Chennai district

2021-06-11T18:10:36Z

2405:201:E007:3039:8564:BB16:233F:D5A1:

{{About|the district|its eponymous headquarters and the city|Chennai}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = [[:Chennai district|Chennai District]]
| native_name = 
| native_name_lang =
| other_name =
| nickname =
| settlement_type = [[Districts of Tamil Nadu|District]] of [[Tamil Nadu]]
| image_skyline = Chennai - bird's-eye view.jpg
| image_alt =
| image_caption = View of [[Marina Beach]]
| image_map = India Tamil Nadu districts Chennai.svg
| map_alt =
| map_caption = Location in Tamil Nadu, India
| coordinates = {{coord|13|5|2|N|80|16|12|E|region:IN|display=title}}
| subdivision_type = [[Country]]
| subdivision_name = {{flag|India}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[States and territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[File:TamilNadu Logo.svg|22px]] [[Tamil Nadu]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[Region]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Tondaimandalam|Tondai Nadu]]
| established_title = India - Pulicat Lake - 023 - lake landscape.jpg
| established_date =
| founder =
| named_for =
| parts_type = [[Taluka]]s
| parts = Alandur, Aminjikarai, Ambattur, Ayanavaram, Egmore, Guindy, Madhavaram, Maduravoyal, Mylapore, Mambalam, Purasawalkam, Perambur, Shollinganallur, Thiruvottiyur, Tondiarpet, Velachery
| seat_type = Headquarters
| seat = [[Chennai]]
| government_type =
| governing_body =
| leader_title1 = [[District Collector]]
| leader_name1 =
| leader_title2 = [[Superintendent of Police]]
| leader_name2 =
| leader_title3 = [[Advocate]]
| leader_name3 =
| unit_pref = Metric
| area_footnotes = <ref name="TH-5Jan"/>
| area_rank =
| area_total_km2 = 426
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m =
| population_total = 7,100,000
| population_as_of = 2011
| population_rank =
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym =
| population_footnotes = <ref name="ToI-19Jan">{{cite news|last1=Yogesh|first1=Kabirdoss|title=Chennai district boundaries likely to be redrawn on April 1|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/chennai-district-boundaries-likely-to-be-redrawn-on-april-1/articleshow/62560754.cms|work=The Times of India|date=19 January 2018 |access-date=23 November 2019}}</ref>
| demographics_type1 = Languages
| demographics1_title1 = Official
| demographics1_info1 = [[Tamil language|Tamil]]
| timezone1 = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1 = +5:30
| postal_code_type = [[Postal Index Number|PIN]]
| postal_code =
| area_code_type = Telephone code
| area_code =
| iso_code =
| registration_plate =
| blank1_name_sec1 = [[Human sex ratio|Sex ratio]]
| blank1_info_sec1 = 989 female / 1000 male<ref name="dchb-b"/>
| blank2_name_sec1 = Literacy
| blank2_info_sec1 = 90.2%<ref name="dchb-b"/>
| blank3_name_sec1 =
| blank3_info_sec1 =
| blank4_name_sec1 = [[IUCN protected area categories|IUCN category]]
| blank4_info_sec1 = 
| blank5_name_sec1 =
| blank5_info_sec1 =
| blank1_name_sec2 =
| blank1_info_sec2 =
| blank2_name_sec2 =
| blank2_info_sec2 =
| website = https://chennai.nic.in/
| official_name =
}}

'''Chennai district''', formerly known as '''Madras district''',{{efn|Both of these terms are also often used as metonyms for the [[Chennai metropolitan area]]'s trading and financial services industries, which continue a notable history of being largely based in the City. The name Chennai is now ordinarily used for a far wider area than just the City. Chennai most often denotes the sprawling Chennai metropolis, or the 2 districts of Tamil Nadu, in addition to the City of Chennai itself. This wider usage of Chennai is documented as far back as 1639, when the madras municipal corporation was created.}} is one of the [[List of districts of Tamil Nadu|38 districts]] in the [[Indian state|state]] of [[Tamil Nadu]] in India. It is the smallest and most densely populated of all the districts in the state. The district is coterminous with the [[Greater Chennai Corporation|Greater Chennai City]]. As of 2011, the district had a population of 7,100,000 with a sex-ratio of 989 females for every 1,000 males.<ref name="dchb-b"/>

