Residents say poorly designed marriage halls in Chennai have become a source of civic issues

As a number of marriage halls have not been constructed as per town planning norms for public purpose buildings, residents have reported civic issues in their vicinity in various zones of the city. They have complained of noise pollution, traffic congestion, improper waste disposal, unauthorised parking, unpleasant smells, and public health issues.

A resident, who did not wish to be named, said they had sent four complaints to government authorities, including the Chief Minister’s Cell, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, and the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), stating that a marriage hall kitchen was touching a boundary wall and lacked the stipulated setback space of 20 feet, causing noise and air pollution. “I am suffering too much,” the resident said.

The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is the only agency empowered to issue permits to marriage halls, which are public purpose buildings that have a larger setback space of 20 feet to prevent nuisance to residents. However, hundreds of such venues, including the GCC’s multipurpose halls, have not been constructed in line with the stipulated standards for a building meant to accommodate crowds. Some of these, without proper setback and parking spaces, have even been regularised.

While a few marriage halls, permitted by the CMDA in the city, have the right parking and mandated setback spaces, most have only about 5 feet of setback space and are wrongly categorised as commercial buildings within 3,000 sq.ft by the GCC.

The GCC is empowered to issue permissions for commercial buildings of up to 3,000 sq.ft, with stilt plus three floors. Many people have obtained this permission and reportedly converted the buildings into marriage halls later. Even GCC councillors, who build multipurpose halls using ward improvement funds to facilitate marriage events for the poor at an affordable cost, have provided a setback space of only 5 feet at these buildings.

MDMK councillor S. Jeevan said he had spoken on the issue at the Town Planning Committee meeting. “Patients in my locality cannot visit hospitals owing to traffic congestion as a marriage hall in the vicinity does not have adequate parking space. Noise pollution is also an issue,” he said.

Most of the GCC’s multipurpose halls do not have adequate parking, acoustics, or setback space to prevent issues such as noise pollution and traffic congestion, which are often caused by large gatherings.

K.P. Subramaniam, former professor of urban engineering, Anna University, said: “As per the Central Pollution Control Board standards, permissible noise levels in residential areas is 55 decibels (dB) during the day and 45 dB at night. However, the noise from marriage halls invariably exceeds 85-100 dB. Such excess noise levels have serious implications on the health of children, senior citizens, and patients in the nearby areas.”

He added that: “When guests attend such functions, a sudden surge of vehicles clog traffic flow, even obstructing the movement of emergency vehicles. Revving vehicle engines and honking generates exorbitant noise pollution, besides the air pollution caused by emissions.”

Mr. Subramaniam said reinventing zoning and other regulations by considering performance indicators at marriage halls and strict enforcement of the rules could be the answer. “Stringent noise clauses could also be incorporated into the Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Regulations, 2019,” he added.