Figure 5 Map of Madras, 1970 showing Konnur lake in 1970 and now

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

of this, the area underlying water bodies reduced by 2389 acres between 1979 and 2016. (Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), 2017). That unlawful building was permitted to encroach on vital water supplies and close to bodies of water, wreaking havoc on urban environment. Among the water bodies mentioned in the paper are the diminishing Mogappair Lake, Ambattur Tank, and Pallikaranai Marsh.

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The Chennai Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group lodged an RTI query with local municipal officials in June 2016, asking if the master plan took into account the whole list of water bodies in the city. "The water bodies shown are not all of those in the Chennai metropolitan region," according to the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority. Since the Master Plan is a wide brush zoning map, little narrow water bodies may come under land uses such as agricultural, industrial, institutional, and so on." According to the municipal planning organisation, they do not have a full inventory of all water bodies in Chennai. The revenue department's maps are used to create the master plan.The tehsildar, or local administrator, has a distinct set of maps, which provide more minute data about the geography in that region. The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority conceded in its response to the RTI request that it did not have the same level of information on its map as the tehsildar, but that "such precision is not necessary in the master plan." There are no plans in place to incorporate and integrate the data." (Chennai Water Bodies, n.d.)

According to activist Nityanand Jayaraman, a master plan is required by definition to bring together multiple data types and sources in order to build specific development plans. He claimed that if this is not done, it is useless and can do more harm than benefit. "The RTI reveals that the master plan was not created with hydrology as a consideration by indicating that the master plan makers did not have access to data concerning water bodies," Jayaraman added. "Chennai's master plan looks to be a ruse, a blueprint for lining the wallets of unscrupulous government officials and revenue authorities all down the supply chain." The master plan should ideally be created after a thorough examination of each area of the city's current use before opening it up to industrial or development activities. So, what happened to Konnur Lake's position as a waterbody? Unless it's an official mandate from the government, reclassifying land or water bodies - changing their land use in the master plan – requires the agreement of the tehsildar. Having followed the floods, the Chennai Municipal Development Authority enacted a rule requiring builders to get a tehsildar certificate verifying that no