Chennai is a [[megacity]] and local government district that contains the historic centre and the [[Central business district]] (CBD) of [[Chennai metropolitan area]]. It constituted most of [[Chennai metropolitan area|Chennai]] from its settlement by the peoples in the 1st century CE to the [[Middle Ages]], but the city has since grown much since then. The city forms a small part of the [[Chennai metropolitan area|metropolis of Chennai]], though it remains a notable part of central Chennai metropolitan area.

In 2018, the district limits were expanded, aligning with that of the newly formed [[Greater Chennai Corporation]], which resulted in the area being increased from {{convert|178|km2|mi2}} to {{convert|426|km2|mi2}}.<ref name="TH-5Jan"/><ref name="ToI-19Jan"/> The district has three [[revenue division]]s and ten [[taluk]]s.

== Etymology ==
{{Main|Chennai#Etymology}}
The name ''Chennai'' was derived from [[Damarla Chennapa Nayakadu|Damarla Chennappa Nayakudu]], the father of a general of the [[Vijayanagar Empire]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chennai.tn.nic.in/chndistprof.htm#hist|title=District Profile, Chennai|publisher=Government of Tamil Nadu|access-date=27 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415034631/http://www.chennai.tn.nic.in/chndistprof.htm#hist|archive-date=2012-04-15|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== 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 District|Tiruvallur]], [[Kanchipuram District|Kanchipuram]] and [[Chengalpattu district|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.<ref>{{cite web
| title = Session-3 River and Drainage System in CMA
| publisher = CMDA
| url = http://www.cmdachennai.gov.in/pdfs/SeminarOnWaterways/5.pdf
| access-date = 30 Dec 2011}}</ref> 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]].<ref>[http://www.cmdachennai.gov.in/Volume1_English_PDF/Vol1_Chapter09_Macro%20Drainage%20System%20in%20CMA.pdf Chapter IX Macro Drainage System in CMA]</ref> 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 [[river]]s, namely, [[Cooum River|Cooum]] (flowing in the northern part) and [[Adyar River|Adyar]] (flowing in the southern part), a [[canal]] (the [[Buckingham Canal|Buckingham]]), and a [[stream]] (the [[Otteri Nullah]]) slicing the district into several islands.

The district falls under [[Seismic hazard|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]].<ref>{{cite news | last = John | first = Ekatha Ann | title = Disaster body for panel to monitor highrises in Chennai | location = Chennai | date = 29 September 2012 | url = http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-09-29/chennai/34162823_1_ndma-cmda-highrise-buildings | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130429200323/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-09-29/chennai/34162823_1_ndma-cmda-highrise-buildings | url-status = dead | archive-date = 29 April 2013 | newspaper = [[The Times of India]] | access-date =25 July 2015}}</ref>

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:<ref>{{cite web
| title = Forest at Glance
| publisher = Tamil Nadu Forest Department
| url = http://www.forests.tn.nic.in/forestatglance/forestatglance_district.html#Dist
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110520225819/http://www.forests.tn.nic.in/ForestAtGlance/forestatglance_district.html#Dist
| archive-date = 2011-05-20
| url-status = dead
}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Class
! Area (Ha)
! Percentage
|-
| Dense forest ||align="right"| 151.01 ||align="right"| 1.16
|-
| Moderate dense TOF ||align="right"| 121.16 ||align="right"| 0.93
|-
| Non-forest ||align="right"| 12,215.56 ||align="right"| 94.06
|-
| Open forest ||align="right"| 114.24 ||align="right"| 0.88
|-
| Open TOF ||align="right"| 153.73 ||align="right"| 1.18
|-
| Water ||align="right"| 231.46 ||align="right"| 1.78
|- class="sortbottom"
| Total ||align="right"| 12,987.16 ||align="right"| 100
|}

