Chennai district explained

Chennai District
Other Name:Madras
Nickname:
Settlement Type:District of Tamil Nadu
Coordinates:13.0839°N 80.27°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: India
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1: Tamil Nadu
Subdivision Type2:Region
Subdivision Name2:Chola Nadu
Established Title:India - Pulicat Lake - 023 - lake landscape.jpg
Parts Type:Talukas
Parts:Alandur, Aminjikarai, Ambattur, Ayanavaram, Egmore, Guindy, Madhavaram, Manali, Maduravoyal, Mylapore, Mambalam, Purasawalkam, Perambur, Shollinganallur, Thiruvottiyur, Tondiarpet, Velachery
Seat Type:Headquarters
Seat:Chennai
Leader Title1:District Collector
Leader Name1:Tmt.S.Amirtha Jothi, IAS
Leader Title2:Commissioner of Police Greater Chennai
Leader Name2:Shankar Jiwal, IPS
Leader Title3:Advocate
Unit Pref:Metric
Area Total Km2:426
Elevation M:6.7
Population Total:67,48,026
Population As Of:2011
Population Density Km2:auto
Population Demonym:Chennaiite
Chennaikaran
Demographics Type1:Languages
Demographics1 Title1:Official
Demographics1 Info1:Tamil
Timezone1:IST
Utc Offset1:+5:30
Postal Code Type:PIN
Postal Code:600XXX
Area Code Type:Telephone code
Area Code:44
Iso Code:044
Registration Plate:TN01
To
TN10
TN13
TN14
TN18
TN22
Blank1 Name Sec1:Sex ratio
Blank1 Info Sec1:951 female / 1000 male
Blank2 Name Sec1:Literacy
Blank2 Info Sec1:90.33%
Blank4 Name Sec1:IUCN category
Website:https://chennai.nic.in/

Chennai district, formerly known as Madras district, is one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the smallest and the most densely populated district in the state. The district is coterminous with the city of Chennai, which is administered by the Greater Chennai Corporation. It is surrounded by Tiruvallur district in the north and the west, Kanchipuram district in the south-west, Chenglpattu district in the south, and the Bay of Bengal in the east.

As of 2011, the district had a population of 67,48,026 with a sex-ratio of 989 females for every 1,000 males. Much of the district's population descended from its settlements in the 1st century CE to the Middle Ages, but the diversity has grown much since then. The district consists of only one civic body, the megacity of Chennai, which forms the core and the most notable portion of the much bigger Chennai metropolis, or officially, the Chennai Metropolitan Area. In 2018, the district's limits were expanded, aligning with that of the newly expanded Greater Chennai Corporation, which had annexed adjacent municipalities. It resulted in the area being increased from 175km2 to 426km2.[3] The district is divided into three revenue divisions and ten taluks.It has GDP (nominal) of $ 143.9 Billion (as of 2023) (https://www.c40.org/cities/chennai/)

Etymology

The name Chennai was derived from Damarla Chennappa Nayak, the father of a general of the Vijayanagar Empire.[4]

Geography

Chennai district covers an area of 426 km2 located on the Eastern Coastal Plains of India. It is situated on the northeastern corner of Tamil Nadu along the Coramandel coast, a region bounded by the Bay of Bengal and is surrounded inland by the districts of Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram and Chengalpattu. It lies between 12°59' and 13°9' of the northern latitude and 80°12' and 80°19' of the eastern longitude at an average altitude of 6 metres above sea level on a 'sandy shelving breaker swept' beach. Terrain slope varies from 1:5000 to 1:10,000.[5] The terrain is very flat with contours ranging from 2 m to 10 m above mean sea level with a few isolated hillocks in the southwest beyond the district limits at St. Thomas Mount, Pallavaram and Tambaram.[6]

The district runs inland in a rugged semi-circular fashion and its coastline is about 25.60 km (2.5% of the total coastline of Tamil Nadu). Because of its strategic location and economic importance, it is referred to as the "Gateway of South India." The drainage system includes two rivers, namely, Cooum (flowing in the northern part) and Adyar (flowing in the southern part), a canal (the Buckingham), and a stream (the Otteri Nullah) slicing the district into several islands.

