COIMBATORE: Members of the Joint Action Committee of Singanallur Tamil Nadu Housing Board House Owners for Integrated Restructuring and the selected builder for the 960-flat project have jointly appealed to the Tamil Nadu government to expedite amendments to the Tamil Nadu Apartment Ownership Act, 2022.
The proposed amendment seeks to resolve the existing non-uniformity in Undivided Share (UDS) rights of the land granted by the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) and subsequent sellers.
The stakeholders are demanding the transfer of the entire UDS rights of the land from the TNHB to the flat owners association, which they consider essential to commencing the long-delayed redevelopment project.
The TNHB originally constructed 960 flats on 17.55 acres of land in Singanallur in 1984. Over the decades, the structures became dilapidated, leading to their demolition. In March 2023, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the flat owners' association and the private builder (Auro Mirra Developer LLP) to redevelop the area under a public-private partnership model.
As per the MoU, the builder will construct 960 modern flats — 561 sq ft for Low-Income Group (LIG), 815 sq ft for Middle-Income Group (MIG) and 1,060 sq ft for High-Income Group (HIG) residents. The developer has offered nearly double the original carpet area without collecting any money from the original allottees. The project is being implemented using advanced Mivan technology for faster and superior construction quality.
Touted as the largest single-phase housing redevelopment initiative in Tamil Nadu under private partnership, the project was originally expected to be completed within three years. However, construction is yet to begin due to continued legal and procedural hurdles in transferring the UDS ownership rights.
On Wednesday, residents and the builder addressed reporters in Coimbatore and urged Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay to personally intervene and resolve the impasse at the earliest.
"After 16 years of struggle, residents have united under six housing owners' associations and formed a federation named the Joint Action Committee. Despite the agreement signed three years ago, the project is still stuck due to issues in transferring UDS rights. Many residents who were vacated from their homes continue to face severe hardships, living in rented houses at various places for the past five years," said R Muthukumar, coordinator of the Joint Action Committee.
S Shanmugam, director of Auro Mirra Developer LLP, said that obtaining individual UDS rights from 960 owners separately would be a lengthy and impractical process.
"We have requested the government to amend the Act to transfer the entire UDS rights to the flat owners' association. This would enable a smooth agreement with the association. If approved, it will also pave the way for many similar redevelopment projects across Tamil Nadu," he added.
The stakeholders expressed hope that the state government will act swiftly to fulfil the long-pending housing aspirations of Singanallur residents.