CHENNAI: Seven months after the first batch of 250 families were resettled from Kanu Nagar along Adyar river in Ramapuram as part of a restoration project under the Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust (CRRT), the remaining 205 families were evicted on Friday. While the first batch of families were shifted to phase 5 of the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board’s Perumbakkam tenements, the remaining families are now resettling into Perumbakkam’s phase 9 homes.
The resettlement drive was paused in October, owing to various reasons, including monsoon and the second batch of families’ preference that they be shifted to tiled houses instead of the houses that they were originally allotted under a different scheme in Perumbakkam. The originally allotted houses lacked tiled floors but had a slightly more spacious portico.
“The second batch of families preferred newly-constructed houses with tiled floors, so they were allocated houses in phase 9,” said an official. According to officials, a series of consultations were held with the families concerned in addition to confidence-building activities before the relocation. Under the Adyar River Restoration Project, the families are entitled to a one-time shifting allowance of `5,000 per family and a subsistence allowance of `2,500 for a year.