CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu govt on Wednesday allocated Rs 8,852 crore to the housing and urban development department in the 2026-27 budget. A slew of initiatives including a new affordable housing scheme for middle income families, redevelopment of ageing tenements, an AI-powered governance platform and a comprehensive master plan for the expanded Chennai Metropolitan Area, were also unveiled.Finance minister N Marie Wilson announced the launch of the ‘My Home’ scheme under which affordable housing projects will be developed through the public-private partnership (PPP) model for middle-income families as well as economically weaker sections. A total of one lakh houses will be constructed in seven years. To support the My Home scheme, the govt announced investment of Rs 15,000 crore through the PPP model. It has also earmarked Rs 3,500 crore as Viability Gap Funding (VGF) to improve project viability and attract private investment.The govt said 24,131 affordable housing units are currently under construction across the state, while work on another 14,194 units will commence this year. It also announced the redevelopment of dilapidated tenements. A total of Rs 1253 has been announced for the initiative.In another key announcement, the govt allocated Rs 40 crore to establish SPEED (Single Platform for Efficient Expedited Development), an AI-based integrated governance platform aimed at making faster, transparent and automated digital planning permissions.To guide the future growth of the Chennai Metropolitan Area, the govt announced Rs 25 crore for preparing a Comprehensive Master Plan for the expanded Chennai Metropolitan Area, covering 5,904 sq km. The plan will serve as a roadmap for the region’s long-term growth and transformation and will be benchmarked against global best practices and internationally acclaimed metropolitan planning frameworks. The announcement comes as the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) prepares the Third Master Plan (2027-2046) for the core metropolitan area covering 1,189 sq km.