=== Climate ===
Chennai has [[Tropical savanna climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: Aw)
{{Weather box
|location=Chennai, India
|metric first=Yes
|single line=Yes
|Jan record high C=33
|Feb record high C=37
|Mar record high C=39
|Apr record high C=43
|May record high C=45
|Jun record high C=43
|Jul record high C=41
|Aug record high C=40
|Sep record high C=39
|Oct record high C=39
|Nov record high C=34
|Dec record high C=33
|year record high C=45
|Jan high C=29
|Feb high C=31
|Mar high C=33
|Apr high C=35
|May high C=38
|Jun high C=38
|Jul high C=36
|Aug high C=35
|Sep high C=34
|Oct high C=32
|Nov high C=29
|Dec high C=29
|Jan low C=19
|Feb low C=20
|Mar low C=22
|Apr low C=26
|May low C=28
|Jun low C=27
|Jul low C=26
|Aug low C=26
|Sep low C=25
|Oct low C=24
|Nov low C=22
|Dec low C=21
|Jan record low C=14
|Feb record low C=15
|Mar record low C=17
|Apr record low C=20
|May record low C=21
|Jun record low C=21
|Jul record low C=22
|Aug record low C=21
|Sep record low C=21
|Oct record low C=17
|Nov record low C=15
|Dec record low C=14
|year record low C=14
|Jan precipitation mm=16.2
|Feb precipitation mm=3.7
|Mar precipitation mm=3.0
|Apr precipitation mm=13.6
|May precipitation mm=48.9
|Jun precipitation mm=53.7
|Jul precipitation mm=97.8
|Aug precipitation mm=149.7
|Sep precipitation mm=109.1
|Oct precipitation mm=282.7
|Nov precipitation mm=350.3
|Dec precipitation mm=138.2
|year precipitation mm=1266.9
|source 1=Indian Meteorological Department<ref name=weather>{{cite web|url=http://www.imd.gov.in/section/climate/chennai1.htm|title=Climatological Information for Chennai|access-date=2009-01-25|publisher=Indian Meteorological Department|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205211109/http://www.imd.gov.in/section/climate/chennai1.htm|archive-date=2009-02-05}}</ref>
|date=August 2010
}}

== Demographics ==
According to [[2011 census of India|2011 census]], Chennai district had a population of 7,100,000 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%.<ref name="dchb-b">{{cite web|title=District Census Handbook Chennai, Part XII - B|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/dchb/3302_PART_B_DCHB_CHENNAI.pdf|publisher=Census of India 2011|date=16 June 2014}}</ref>

The district had a total of 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.<ref name=2011census>{{cite web|title=Census Info 2011 Final population totals – Chennai district|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/pca/SearchDetails.aspx?Id=674666|publisher=Office of The Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India|year=2013|access-date=26 January 2014}}</ref>

==Administration and politics==
[[File:Chennai District.png|280px|thumb|Divisions of Chennai district.]]

In 2013, five taluks on the district were split to create five new ones: [[Velachery taluk|Velachery]], [[Purasawalkam taluk|Purasawalkam]], [[Ayanavaram taluk|Ayanavaram]], [[Aminjikarai taluk|Aminjikarai]] and [[Guindy taluk|Guindy]].<ref name="ToI-Dec13">{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Chennai-now-has-10-taluks-as-govt-gets-close-to-you/articleshow/27694284.cms |last=Mariappan |first=Julie |work= [[The Times of India]] |title=Chennai now has 10 taluks, as govt gets close to you |date=21 December 2013 |access-date=23 November 2019}}</ref>

