CHENNAI: Arappor Iyakkam staged a protest near Rajarathinam Stadium in Egmore on Sunday, demanding an end to the re-laying of roads without adequately milling existing surfaces. The organisation claimed that such a practice has rendered house plots lower in height than adjoining roads, turning them flood-prone. It also sought a phased reduction in the height of main roads to original levels on interior streets, an expert committee to recommend remedies, and compensation for affected residents.
The non-governmental organisation has also launched a statewide campaign, urging residents to press local bodies, the rural development department and the state highways department for changes in road-laying practices.
A recent citizen-led audit by the organisation documented 245 locations across 30 districts, where repeated re-laying of roads without adequate milling had raised road levels. In some places, the road-to-lot height difference is nearly three feet, increasing the risk of rainwater mixed with sewage entering homes.
The organisation urged the state government to make milling mandatory and ensure roads retain their original height after re-laying. It called for recording road heights before and after work, supported by photographs and videos, and for tender conditions to require milling to match the thickness of the new bitumen layer. It also sought permanent mean sea level markers and the publication of road height measurements, before and after re-laying.
Further, the organisation demanded that contractor payments be withheld if road levels increased after work and sought disciplinary action against contractors and officials for violation of milling protocols, and compensation of up to Rs 40 lakh for affected homeowners.
Arappor Iyakkam convenor Jayaraman Venkatesan said, “Even during the recent rainfall, several houses were inundated. We have submitted the audit report to a minister and officials. We will not allow road heights to be increased even by a centimetre hereafter.”
A 57-year-old Selaiyur resident told TNIE that the prospect of flooding worried him every monsoon. He said residents of nearby Babu Street faced flooding because of the raised road level. “Water flows towards those streets where the house plots lie in a depression,” he said.