Pallavaram
Pallavaram | |
|---|---|
Suburb of Chennai | |
 G.S.T Road | |
  Pallavaram Location in Chennai Metropolitan Area  Pallavaram Location in Tamil Nadu  Pallavaram Location in India | |
| Coordinates: 12°58′03″N 80°08′57″E / 12.967500°N 80.149100°E | |
| Country | India |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| Metro | Chennai Metropolitan Area |
| District | Chengalpattu |
| City | Tambaram |
| Area | |
• Total | 18 km2 (6.9 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 50 m (160 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 215,417 |
| • Density | 12,000/km2 (31,000/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Tamil |
| • Additional official | English |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PINs | 600043, 600044, 600117 |
| Vehicle Registration | TN 11, TN 22 |
| Lok Sabha constituency | Sriperumbudur |
| State Assembly constituency | Pallavaram |
| Civic Governing Body | Tambaram City Municipal Corporation |
| Law enforcement agency | Tambaram City Police |
| Urban Planning Agency | Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority |
| Major Arterial Highway | Grand Southern Trunk Road (GST Road) |
| Nearest Airport | Chennai International Airport |
Pallavaram (originally Pallavapuram) is a suburb in the southern part of the Chennai metropolitan area. It forms part of Chengalpattu district, and serves as the headquarters of the taluk of the same name.
Formerly a municipality, it became part of the Tambaram City Municipal Corporation in November 2021. Part of the area forms part of the cantonment of St. Thomas Mount-cum-Pallavaram, managed by the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India. It is served by the Pallavaram railway station of the Chennai Suburban Railway Network, and located close to the Chennai International Airport.
Archeological evidence indicates human habitation since the Paleolithic Age. The locality derives its name from the Pallava settlement of "Pallavapuram" of which it used to form a part. The cantonment and the airport were established during the British Raj. Charnockite mining activities were carried out in the nearby Pallavaram Hill.
History
[edit]
Pallavaram is considered to be one of the oldest inhabited places in South India. A major archaeological find was made in the year 1863 when the British archaeologist Robert Bruce Foote discovered a stone implement from the Paleolithic Age inside a ballast pit.[2] Since then, a number of Stone Age artifacts have been uncovered.[2] Most of these artifacts are currently lodged in the Egmore museum.[2]
Together with Chromepet, the Pallavaram area was referred to as "Pallavapuram."[3] The present-day town of Pallavaram has its origins in the settlement of arshad which existed during the time of the 8th century Pallava king Mahendravarman I.[4] The Pallavas have left titles in early Pallava script at the cave temple in Pallavaram which date back to 600 CE.[5][4]
Both the Mughal Empire and the British East India Company had their cantonments in Pallavaram. During the 17th century, Pallavaram remained dependent for sometime, upon the Portuguese colony of San Thome. During the 18th century, the British established a cantonment at Pallavaram, supplementary to the one at St. Thomas Mount. A wireless station was established in the early years of the 20th century. The Madras aerodrome was opened at Pallavaram in 1929.
Geography
[edit]The area of Pallavaram is divided into Zamin Pallavaram, Old Pallavaram, Essa Pallavaram and Cantonment Pallavaram.
Pallavaram Lake
[edit]Pallavaram Lake (or Pallavaram periya eri, literally meaning 'big lake'), once a sprawling water body covering about 189 acres, has shrunk to a small patch on the lines of a pond on one side and a hillock of garbage on the other. The dumping of garbage from all the 42 wards of the Pallavaram Municipality for nearly a decade is the main reason for the shrinkage of the water body. Nearly 25 acres had been lost to encroachments alone. The construction of Pallavaram–Thoraipakkam Road, a project initiated to connect Chennai Airport and Rajiv Gandhi Salai, had split the lake into two halves. The portion of the lake on the southern side of the road has completely been covered by garbage. On the northern side of the road, the discharge of sewage from commercial establishments and homes and also effluents from some of the leather manufacturing units in Nagalakeni has affected the quality of the water. This is one of the oldest Palaeolithic culture site.[6]
To address the legacy waste, the Tambaram Corporation proposed biomining of the waste that had permeated below the lake bed.[7] In May 2026, the corporation launched a new solid waste transfer system to tackle the decades-old dumping issue across the region. This ₹8 crore project involves compressing segregated waste into sealed containers at transfer stations—such as the one located at Kannadapalayam—before transporting it directly to processing yards, significantly reducing open dumping and associated odors near waterbodies like Pallavaram Lake.[8]
Connectivity
[edit]Two major State highways are initiated from Pallavaram, namely, the SH 113A Pallavaram-Kundrathur-Poonamallee Road and the SH 109 Pallavaram - Thuraipakkam Radial Road.
