Sanjay Chugh, Director and Head of Land Transactions at ANAROCK Property Consultants Private Limited; Gautam Agarwaal, COO, Casagrand; Karthik Nagappan, CEO, Super Chennai; and Vidhya Mohankumar, Founder and Director, Urban Design Collective, in a session moderated by Rosella Stephen, Ideas Editor, in Chennai on Wednesday. | Photo credit: Ravindran_ R
The Outer Ring Road (ORR) is where the next wave of housing will happen, said Gautam Agarwal, COO, Casagrand. “There are no big plots in the city. ORR solves all the problems a home buyer has,” he said during a roundtable discussion with Rosella Stephen, Editor of Property Plus and Ideas Editor, The Hind, on ‘The ORR Opportunity: Infrastructure, Livability and Long-Term Value’. The event was presented by Casagrand.
Mr. Agarwal said the ORR has boosted the growth of cities across the world. Hyderabad has seen this success and growth and ORR will do the same magic with Chennai, he added. “Buyers in Chennai are demanding better living spaces. And buyers in Chennai are very conscious and ask whether the area would flood or not. We help them navigate all these issues,” he explained. He also talked about the largest candy-themed inflatable park that was set up on the Casagrand property. “The theme park is doing well. It’s getting a good response and we’re sold out every day,” he said.
Talking about what is needed on the ORR, Sanjay Chugh, City Leader and Director of ANAROCK Property Consultants Private Limited said, “The biggest thing we really need to build on the ORR is infrastructure. We have a great road. But beyond that we need to build social infrastructure. You need reliable piped water, proper drainage systems and consistent power supply.” He added: “If you want to attract people, you have to build a complete ecosystem around them. Growth happens by creating jobs, housing and retail – that’s how development follows.”
Asked if the ORR will have enough water, Mr Chugh said: “I don’t see a water problem at the moment and the water quality here is good. It will take another 30-40 years before the ORR sees a water shortage.” He also noted that this corridor has no polluting industry and has more warehouses.
Karthik Nagappan, CEO, Super Chennai, said, “One of the biggest deliverables of the Super Chennai enclave is the vision of a 30-minute city where residential and work clusters are within 30 minutes, allowing for a better work-life balance. ORR is uniquely positioned to bring this to life, with its strong connectivity, set-up and right land conversion system. development.”
He then added, “In Chennai, educational institutions have always grown in the suburbs. There are places where you can stop and have a great view.” “Earlier, most people traveled to T. Nagar or Tambaram for their needs. Today, places like Urapakkam and Guduvanchery have well-known brands every ten minutes. This transformation has happened because of developments like Shriram City, SRM University and Mahindra World City,” said Mr. Nagappan.
Vidhya Mohankumar, founder and director of Urban Design Collective, said ORR is a greenfield development, which is an advantage. “ORR is already growing at this point. The question now is how it will grow,” she said. She also pointed out that although the OMR is an economic success, it still has several shortcomings – for example, even after 20 years, basic infrastructure such as sewage connections remains inadequate. She said such things should be taken into account when developing the ORR.
Published – May 7, 2026 0:53 AM IST