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 district|Tiruvallur]] and [[Kanchipuram district|Kanchipuram]] districts into the Chennai district. The new divisions and taluks of the district will be:<ref name="TH-5Jan">{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/chennai-district-doubles-in-size/article22373082.ece |title=Chennai district doubles in size |author=Dennis S. Jesudasan |work=The Hindu |date=5 January 2018 |access-date=23 November 2019}}</ref><ref name="ToI-19Jan"/>

The estimated population of the district is around 7.1 million.<ref name="ToI-19Jan"/>

=== Revenue Divisions and Taluks ===
* [[North Chennai Revenue Division]], headquartered at [[Tondiarpet]], contains taluks of [[Tiruvottiyur taluk|Tiruvottiyur]], [[Madhavaram taluk|Madhavaram]], [[Perambur taluk|Perambur]], [[Tondiarpet taluk|Tondiarpet]], and [[Purasaiwalkam taluk|Purasaiwalkam]].
* [[Central Chennai Revenue Division]], headquartered at [[Ambattur]], contains the taluks of [[Mambalam taluk|Mambalam]], [[Egmore taluk|Egmore]], [[Aminjikarai taluk|Aminjikarai]], [[Ayanavaram taluk|Ayanavaram]], [[Ambattur taluk|Ambattur]], and [[Maduravoyal taluk|Maduravoyal]].
* [[South Chennai Revenue Division]], headquartered at [[Guindy]], contains the taluks of [[Mylapore taluk|Mylapore]], [[Guindy taluk|Guindy]], [[Velachery taluk|Velachery]], [[Alandur taluk|Alandur]], and [[Sholinganallur taluk|Sholinganallur]].

=== Assembly representatives ===
{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: .5em; text-align: center;"
|-
!PC No.
!Constituency
!Political Party
!Elected Representative
|-
| 2
| [[Chennai North (Lok Sabha constituency)|Chennai North]]
| style="background-color: #FF6666"| DMK
| [[Kalanidhi Veeraswamy|V. Kalanithi Veerasamy]]
|-
| 3
| [[Chennai South (Lok Sabha constituency)|Chennai South]]
| style="background-color:#FF6666" | DMK
| [[Thamizhachi Thangapandian|T. Thamizhachi Thangapandian]]
|-
| 4
| [[Chennai Central (Lok Sabha constituency)|Chennai Central]]
| style="background-color: #FF6666" | DMK
| [[Dayanidhi Maran|M. Dhayanithi Maaran]]
|-
!AC No.
!Constituency
!Political Party
!Elected Representative
|-
| 5
| [[Poonamallee (state assembly constituency)|Poonamallee]] (Partially)
| |DMK
|A. Krishnaswamy
|-
| 6
| [[ Avadi (state assembly constituency) |Avadi]] (Partially)
| |DMK
|S. M. Nassar
|-
| 7
| [[Maduravoyal (state assembly constituency)|Maduravoyal]]
| |DMK
|Karambakkam K. Ganapathy
|-
| 8
| [[Ambattur (state assembly constituency)|Ambattur]]
| |DMK
|Joseph Samuel
|-
| 9
| [[Madhavaram (state assembly constituency)|Madhavaram]] (Partially)
| |DMK
|S. Sudarshanam
|-
| 10
| [[Tiruvottiyur]]
| |DMK
|K. P. Shankar
|-
| 11
| [[Radhakrishnan Nagar]]
| |DMK
|J. J. Ebinezer alias Jhon Ebinezer