As of 2025–2026, major infrastructure expansions have been initiated to alleviate traffic, including the widening of the GST Road under the Pallavaram Flyover, the expansion of the 6.8 km Pallavaram to Kundrathur Highway from two into four lanes, and further widening of the Pallavaram to Thoraipakkam Radial Road.[9] Future transit connectivity is expected to be bolstered by the Chennai Metro Phase 2 (Corridor 5) and a planned 15.5 km double-decker elevated metro corridor from Chennai Airport to Kilambakkam, which will run along the GST Road to ease vehicular congestion.[10]
Pallavapuram Special Grade Municipality
[edit]During 2001–2011, Pallavaram registered a population growth of 50 percent with a 2011 population of 2,16,308.[11]
Pallavapuram Municipality was constituted as a III Grade Municipality on 17.01.1970 vide G.o.No. 55 R.D. & L.A. Department dated 12.01.1970, by Combining the following Town Panchayats and Panchayats:
1. Zamin Pallavaram Town Panchayat 2. Issa Pallavaram Town Panchayat 3. Hasthinapuram Town Panchayat 4. Kilkattalai Panchayat 5. Nemilichery Panchayat
It has been upgraded to 2nd Grade Municipality vide G.O. No. 200 R.D. & L.A. dated 10.02.1975, 1st Grade on 09.02.1983 as per R.D.& L.A. G.O. No. 651 dated 08.05.1983 and to Special Grade Municipality Vide G.O.No.238 dated.02.12.2008.[12]
During November 2021, Pallavaram Municipality was included in Tambaram City Municipal Corporation.[13]
Chromepet is a locality in Zamin Pallavaram Revenue Village under Pallavaram Municipality.
Pallavapuram Municipal office is located at G.S.T. Road, Chromepet area in Pallavaram. It is very near to Chromepet Railway Station and M.I.T. Campus.[14]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1891 | 4,057 | — |
| 1901 | 6,416 | +58.1% |
| 1911 | 7,059 | +10.0% |
| 1921 | 8,753 | +24.0% |
| 1931 | 10,769 | +23.0% |
| 1941 | 9,879 | −8.3% |
| 1951 | 11,941 | +20.9% |
| 1961 | 16,253 | +36.1% |
| 1971 | 51,374 | +216.1% |
| 1981 | 83,901 | +63.3% |
| 1991 | 111,866 | +33.3% |
| 2001 | 143,984 | +28.7% |
| 2011 | 215,417 | +49.6% |
Demographics
[edit]According to 2011 census, Pallavaram had a population of 2,15,417 with a sex-ratio of 996 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929.[15] A total of 22,258 were under the age of six, constituting 11,253 males and 11,005 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 15.88% and 0.48% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the city was 83.27%, compared to the national average of 72.99%.[15] The city had a total of 56,135 households. There were a total of 81,669 workers, comprising 164 cultivators, 468 main agricultural labourers, 906 in house hold industries, 73,547 other workers, 6,584 marginal workers, 116 marginal cultivators, 65 marginal agricultural labourers, 326 marginal workers in household industries and 6,077 other marginal workers.[16] As per the religious census of 2011, Pallavaram (M + OG) had 84.25% Hindus, 6.37% Muslims, 8.4% Christians, 0.04% Sikhs, 0.03% Buddhists, 0.14% Jains, 0.77% following other religions and 0.01% following no religion or did not indicate any religious preference.[17]
Places adjacent to Pallavaram | |
|---|---|
References
[edit]- ↑ "52nd report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India (July 2014 to June 2015)" (PDF). Ministry of Minority Affairs (Government of India). 29 March 2016. p. 132. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2017.
- 1 2 3 Muthiah, Pg 129
- ↑ Muthiah, S. (2014). Madras Rediscovered. Chennai: EastWest. p. 145. ISBN 978-93-84030-28-5.
- 1 2 Muthiah, Pg 128
- ↑ "A vantage point-of-view". The Hindu. thehindu.com. 25 September 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
- ↑ Manikandan, K. (2 July 2012). "The slow death of Pallavaram periya eri". The Hindu. Chennai. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
- ↑ "Tambaram Corporation plans biomining of waste below the Pallavaram lake bed". The Hindu. 18 August 2022.
- ↑ "Tambaram corporation launches waste transfer system to end decades-old dumping issue". The Times of India. 30 May 2026.
- ↑ "Major Infrastructure Developments in Pallavaram". Retrieved 18 June 2026.
- ↑ "Major Infrastructure Developments in Pallavaram". Retrieved 18 June 2026.
- ↑ Kalyanaraman, M. (25 October 2011). "Migration Spurs Suburban Sprawl". The Times of India. Chennai: The Times Group. Archived from the original on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
- ↑ "TAMBARAM CITY MUNICIPAL CORPORATION (PALLAVAPURAM)".
- ↑ "Gazette notification on Tambaram Municipal Corporation". The Hindu. 5 November 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ↑ "About Municipality". Municipality.tn.gov.in. Archived from the original on 2 December 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
- 1 2 "Census Info 2011 Final population totals". Office of The Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- ↑ "Census Info 2011 Final population totals - Pallavaram". Office of The Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- ↑ "Population By Religious Community - Tamil Nadu" (XLS). Office of The Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
External links
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