communities.

Each urban local body is to receive a separate CIDP and an implementable action plan. The exercise is funded through the Project Development Grant Fund under the Chief Minister's Integrated Urban Development Mission (CMIUDM).