EXPANSION OF IIT MADRAS CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT Indian Institute of Technology Madras is one among the foremost institutes of national importance in higher technological education, basic and applied research. In 1956, the German Government offered technical assistance for establishing an institute of higher education in engineering in India. The first Indo-German agreement for the establishment of the Indian Institute of Technology at Madras was signed in Bonn, West Germany in 1959. The Institute was formally inaugurated in 1959 by Prof. Humayun Kabir, then Union Minister for Scientific Research and Cultural Affairs. Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) is a residential institute with about 605 faculty, 9500 students and 676 administrative and supporting staff. IITM is a self- contained campus located in a beautiful wooded land of about 248 hectares. It has established itself as a premier centre for teaching, research and industrial consultancy in the country and the world. The Institute has sixteen academic departments and a few advanced research centres in various disciplines of engineering and pure sciences, with nearly 100 laboratories organized in a unique pattern of functioning. Faculty of international repute, brilliant student community, excellent technical and supporting staff and an effective administration have all contributed to the pre-eminent status of IIT Madras. The campus is located in the city of Chennai, previously known as Madras. Chennai is the state capital of Tamil Nadu, a Southern state in India. IITM has proposed to construct additional academic, residential and hostel buildings to cater to the needs of students, staff and faculty as per the Government of India (GOI) policies pertaining to higher educational institutions. While augmenting the existing infrastructure, IITM has been taking several initiatives to protect the environment in the campus. The principle of co-existence of human beings and animals without any conflict is practiced in augmenting the infrastructure. As per the Government of India Orders, IITM has been steadily increasing student’s strength besides staff to cater to the needs of our country. 15 JANUARY 2019 EXPANSION OF IIT MADRAS CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION 1.2 OBJECTIVES The key objectives of this study include the following: To determine the compatibility of the proposed project facilities with the neighboring land uses. To assess and evaluate the environmental costs and benefits associated with the proposed project. To evaluate and select the best project alternative from the various options identified. To incorporate monitoring mechanisms during project implementation and Operational phases. 1.3 ACADEMIC PURSUITS AND THE IIT SYSTEM IIT Madras was established in 1959 as part of the endeavour by the Government to establish such institutes of national importance across the nation. The primary objective of the IITs in the words of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was “To provide scientists and technologists of the highest caliber who would engage in research, design and development to help building the nation towards self reliance in her technological needs”. Five IITs were set up in the period 1951 to 1961 in quick succession – IIT Kharagpur in 1951, IIT Bombay in 1958, IIT Madras in 1959, IIT Kanpur in 1960 and IIT Delhi in 1961. Pursuant to the original goals, these IITs were equipped with full facilities and reached fairly mature states of development very quickly – within a decade in the case of IIT Madras. The current space needs and requirement to augment facilities and increase in intake are as per the central policy initiatives and directives by the Ministry of Human Resources and Development, Government of India. 16 JANUARY 2019 EXPANSION OF IIT MADRAS CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION 1.4 RESIDENTIAL NATURE OF THE INSTITUTE IITM has always been a residential institute. Most of the faculty, staff and the students reside in the campus. Though there are set timings for the set learning modules, facilities are available round the clock. Institute encourages non-motorized mode of transport inside the campus. Free public transport systems are available in the campus to encourage this. Students in the hostels are prohibited to use motorized vehicles in the campus. 