The birthplace of several housing colonies in Chennai

A Building with Many Stories

The building stands on Avvai Shanmugam/VP Raman Salai/Lloyd Road (only in Chennai can we have three names for a single road), just bordering on Gopalapuram. The original, and from what I can make of it, handsome edifice, has since been marred by mindless extensions both horizontally and vertically. And in one corner is a painted and fast-fading sign that says Gopalapuram Co-Operative Housing Society Limited. Standing by its side, I could not help reflecting on how this building may hold within it the story of the development of not just one, but as many as five housing developments in the city.

The Beginnings of Co-Operative Societies

The Co-Operative Credit Societies Bill was passed by the Government of India in March 1904. As it often did, Madras was the first off the mark. The Triplicane Urban Co-Operative Society (TUCS) became the country’s first such body. A decade later, the possibility of extending this idea to affordable housing was realised, and the Madras Provincial Co-Operative Union was formed in 1914.

But the real fillip to housing societies came in 1923 with the founding of the Madras City Co-Operative Building Society in Triplicane. It soon changed its name to the Madras Government Servants Co-Operative Building Society.

Gopalapuram: The First Colony

The society’s first project was Gopalapuram, documented earlier in this column (Hundred Years of Gopalapuram, April 24, 2024). This development stood on 114 grounds along Lloyd’s Road, between Mount Road and Mowbray’s Road. The land once belonged to Nawab Sir Syed Muhammad, a senior Congress leader. After his passing, the property vested with the Official Assignee of the High Court of Madras.

The colony was named after Sir N. Gopalaswami Iyengar, then of the Madras Civil Service, later Dewan of Kashmir, and independent India’s first Railway Minister. He was the guiding spirit behind the co-operative society that developed the colony.

Lakshmipuram: The Intellectual Hub

In 1937–38, the society purchased around 38 grounds in Singarathoppu, off Lloyd’s Road in Royapettah, to develop Lakshmipuram. Six grounds were reserved for roads and utilities, while 16 members were allotted plots for houses. One piece of land was retained for common purposes. The society laid out the roads and handed them over to the Corporation.

Lakshmipuram became known for the Lakshmipuram Young Men’s Association, a body with an intellectual reputation so strong that every State leader aspired to be invited to address it.

Sriramnagar: Broad Roads and Stately Plots

A few years later, the society bought around 200 grounds at the southern end of Mowbray’s Road from the Official Trustee of Madras. A triangular piece of land belonging to the Bishop of Madras, adjacent to the site, was also purchased. Together, these were parcelled into 42 plots, giving rise to Sriramnagar.

This locality, with its broad roads and stately homes, still remains one of Chennai’s handsome neighborhoods.

Mandaveli and Guindy Expansions

In 1943–44, the society purchased 50 grounds near Norton Lane, Mandaveli, from C. Sambanda Mudaliar. Around 25 plots were laid out, and the Corporation built the roads with costs met by the society. In 1953, the society purchased 60 grounds in Guindy for ₹20,000 to develop Ganapathy Nagar.

Decline and Dissolution

Sometime after this, the society lost momentum. It transformed into a mortgage bank, enabling members to pledge properties and seek loans for purposes beyond house-building. By 1945, the bank was taken over by the South Indian Co-Operative Insurance Society. By the 1950s, it had faded away — its pioneering work in shaping Chennai’s residential landscape done.

This article appeared in The Hindu- https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/the-birthplace-of-several-housing-colonies-in-chennai/article70058221.ece

My book, Chennai, A Biography can be ordered–http://- https://sriramv.com/2021/12/27/how-to-buy-autographed-copies-of-chennai-a-biography-from-outstation/