Date:07/01/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/07/stories/2009010752020300.htm

Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

CPI (M) demand on power connections

Special Correspondent

The party has called for exemption for houses of poor people from the ban
Small structures not possible to have a building plan, says CPI (M)

COIMBATORE: The district unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has called for exemption for houses of poor people from the ban imposed by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission on providing power connections to unauthorised buildings.

The ban had been imposed to discourage the construction of fully unauthorised buildings or even deviation from the approved building plans.

District secretary of the party P.R. Natarajan had said in a release that it was not fair to deny power connections to small houses of poor people on these grounds. Small structures housing a laundry or a hair dresser’s shop could not have a building plan at all, the release pointed out. Poor people built houses on one or two cents and were therefore unable to go by such stiff guidelines for obtaining power connections. Therefore, steps must be taken to provide the connections.