CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) is set to reconstruct 12,648 tenements across 20 project sites in the state, at an estimated cost of Rs 2,882.62 crore this year, Housing and Urban Development Minister B Rajkumar said on Friday. Under the Iyothee Thass Pandithar Habitation Development Scheme, Rs 46 crore has been allocated for repair works across 36,395 old tenement buildings, he said.
Additionally, TNUHDB have allocated Rs 264 crore for the improvement of basic infrastructure across the tenement buildings in the state. A designated amount of Rs 50 crore will be spent for the repairs and renovation of 6,508 TNUHDB tenements in Kannagi Nagar, Chennai, during the current financial year, Rajkumar said.
The minister made the announcements while distributing allotment orders to 195 families, who have been shifted from the Chithra Nagar VAMBAY housing units built in 2004, to the newly constructed tenement buildings at Kotturpuram. The families have been relocated after their area was repeatedly affected by flooding during the monsoon.
Earlier, the minister inspected two old TNUHDB tenement buildings in Villivakkam constituency — Pachaikal Veerasamy Street and NVN Nagar Phase II project areas. The former has 876 tenements across blocks with two, three and four floors above ground level, while the latter has 352 tenements in three-storey buildings. With the buildings having deteriorated over the years, residents have been advised to move to safer locations.
Meanwhile, as a part of monsoon preparedness, the board has directed officials to remove accumulated garbage from tenement buildings, clear silt from sewage chambers and maintain drains to prevent blockages. Pumps have been kept ready to remove stagnant rainwater from low-lying areas.