CHENNAI: Nearly two years after Syed Gulam, a 22-year-old resident, died when a sunshade collapsed on him at the dilapidated Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) tenements in Srinivasapuram near Pattinapakkam, the officials have demolished weak portions of the buildings, especially balconies in view of the northeast monsoon. The demolition, carried out a month ago, has left residents anxious. The balconies have not been restored and they now walk past broken portions with no protective walls.
A 20-year-old resident said a large piece of concrete recently fell from the roof while her sister was doing her homework in the hall. “I noticed it in time and pushed her aside. Otherwise, I don’t know what would have happened. Concrete pieces also fall on our food while we eat. We cannot continue living like this. The government must act,” she said.
A third-floor resident, who lives alone, has started staying at his workplace after his balcony was demolished. “I have no space to even walk,” he said. Another resident said, “It was I who asked them to demolish the balcony, but I never thought they would leave it without restoring it.”
The scheme has 1,356 tenements in 68 blocks, all severely dilapidated, with rusted iron reinforcement exposed. It was among 61 areas a technical committee recommended for reconstruction, citing the age and declining stability of the buildings. However, more than 1,000 original allottees and their families still call the tenements home, and about 2,000 encroachers live alongside them in temporary structures and huts. Together, they need at least 3,000 new units.
A TNUHDB official told TNIE the committee had proposed reconstruction as early as 2008 or 2010, but the project stalled following opposition from residents. So far, only 200 families have been shifted to the new 14-floor TNUHDB tenements at Pattinapakkam.
The residents, especially fishermen, want temporary shelters on adjacent TNHB land, where the new secretariat is proposed, until reconstruction is completed. Many are daily wage workers who cannot afford rent, and nearly half the residents are fishermen whose livelihood depends on the coast. “My livelihood depends on this sea. I can’t move anywhere away from here,” said Vijaya (40).
TNUHDB officials are reluctant to provide temporary shelters, fearing a precedent for other projects. Even after Gulam’s death in December 2024 and another resident being severely injured in a balcony collapse within a month, no concrete solution has emerged.
A senior TNUHDB official said, “We are also concerned about the frequent falling of building portions and did not want anything bad to happen. But the residents were unwilling to vacate, and the department did not want to resort to forceful eviction, seeking to ensure dignified rehabilitation.” The official added, “We have another 140 such reconstruction schemes in Chennai and providing temporary sheds could set a precedent, and is not possible everywhere.”
Another official said the balconies were demolished in blocks whose residents had been shifted to Pattinapakkam. When TNIE pointed out balconies had also been demolished in an occupied block, the official said the residents had not allowed officials inside to reconstruct them, but assured the matter would be looked into.