|-
| 12
| [[Perambur (state assembly constituency)|Perambur]]
| |DMK
|R. D. Sekar
|-
| 13
| [[Kolathur (state assembly constituency)|Kolathur]]
| style="background-color: #FF6666" | DMK
| [[M. K. Stalin]]
|-
| 14
| [[Villivakkam (state assembly constituency)|Villivakkam]]
| |DMK
|A. Vetri Azhagan
|-
| 15
| [[Thiru. Vi. Ka. Nagar (state assembly constituency)|Thiru. Vi. Ka. Nagar]]
| |DMK
|Thaayagam Kavi alias Sivakumar
|-
| 16
| [[Egmore (state assembly constituency)|Egmore]]
| |DMK
|I. Parandharaman
|-
| 17
| [[Royapuram (state assembly constituency)|Royapuram]]
| |DMK
|Idream R. Moorthi
|-
| 18
| [[Harbour (state assembly constituency)|Harbour]]
| |DMK
|[[P. K. Sekar Babu]]
|-
| 19
| [[Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni]]
| |DMK
|[[Udhayanidhi Stalin]]
|-
| 20
| [[Thousand Lights]]
| |DMK
|Dr N. Ezhilan
|-
| 21
| [[Anna Nagar (state assembly constituency)|Anna Nagar]]
| |DMK
|M. K. Mohan
|-
| 22
| [[Virugambakkam (state assembly constituency)|Virugampakkam]]
| |DMK
|A. M. V. Prabakhar Raja
|-
| 23
| [[Saidapet (state assembly constituency)|Saidapet]]
| |DMK
|[[M. Subramaniam|M. Subramanian]]
|-
| 24
| [[Theagaraya Nagar (state assembly constituency)|Thiyagaraya Nagar]]
| |DMK
|J. Karunanidhi
|-
| 25
| [[Mylapore (state assembly constituency)|Mylapore]]
| |DMK
|Mayilai T. Velu
|-
| 26
| [[Velachery (state assembly constituency)|Velachery]]
| |INC
|J. M. H. Hassan
|-
| 27
| [[Sholinganallur (state assembly constituency)|Sholinganallur]] (partially)
| |DMK
|Aravind Ramesh
|-
| 28
| [[Alandur (state assembly constituency)|Alandur]] (partially)
| |DMK
|[[T. M. Anbarasan]]
|-
|29
| [[Tambaram (state assembly constituency)|Tambaram]] (partially)
| |DMK
|S. R. Raja
|-
| style="font-size: 80%; background-color: #cceeff" colspan=4 | Source: Office of the CEO, Tamil Nadu,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chennai District MLA details |publisher=Election Commission of India |url=http://www.elections.tn.gov.in/TNLA2011_Winner_Runner.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402043414/http://www.elections.tn.gov.in/TNLA2011_Winner_Runner.pdf |archive-date=2013-04-02 }}</ref> Indian Elections / Election Commission of India.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Election results |publisher=Indian Elections |url=http://www.indian-elections.com/assembly-elections/tamil-nadu/election-result-06.html |access-date=2009-12-23 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121208164546/http://www.indian-elections.com/assembly-elections/tamil-nadu/election-result-06.html |archive-date=2012-12-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Parties Statistics |publisher=Election Commission of India |url=http://www.eci.gov.in/StatisticalReports/ElectionStatistics.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218010942/http://www.eci.gov.in/StatisticalReports/ElectionStatistics.asp |archive-date=2008-12-18 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=City Constituency post-delimitation details |publisher=Election Commission of India |url=http://164.100.9.199/ecimaps/ECIPDF/Tamilnadu_Maps/Chennai.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810143118/http://164.100.9.199/ecimaps/ECIPDF/Tamilnadu_Maps/Chennai.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-08-10 }}</ref>
|}

== See also ==
{{Portal|India}}
* [[Chennai Metropolitan Area]]
* [[Districts of Tamil Nadu]]
* [[Mumbai City district]]
* [[Kolkata district]]
* [[National Capital Territory of Delhi]]
* [[List of districts of Tamil Nadu]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
* [https://chennai.nic.in/ Chennai District]

{{Tamil Nadu}}
{{Chennai district}}
{{Chennai Topics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chennai District}}
[[Category:Chennai district| ]]
[[Category:Districts of Tamil Nadu]]

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Chennai district