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TNSCB tenements’ residents remain unwilling to move out
| Board says houses will be re-allotted; families say they may not get homes back |
IN CONFLICT: A view of the TNSCB tenements on Alayamman Koil Street in T.Nagar. —
Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board’s (TNSCB) plan to demolish and rebuild the tenements on Alayamman Koil Street, T.Nagar, has met with stiff resistance from the residents.
About 200 families living in five blocks received a notice from the TNSCB, asking them to vacate. The TNSCB had said that the new tenements would be re-allotted to the residents but the families are worried that they may not get their homes back.
B. Mohana, a resident, said, “We have not got any assurances in writing. So we don’t want to move.” She said that the tenements were old but were not damaged. “These tenements can be repaired rather than reconstructed,’ she said.
The residents have decided to seek legal assistance. The families have contributed Rs.50 each to pool money for lawyers’ fees, said resident Bhaskaran.
The Housing and Urban Development Department had announced in its policy note for 2008 – 09 that TNSCB tenements “not fit for occupation” had been identified and these would be reconstructed. Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had conducted a review of conditions of tenements in October 2007.
About 4,300 dilapidated tenements across the city have been identified for demolition and reconstruction exercise.
TNSCB officials said that the residents would be re-allotted the tenements in the same place.
Each family would be given Rs.8,000 for shifting expenses, a photo identity card and a re-allotment letter.
In a yearThe new buildings would be constructed in a year and allotted to the residents.
A TNSCB official said the identity cards and re-allotment orders had not yet been issued to the residents of the tenements on Alayamman Koil Street.
But they would be ready by the time the residents vacate, the official added.
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