1.5 SUSTAINABILITY: OVERARCHING PRINCIPLES AND THEMES Planning in the campus takes into account the aspects of sustainability and co- existence of humans and animals. The following points summarize some of the major initiatives: The uniqueness of the natural environment and its biodiversity will be the major factor while planning. Biodiversity shall not only be protected but also nurtured vigorously. Foot print of built environment is recognized as a clear indicator of man’s intervention on the natural environment. Therefore, strategies that restrict further increase shall guide future development and management. Wherever possible, foot print shall not increase; on the contrary planning will aim to decrease this. All open spaces and water bodies shall be conserved to the maximum possible extent. Planning shall aim to minimize per capita intake of resources from the City’s infrastructure network while at the same time shall also minimize the per capita discharge of waste in to the network. All new buildings with a plinth area more than 5000 sq.m in IITM campus are registered for GRIHA 4 rating. 17 JANUARY 2019 EXPANSION OF IIT MADRAS CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION 1.6 GOVERNMENT OF INDIA - LEGISLATION - CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS Since the proposed activity constitutes construction of buildings in an area greater than 1,50,000 Sq. m., it requires Environmental Clearance from State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) under sector 8(b) of EIA Notification 2006. Government of India, Ministry of Environmental Forests, New Delhi has issued a notification with regard to the development of infrastructure / construction projects, which is known as EIA Notification - 2006, issued on 14.09.2006. As per this notification all building and construction projects come under 8(b), demands Scoping and EIA. In this regard, the Developer has appointed M/s. ABC Techno Labs India Private Limited, Chennai, accredited by National Accreditation Board for Education and Training (NABET) - Quality Council of India (QCI), New Delhi and National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) to formulate Environmental Management Plan during Construction & Operational Phases to mitigate any adverse impacts to the Environment. The Conceptual Plan describes all the details of the project and its specific activities that will be considered for investigation of the significant adverse impacts. The report also provides specific measures that will be put to practice to minimize the impacts on the Environment. 18 JANUARY 2019 EXPANSION OF IIT MADRAS CHAPTER 2-DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT SITE 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT SITE 2.1 LOCATION The proposed project site is located at Survey block nos 15 (part- 2),16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27&29 of Guindy park village No. 119, Guindy Planning division, Planning unit No15.5 of Guindy Taluk, Block nos 1 (part),2 (part),3,4,5(part),8,9,148 of Velachery village, Block no 1 of Taramani village, Block no 8 of Kanagam village of Velachery Taluk, Chennai District. The campus lies between 120 58’ 50’’ to 130 00’ 19’’ North latitude and 800 13’ 30’’ to 800 14’ 35’’ East longitude and is covered in the Survey of India topo sheet No. 66 D/1., with an aerial extent of 248 Ha. This extent of land was given to IITM vide G.O Ms. No. 3308 dated 14.9.1961, notification in the Fort St. George Gazette Part II Section I dated 25.10.1961, G.O. Ms.No. 980 dated 16.5.1958 & G.O.Ms.No.379 dated 25.02.1959 is enclosed as Annexure II. The proposed project site is located in an environmentally rich, tree filled area of the City, at Guindy and is a neighbour to the Guindy National Park with which it shares its boundary on the West. The other neighbours are the academic institutions of Anna University and the Central Leather Research Institute on the north, huge developments of Software Parks, SEZ’s and City’s central hub of IT infrastructure on the East and the dense residential area of Velachery on the South. The satellite image of the project site and the location of the project site are given in Figure 2.1 & Figure 2.2. JANUARY 2019 19 EXPANSION OF IIT MADRAS CHAPTER 2-DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT SITE FIGURE 2.1 SATELLITE IMAGERY OF THE PROJECT SITE A 13° 0'24.20"N, 80°14'25.23"E E 12°59'3.78"N, 80°14'11.08"E H 12°59'14.95"N, 80°13'23.46"E B 13° 0'23.57"N, 80°14'36.68"E F 12°59'0.48"N, 80°13'53.85"E I 12°59'32.97"N, 80°13'33.29"E C 12°59'48.68"N, 80°14'34.42"E G 12°59'12.50"N, 80°13'55.70"E J 12°59'55.89"N, 80°14'15.08"E D 12°59'4.79"N, 80°14'23.36"E JANUARY2019 20 EXPANSION OF IIT MADRAS CHAPTER 2-DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT SITE INDIA TAMILNADU CHENNAI PROJECT SITE FIGURE 2.2 MAPS SHOWING THE LOCATION OF THE PROJECT SITE JANUARY 2019 21 EXPANSION OF IIT MADRAS CHAPTER 2-DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT SITE 2.2 ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY OF THE PROJECT SITE The proposed project site is categorized as Institutional Use by Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA). The land use map of CMDA is enclosed as Annexure III. Topo map of the project site covering 10 km and 5 km radius is given in Figure - 2.3. Surrounding Infrastructure map of the project site covering 10km radius and 5 km radius is given in Figure - 2.4 and Figure - 2.5 respectively.