CHENNAI: A total of 153 families from Sathya Nagar North (behind Saidapet Court) along the Adyar River were resettled to Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) tenements in Perumbakkam on Wednesday.
This relocation is part of the Adyar River Restoration Project (ARRP) under the Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust (CRRT), following an enumeration by the Water Resources Department (WRD), Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), and TNUHDB.
So far, 5,200 families from 20 habitations have been resettled out of the 9,500 identified as living within the river boundary. The remaining families awaiting relocation are from Thideer Nagar, Jothiammal Nagar, Annai Sathya Nagar, Jothi Ramalingam Nagar, Mallipoo Nagar, Soorya Nagar, Burma Colony, and a habitation in Anakaputhur, Tambaram Corporation.
Each relocated family from Sathya Nagar received a shifting allowance of Rs 5,000 and a subsistence allowance of Rs 30,000 (Rs 2,500 per month for 12 months). The Madras HC has directed the GCC to clear the remaining 153 encroachments along the Adyar River by March 19.
The directive follows a PIL petition filed by Citizens Forum founder trustee S Krishna Kumar in 2022, which stated that encroachments obstruct water flow, contribute to flooding, and threaten public safety and health. The court warned that failure to meet the deadline would require the GCC commissioner and revenue secretary to appear in court.