CHENNAI: After living without power supply for a year, around 150 families in Navalar Nedunchezhian Nagar of Chintadripet, who were left out from the eviction drive last year, may soon get allotments at Perumbakkam tenements of the TNSCB.
A few houses were left untouched during the evictions in November last year after a resident approached Madras High Court against evicting them without alternative arrangements.
Express had reported earlier that over 150 families were found sleeping out in the streets and among the debris of where their earlier houses stood while a few others, whose houses were left untouched, were living without electricity connections.
Electricity connections were cut when the eviction drive began. "For the last one year, many families stayed with relatives, some slept on the streets. Officials had told some of us that they would be given allotments and took down their houses, but they never received allotments at that time and were rendered homeless," said Ramu R, a resident.
The area initially had around 700 families of which around 500 were resettled last November. The case in the High Court aside, there was also confusion during last evictions since the enumeration done in 2015 had put the number of eligible families to receive allotments at 700. However, the latest enumeration put the number at 421.
This led some officials to suspect political interference during the earlier assessment although residents vehemently denied any such involvement. Speaking to Express, a PWD official said, “On Saturday, 23 families were given allotments and sent to Perumbakkam and for the remaining 220 families, we’d start from Monday.”