The district falls under Seismic Zone III indicating a moderate risk of earthquake. Geologically the district is divided into three regions, namely, sandy, clayey and hard-rock regions. The soil comprises clay, shale and sandstone.[7]

Of the total land area, reserved forests cover 2.71 km2 and is concentrated in and around the Guindy National Park region, one of the few national parks in the world located within a city. The forest cover of the district is as follows:[8]

Class Area (Ha)Percentage
Dense forest 151.01 1.16
Moderate dense TOF 121.16 0.93
Non-forest 12,215.56 94.06
Open forest 114.24 0.88
Open TOF 153.73 1.18
Water 231.46 1.78
Total 12,987.16 100

Climate

Chennai has Tropical savanna climate (Köppen: Aw)

Demographics

According to 2011 census, Chennai district had a population of 4,646,732 in unexpanded old limits area of 176 sq.km. with a sex-ratio of 989 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 16.78% and 0.22% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the district was 81.27%, compared to the national average of 72.99%.[9] With the expanded limits to 426 sq. km. Chennai district had a population of 6,748,026 as per 2011 census data.[10]

The district had a total of 1,154,982 households. There were a total of 1,817,297 workers, comprising 10,210 cultivators, 10,251 main agricultural labourers, 29,143 in house hold industries, 1,569,950 other workers, 197,743 marginal workers, 4,244 marginal cultivators, 3,423 marginal agricultural labourers, 8,202 marginal workers in household industries and 181,874 other marginal workers.[11]

Religion

Administration and politics

In 2013, five taluks on the district were split to create five new ones: Velachery, Purasawalkam, Ayanavaram, Aminjikarai and Guindy.[12]

In January 2018, the state government announced that the district will be expanded to match the boundaries of the Greater Chennai Corporation. This will integrate six additional taluks from Tiruvallur and Kanchipuram districts into the Chennai district. The new divisions and taluks of the district will be:[13] [3]

Revenue divisions and taluks

Members of Parliament

PC No.ConstituencyPolitical
Party
Elected
Representative
1Chennai NorthDMKV. Kalanithi Veerasamy
2Chennai SouthDMKT. Thamizhachi Thangapandian
3Chennai CentralDMKM. Dhayanithi Maaran
4Sriperumbudur (partially)DMKT.R.Baalu

Politics

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See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Chennai has emerged as India's Detroit. Deccan Herald. 7 June 2017.
  2. Web site: India Is Becoming A Hub For 'Medical Tourists' — Despite The 'Million Dollar Difference' In Care. 12 June 2014. Business Insider. 21 March 2017.
  3. News: Yogesh. Kabirdoss. Chennai district boundaries likely to be redrawn on April 1. The Times of India. 19 January 2018 . 23 November 2019.
  4. Web site: District Profile, Chennai. Government of Tamil Nadu. 27 November 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20120415034631/http://www.chennai.tn.nic.in/chndistprof.htm#hist. 2012-04-15. dead.
  5. Web site: Session-3 River and Drainage System in CMA . CMDA . 30 Dec 2011.
  6. http://www.cmdachennai.gov.in/Volume1_English_PDF/Vol1_Chapter09_Macro%20Drainage%20System%20in%20CMA.pdf Chapter IX Macro Drainage System in CMA
  7. News: John . Ekatha Ann . Disaster body for panel to monitor highrises in Chennai . Chennai . 29 September 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130429200323/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-09-29/chennai/34162823_1_ndma-cmda-highrise-buildings . dead . 29 April 2013 . . 25 July 2015.
  8. Web site: Forest at Glance . Tamil Nadu Forest Department . https://web.archive.org/web/20110520225819/http://www.forests.tn.nic.in/ForestAtGlance/forestatglance_district.html#Dist . 2011-05-20 . dead .
  9. Web site: District Census Handbook Chennai, Part XII - B. Census of India 2011. 16 June 2014.
  10. Web site: Chennai District Government of Tamil Nadu Gateway of South India India . en-US.
  11. Web site: Census Info 2011 Final population totals – Chennai district. Office of The Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2013. 26 January 2014.
  12. News: Chennai now has 10 taluks, as govt gets close to you . Mariappan . Julie . . 21 December 2013 . 23 November 2019.
  13. News: Chennai district doubles in size . Dennis S. Jesudasan . The Hindu . 5 January 2018 . 23 November 2019.