CHENNAI:Around 150 families affected by the tsunami are to be left without a roof above their heads as the temporary shelters at Nochikuppam are being demolished by the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board without arrangements to accommodate the families elsewhere.
The makeshift tenements built by the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board(TNSCB) were originally designed to house the families affected by tsunami for around 18 months, but had gone on to house them for around 10 years now.
The temporary settlements are divided into three: While all of the 195 houses in ‘site 1’ have been wiped out, 545 of the 1037 houses in ‘site 2’ have been demolished as on Thursday. Following the two sites, the 936 houses in site 3 would be demolished, said the Slum Board officials.
“We understand that they are clearing empty houses and those that are occupied illegally, but we have received allotments and have been waiting for houses for a long time. We have nowhere to go now,” said Pagalavan, a resident.
While many families from here have been given houses at the Tsunami Relief Project in Nochi Nagar, these 150 families have been left out without houses despite many receiving allotments in 2009. The families had given up their land to make way for the Rs 45-crore tsunami relief project that consists of 628 tenements on the promise of being allotted a house under the project, said residents.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board officials said that the in-situ project that has been planned for the accommodation of these families was in the ‘estimate stage’ and would be completed no sooner than two years, during which the families would have to find their own accommodation.
However, official sources said that the in-situ project would be constructed under the Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP) component of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana where the beneficiaries may have to contribute a part of the total cost of the house that is to be built.
While Slum Clearance Board officials claim that nothing has been finalised as yet, residents said that they were told by officials to pay Rs 3 lakh to claim possession of the house that is to be built for them there.
“Where will we go for Rs 3 lakh? I’m unable to pay Rs 5,000 school fee for my daughter who is in class 10. I almost fell at the feet of the school management and I’m now paying it in instalments,” said Selvi S, who is unemployed while her husband Sadasivan works as a painter.
‘Wait for two years’
Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board officials said that the in-situ project that has been planned for the accomm-odation of these families Is in ‘estimate stage’ and will be completed no sooner than two years, during which the families would have to find their own accommodation