Chennai district | |
|---|---|
 View ofMarina Beach | |
Nicknames:
| |
.svg) Location in Tamil Nadu | |
| Coordinates:13°5′2″N80°16′12″E / 13.08389°N 80.27000°E /13.08389; 80.27000 | |
| Country |  India |
| State |  Tamil Nadu |
| Region | Chola Nadu |
| Headquarters | Chennai |
| Talukas | Alandur, Aminjikarai, Ambattur, Ayanavaram, Egmore, Guindy, Kolathur, Madhavaram, Manali, Maduravoyal, Mylapore, Mambalam, Purasawalkam, Perambur, Shollinganallur, Thiruvottiyur, Tondiarpet, Velachery |
| Government | |
| • District Collector | Rashmi Siddharth Zagade,IAS |
| Area | |
• Total | 426 km2 (164 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 6.7 m (22 ft) |
| Population (2011)[4] | |
• Total | 6,748,026 |
| • Density | 15,800/km2 (41,000/sq mi) |
| Demonym(s) | Chennaiite Chennai karan Chennai wasi |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Tamil ,English |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 600XXX |
| Telephone code | 44 |
| ISO 3166 code | 044 |
| Vehicle registration | TN01 - TN14 TN18 TN22 TN85 |
| Per Capita Income (2022-23) | ₹585,501 (US$7,448.7)[5] |
| Sex ratio | 951 female / 1000 male[6] |
| Nominal GDP (2022-23) | ₹289,481.19 crore (US$36.83 billion)[7] |
| Website | https://chennai.nic.in/ |
Chennai district, formerly known asMadras district,[a] is one of the38 districts in thestate ofTamil Nadu,India. It is the smallest and the most densely populated district in the state. The district is almost coterminous with the city ofChennai, which is administered by theGreater Chennai Corporation, except for Madipakkam-B / Madipakkam-II revenue village which is administered byKovilambakkam rural village panchayat as Kovilabakkam panchayat wards 3,4 and 5 but is under Zone-14 (Puzhuthivakkam) of Greater Chennai Corporation for Disaster and Revenue Management purpose.[8] It is surrounded byTiruvallur district in the north and the west,Kanchipuram district in the south-west,Chenglpattu district in the south, and theBay 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.[6] Much of the district's population descended from its settlements in the 1st century CE to theMiddle Ages, but the diversity has grown much since then. The district consists of two civic bodies, themegacity of Chennai andKovilabakkam rural village panchayat wards 3, 4 and 5 (Madipakkam-B / Madipakkam-II revenue village colloquially known as Sunnambu Kolathur),[8] which forms the core and the most notable portion of the much bigger Chennaimetropolis, or officially, theChennai 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 175 square kilometres (68 sq mi) to 426 square kilometres (164 sq mi).[3][9] The district is divided into threerevenue divisions and tentaluks.
The nameChennai was derived fromDamarla Chennappa Nayak, the father of a general of theVijayanagar Empire.[10]
Chennai district covers an area of 426 km2 located on theEastern Coastal Plains of India. It is situated on the northeastern corner of Tamil Nadu along theCoramandel coast, a region bounded by theBay of Bengal and is surrounded inland by the districts ofTiruvallur,Kanchipuram andChengalpattu. It lies between 12°59' and 13°9' of the northernlatitude and 80°12' and 80°19' of the easternlongitude at an averagealtitude of 6 metres abovesea level on a 'sandy shelving breaker swept' beach. Terrain slope varies from 1:5000 to 1:10,000.[11] The terrain is very flat with contours ranging from 2 m to 10 m abovemean sea level with a few isolated hillocks in the southwest beyond the district limits atSt. Thomas Mount,Pallavaram andTambaram.[12]
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 tworivers, namely,Cooum (flowing in the northern part) andAdyar (flowing in the southern part), acanal (theBuckingham), and astream (theOtteri Nullah) slicing the district into several islands.
The district falls underSeismic Zone III indicating a moderate risk ofearthquake. Geologically the district is divided into three regions, namely, sandy, clayey and hard-rock regions. Thesoil comprisesclay,shale andsandstone.[13]
Of the total land area, reserved forests cover 2.71 km2 and is concentrated in and around theGuindy 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:[14]
| 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 |
Chennai hasTropical savanna climate (Köppen:As, borderingAw)
| Climate data for Chennai, India | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 33 (91) | 37 (99) | 39 (102) | 43 (109) | 45 (113) | 43 (109) | 41 (106) | 40 (104) | 39 (102) | 39 (102) | 34 (93) | 33 (91) | 45 (113) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 29 (84) | 31 (88) | 33 (91) | 35 (95) | 38 (100) | 38 (100) | 36 (97) | 35 (95) | 34 (93) | 32 (90) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 33 (92) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 19 (66) | 20 (68) | 22 (72) | 26 (79) | 28 (82) | 27 (81) | 26 (79) | 26 (79) | 25 (77) | 24 (75) | 22 (72) | 21 (70) | 24 (75) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 14 (57) | 15 (59) | 17 (63) | 20 (68) | 21 (70) | 21 (70) | 22 (72) | 21 (70) | 21 (70) | 17 (63) | 15 (59) | 14 (57) | 14 (57) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 16.2 (0.64) | 3.7 (0.15) | 3.0 (0.12) | 13.6 (0.54) | 48.9 (1.93) | 53.7 (2.11) | 97.8 (3.85) | 149.7 (5.89) | 109.1 (4.30) | 282.7 (11.13) | 350.3 (13.79) | 138.2 (5.44) | 1,266.9 (49.88) |
| Source: Indian Meteorological Department[15] | |||||||||||||
According to2011 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%.[6] With the expanded limits to 426 sq. km. Chennai district had a population of 6,748,026 as per 2011 census data.[4]
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.[16]
| Religion | Percent | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hinduism | 80.73% | |||
| Islam | 9.45% | |||
| Christianity | 7.72% | |||
| Jainism | 1.11% | |||
| Other or not stated | 0.93% | |||
In 2013, five taluks on the district were split to create five new ones:Velachery,Purasawalkam,Ayanavaram,Aminjikarai andGuindy.[17]
In January 2018, the state government announced that the district will be expanded to match the boundaries of theGreater Chennai Corporation. This will integrate six additional taluks fromTiruvallur andKanchipuram districts into the Chennai district. The new divisions and taluks of the district will be:[3][9]
| PC No. | Constituency | Political Party | Elected Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chennai North | DMK | Kalanidhi Veeraswamy |
| 2 | Chennai South | DMK | T. Thamizhachi Thangapandian |
| 3 | Chennai Central | DMK | Dayanidhi Maran |
| 4 | Sriperumbudur (partially) | DMK | T.R.Baalu |
