The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is planning to improve footpaths in 120 locations across the city. Residents have urged the Corporation to make sure that the pavements remain useable and are not taken over by encroachments, including vendors and parked vehicles, and are not uneven in height or has insufficient width.
An official from the civic body said that tenders for the improvement works would be floated soon. Further, a drive to remove encroachments from footpaths began on Tuesday, and other issues will be assessed and addressed as necessary, he added.
According to the GCC, the civic body carried out two footpath renovation projects in 2021-22, covering 2.4 km, and two projects in 2022-23, covering 1.95 km. In 2023-24, 14 projects for a length of 13.09 km were completed 12.45 km of that. Thirty-one were planned in 2024-25, but the total number of pavements renovated is yet to be ascertained, according to the officials. The total number of projects taken up from 2021-2025, as of March 3, 2025, stands at nine, covering 224.69 km at a combined cost of ₹46.08 crore.
An official in the Bus Route Roads Department said this was — apart from the sidewalks, which were repaired along the relaying of roads — laid under Tamil Nadu Urban Road Infrastructure Fund (TURIF) since 2021. For the upcoming financial year 2025-26, 1,116 roads of 191.38 km are expected to be relaid, and the footpaths adjoining these roads will also be renovated, the official added. Further, the GCC is planning 15 health walkways in the city for an estimated ₹24 crore, he said.
Meanwhile, according to a study by Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA), pedestrians are involved as the second highest group registering fatalities within GCC limits, after two-wheeler riders. It states that 60% of the roads within GCC limits have footpaths, of which only 45.5% are of 1.5 metre width. Further, 14% of these are encroached upon. 84% of non-motorised transport users walk on “access and dispersal mode” or have walking as their main way of reaching or leaving from bus stops.
Along with these reasons, experts, councilors and residents squarely blame vendors for making pavements unusable. A councilor from North Chennai, said while vending zones have been designated, many vendors reserve these spots with unused rusted food carts, but operate additional shops on pavements in non-designated areas, particularly on stormwater drains. Besides abandoned carts, there are issues like open defecation, and alcohol and drug use mainly at night, yet the police do not take action, he added.
“Open dumping and wastewater on the footpaths from shops are also concerning. There are no footpaths in the interior lanes of Anna Salai like Ritchie Street area due to shop encroachments — staircases, ramps, or kiosks. The Corporation should survey footpaths in all 15 zones,” he said.
M. Balakrishnan, general secretary of Tansi Nagar Welfare Association, said vending zones were not marked in all areas of Velachery, leading to sidewalks being encroached by vendors. He said this was rampant also in T. Nagar and Mylapore. Saligramam, Besant Nagar 2nd Avenue and Mandolin Shrinivas Main Road in Vadapalani, too have similar issues, locals said.
K. Senthil Kumar, former Chairman of the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA), T.N. Chapter, said that the GCC must monitor rampant vehicular parking on the pavements and add tactile paver blocks to help visually challenged persons. “There is a need for coordination between various agencies, including the telecom department, internet service providers, Tandegco, CMWSSB, and the GCC, to avoid repeated digging. In many place,s cables are exposed, leading to pedestrians falling or getting hurt,” he adds.
Architect and professor Kunnakudi Srinivasan said many footpaths were unsafe and of inadequate width. The pavement in front of the Cancer hospital and IIT Madras on Sardar Patel Road is hardly a foot wide. “Only road widening and relaying is focused by the GCC. Improving of pavements is neglected, especially in Adyar, Nanganallur, and Mogappair,” he said.
He highlighted issues like parked vehicles, food stalls encroaching on walkways, and Chennai Metro Rail construction shrinking pavements. “Manhole covers and bollards are partially broken, pavement levels vary in the same area, and slabs or paver blocks crack due to parking and vehicle movement. This is tough for senior citizens and persons with disabilities,” he said.
He suggested allocating at least five feet width for construction of pavements. It is the low- and middle-income groups who rely on public transport and walk long distances, so planting of trees would reduce heatstroke or exhaustion cases. If people need to walk freely without tripping on obstacles or using the road due to an occupied pavement, these issues must be addressed, he added.
On Tuesday, 168 encroachments near 66 schools within the GCC limits were removed. The encroachment clearance drive near educational institutions across the city and will continue in the coming days, the GCC said.
Published – March 11, 2025 10:43 pm IST