Urbanisation

John Sullivan explores the Nilgiris

Coimbatore Collector John Sullivan set out to explore the Nilgiri hills, leading to the founding of Ootacamund.

Ootacamund becomes a sanatorium of the Madras Presidency

By 1827 Ootacamund in the Nilgiris had been established as a sanatorium of the Madras Presidency.

Kodaikanal hill station established

In the Palani Hills, American missionaries from the Madurai Mission founded Kodaikanal as an escape from the summer heat.

Spencer's begins trading in Madras

Spencer's started as a small business in Madras in 1864 and grew into what was then the largest department store in Asia.

Governor Grant Duff creates the Marina promenade

Governor Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff laid out a promenade along the Madras beach in 1884 and named it the Marina.

Electric trams begin in Madras

The Madras Electric Tramways began service, the first electric tram system in India.

Moore Market completed in Madras

Completed in 1900 beside Madras Central, Moore Market was an Indo-Saracenic building meant to accommodate the hawkers of Broadway.

First electric suburban trains in Madras

The first electric suburban rail service in Madras began between Madras Beach and Tambaram.

Office of Mayor of Madras created

The post of Mayor of Madras was revived and M. A. Muthiah Chettiar became the first holder of the modern office.

Madras State Housing Board formed

The City Improvement Trust of 1947 was expanded into a statewide housing board, later the Tamil Nadu Housing Board.

Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board created

The Karunanidhi government created the Slum Clearance Board to replace slums with tenements, later backed by a 1971 Act.

Madurai becomes a municipal corporation

Madurai became a municipal corporation, the first one set up in Tamil Nadu since independence.

Madras Metropolitan Development Authority constituted

A metropolitan development authority was set up to plan Madras city and its suburbs, becoming a statutory body in 1974.

Pallavan Transport Corporation formed for Madras buses

The Pallavan Transport Corporation took over city bus services in the Madras metropolitan area with 1,029 buses.

Anna (Gemini) Flyover opened in Madras

The Anna Flyover on Mount Road, the first flyover in Madras and then the longest in India, was opened to traffic.

Guindy declared a national park

What was left of the forest on the old Guindy estate in Chennai was made a national park, among the smallest in India and one of only a few within a city.

Coimbatore becomes a municipal corporation

Coimbatore, a municipality since 1866, was raised to municipal corporation status, becoming the third such body in Tamil Nadu.

Tiruchirappalli becomes a municipal corporation

Tiruchirappalli was made a municipal corporation by merging the Srirangam and Golden Rock municipalities.

Salem becomes a municipal corporation

Salem municipality was declared the Salem City Municipal Corporation on 1 June 1994.

Tirunelveli becomes a municipal corporation

Merged with the municipalities of Palayamkottai and Melapalayam, Tirunelveli became a corporation.

Chennai MRTS opens, India's first elevated railway

India's first elevated urban railway came into service when the opening section of Chennai's Mass Rapid Transit System, linking Beach and Chepauk, began running.

Koyambedu wholesale market complex opens

On Chennai's western side, the Koyambedu Wholesale Market Complex, one of the largest perishable goods markets in Asia, was opened.

Chengalpattu district split into Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur

The old Chingleput district was divided into Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur districts in 1997.

Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus opens at Koyambedu

The Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus at Koyambedu was opened to the public, becoming the city's main hub for long-distance buses.

Pallikaranai marsh notified as a reserve forest

To stop the shrinking of Chennai's last large freshwater marsh, 317 hectares of Pallikaranai were declared a reserve forest.

Vellore becomes a municipal corporation

Vellore was upgraded from a municipality to a municipal corporation on 1 August 2008.

Kathipara cloverleaf grade separator opens

The Kathipara cloverleaf interchange near Guindy, one of the largest in South Asia at the time, was fully opened to traffic.

Tiruppur becomes a municipal corporation

The knitwear town of Tiruppur was upgraded to a municipal corporation on 26 October 2008.

Construction of the Chennai Metro begins

Work started on the first phase of the Chennai Metro, approved by the state government in November 2007, with an elevated viaduct at Koyambedu.

Moulivakkam building collapse

An eleven-storey apartment block under construction collapsed at Moulivakkam in Chennai, killing 61 people, mostly construction workers.

Chennai Outer Ring Road phase I opens

The first phase of the Chennai Outer Ring Road, built to divert traffic around the city, was opened to the public.

Chennai Metro begins service

The first stretch of Chennai Metro, between Koyambedu and Alandur, opened to passengers.

2015 Chennai floods

Extremely heavy north-east monsoon rains flooded Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur and Cuddalore, killing hundreds of people.

Chennai water crisis

After a failed monsoon, Chennai's main reservoirs dried up, forcing heavy reliance on tankers and water brought by train from Jolarpet.

Chengalpattu district carved out of Kanchipuram

Chengalpattu district, taking in Chennai's southern suburbs, came into existence on 29 November 2019.

Kumbakonam upgraded to a municipal corporation

On 24 August 2021, Kumbakonam, which had been a municipality since 1866, became a municipal corporation.

Kalaignar Centenary Bus Terminus opens at Kilambakkam

To ease pressure on Koyambedu, a new long-distance bus terminus was opened at Kilambakkam on the southern fringe of Chennai.