Property in Chennai

Chennai is the capital of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. Chennai flourished as a city after East India Company established its headquarters as a trading center in the 17th century. Tamil Nadus state executive and legislative headquarters are situated at Fort St. George in Chennai. The city is also known as Indias Bharatanatyam and Classical Music capital and is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in India. According to market surveys, it is also one of the most livable cities in the country.
Chennai was ruled by Nayak rulers and Britishers in the past. Chennais earlier name was Madras, and even today, many people in the city prefer to call the city, Madras. Chennai is the largest commercial and industrial center of South India.

Infrastructure
Chennai metro rail was established here recently. As Chennai Metro Rail Limited plans to extent metro lines to other parts of the city and raise capacity, this is expected to strengthen the transportation networks in the city. Four major national highways pass through Chennai. Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus, the citys bus terminus, is known to be one of the best intercity bus terminuses across Asia. The ports in Chennai and Ennore handle cargo.
Judged according to passenger traffic, Chennais international airport is the third busiest airport in India. The airport is modernising at a rapid pace. Moreover, a new airport that will come up at Sriperumbadur, an industrial locality near Chennai, is expected to decongest the Chennai International Airport. Chennai also has two important railway terminals.

Homes and Living
Property in Chennai has seen a major transformation in the past few decades. Chennai which once had more independent bungalows and colonial style buildings, but now residential apartments are becoming more common. Property prices in Chennai are likely to increase when metro lines extend to parts of the city where it is not served by mass transit. Chennai has many options for people who prefer to rent houses.
When the traffic volumes in Chennai metro rise, land use pattern in the city may change, though this is likely to happen in the long run. Another area where property prices may rise is around Mahindra World City, a special economic zone, which has some of the largest technologic zones in the world. Mahindra World City will also house the world largest information technology park built by one of Indias largest IT firms, Infosys.
Some of Chennais real estate markets including Perumbakkam, Kelambakkam, Chrompet, and Sholinganallur have been seeing a rise in real estate activity. This is true of western Chennai, too. Some of the best parts of Chennai including Mylapore, Nungambakkam, Adyar, Anna Nagar and T Nagar are seeing an increase in the number of residential real estate projects. Real estate prices in Teynampet have risen substantially in the recent past.

Real Estate and Construction
In Chennai, property tax is calculated according to the annual rental value of the property, the plinth area of the property and street in which the property is situated. The Chennai Corporation collects property tax in Chennai. You can pay your property tax online. Over two decades ago, authorities has the power to decide property tax arbitrarily, but now the Chennai Corporation has basic rates for each and every street in the city. In Chennai, stamp duty is seven per cent of the value of the property. Registration fee is a percent of the value of the property. Property registration is done at the sub-registrars office.

Demographics
The population of Chennai metropolitan area in 2011 was 8.95 million. Chennais population is greater than that of many countries. Singapores population, for instance, was merely 5.399 million in 2013. The city, however, is spread across 426 square kilometers. This makes Chennai one of the densest cities in the world, with 26,553 people per square kilometer. After Mumbai and Delhi, Chennai has the largest number of migrants and has the fourth largest slum population, among Indian cities. Chennais population is growing, though population growth is much slower than that of other South Indian cities such as Bengaluru.

Governance
Chennai Corporation, the urban local authority that governs Chennai, is the oldest municipal corporation in India. The city is governed by mayors and elected councilors. Chennai also has a planning authority Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA). The responsibility of formulating and implementing masterplans for the city is vested in the CMDA. Chennai has many suburbs, of which the larger ones are governed by municipalities, while the smaller ones are governed by panchayats. The administration and maintenance of law and order is in the hands of the Greater Chennai Police. Civic infrastructure in the city is built and maintained by the Chennai Corporation, though there is not always a clear demarcation between the functions of the Chennai Corporation and the state and central governments. Chennai also has an eGovernance agency, which was formed under Information Technology Department of Government of Tamil Nadu.

Industry and Employment
Major Indian IT companies have offices in Chennai. Chennai is also the second largest exporter of software in India. Major financial institutions including World Bank, HSBC and Citibank have offices in Chennai, too. Chennai also has a stock exchange, Madras Stock Exchange. Among Indian cities, Chennai has the third highest per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Chennai also has many electronic hardware manufacturing companies. The automobile industry, information technology companies, manufacturing firms and healthcare and financial services companies are major employers in Chennai. Nearly a quarter of the citys workforce is, however, engaged in trade, and another quarter in manufacturing. There are many industrial zones near Chennai such as Sriperumbudur and Oragadam. Chennais aerospace research and development facility is the largest in the country. Chennai has many construction companies, too. Ruby Builders and DLF are among the major developers in the city.

Lifestyle
Chennai has some of the best educational institutions in India, which includes Loyola College, Madras Christian College, IIT Madras, Anna University, Stella Maris College, SRM University, PSBB Millenium School-OMR and Womens Christian College. Tamil cuisine is well-known, and the filter coffee in Madras is considered by many to be the best that is available in the country. Annalakshmi, Dakshin, Saravana Bhavan and Amethyst are some of the best restaurants in the city. Street food is also quite popular in Chennai. Sao Tome Port is in Chennai. Marina Beach and Elliots Beach are in Chennai, too. The port administrative building in Chennai is DP building, Chennai.
Some of the major parks in Chennai are Nehru Park, Snake Park, Napier Park, Horticulture gardens, My Ladys Park, Childrens Park Guindy, Independence Park and Nageswara Rao Park. Phoenix Market City, Spencer Plaza, Express Avenue, Chennai City Centre and Abhirami Mega Mall are among the best shopping malls in Chennai. Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Urdu and English are the languages commonly spoken in Chennai, though other Indian languages are spoken as well.