The Master Plan maps out the city's land usage, including which regions are suitable for industrial growth, institutions, residential complexes, agricultural, and water bodies. As a result, government officials issue building permits. Map below show institutional land in the city, which includes the Konnur Lake region. The Konnur Lake isn't the only body of water that has escaped the attention of the city planning body. The Ennore Creek, a swamp-like backwater in North Chennai with tide mudflats, marshes, and fishing villages, is now home to large petrochemical plants that dump harmful fly ash and chemical-ridden water into and surrounding the river without limitation. By classifying Ennore Creek as a hazardous industry zone and Konnur Lake as a place for institutional growth – both of which were swamped during the December 2015 floods – urban planners have blatantly overlooked the regions' current hydrology and ecological sensitivity while planning the city's expansion. .(Chennai Water Bodies, n.d.) In reality, salt pans, fish farms, and tidal water bodies that come under Coastal Regulation Zones are said to make up over 90% of the territory set aside for Special and Hazardous Industries by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority in Ennore Creek. These wetlands are important because, in addition to harbouring a varied ecology, they act as natural sponges that absorb surface water, rainwater, and floods, preventing flooding.
Figure 5 Map of Madras, 1970 showing Konnur lake in 1970 and now Over time, unrestrained urbanisation has resulted in decreasing lakes and wetlands. Following the floods, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) delivered a report to the Tamil Nadu Assembly, was the most scathing indictment of such negligence. The report emphasised the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority's (CMDA) participation in awarding development licences without adhering to land use planning regulations. As a result 33 | P a g e
