CHENNAI: Residents of four localities in Aminjikarai are facing eviction after 40 years as the Public Works Department (PWD) claims their land is part of the Cooum riverbed. Ironically, they were given these plots by another government agency — the TN Slum Clearance Board (now known as the Urban Habitat Development Board) — and the plots were even approved by the then urban planning authority — the Madras Metropolitan Development Authority (MMDA).
With no proper idea of how much area the river boundary would constitute, eviction notices have been issued to families living in Muthumariamman Colony, Gajalakshmi Nagar, Kathiravan Colony and Baharathi Puram.“We have lived here for more than three generations, and they are evicting us all of a sudden. We have paid for the land that was given under the ‘Hire Purchase Scheme’. Where will we go?” asks 80-year-old Kanniammal, who is battling cancer, and has four daughters.
Her daughters are married and live in rooms separated by partitions. “This is our land and we developed it to suit our needs. Now, they are offering us a flat under the NVN Nagar Scheme in Mogappair. How will our entire family live in a small flat?” she reasons.“We have not encroached a waterbody or land. This has been offered by the State. Even encroachers and builders who built flats on waterbodies got their buildings regularised under the regularisation scheme. We are being targeted since we are poor,” she says with tears in her eyes.
The eviction process has not been well thought through, taking into consideration people’s lives and livelihoods. Questions arise over how many families will be evicted. While Urban Habitat Development Board officials maintain that 79 families would be evicted, the PWD claims 200 families will be evicted.The PWD official says the residents are not encroachers as the land was allotted to them by a government agency. However, it was yet to be transferred to the Urban Habitat Development Board and as such, it belongs to the PWD. “We will evict them after giving them alternate accommodation. We require the land for widening of the river and the elevated corridor project,” the official says.
"People living in slums play a crucial role in making the city by their sweat, toil and tears. They should be given land rights," says social activist and Republican Party of India (Tamil Nadu) president Anbuvendan, who flagged the issue and even took it to the Madras High Court. The social activist provides a Field Measurement Book (FMB) sketch of 1906 accoridng to which the property is a Zamin Inam land. The Chennai Corporation denies that this is their land and the PWD is not providing documents to corroborate their claims, says Anbuvendan. However, the Urban Habitat Development Board and PWD officials deny that the land is a panchami one.
Meanwhile, residents are being denied the Right to Compensation. "They are not eligible. We are providing them with alternate accommodation," says a Slum Clearance Board official. The residents have all the documents except the sale deed, which has been denied by the government despite the Madras High Court ordering the State in July, 20, 2012, to provide sale deeds to 55,000 slum dwellers, who were given plots under the MUDP scheme.Vaessa Peter, of IRDUC, says allotment of land that falls under the 'right of way', and delay in issuance of sale deeds is the fault of the government and people cannot be forced to suffer for the mistakes of the government.
"The State should ensure their right to reside in their allotted houses without fear of eviction. People have invested their entire life's savings by developing these houses and the settlement on an incremental basis for over three decades as the land was provided to them officially by the government. It is unjust to dispossess them," she says. Interestingly, the eviction notices are being given after Chief Minister MK Stalin announced in the Assembly that a State policy on slums will be brought out to make evictions humane.
‘Govt gave us land, now we’re targeted’
“This (land) was offered by the State. Even encroachers and builders who built flats on waterbodies got their buildings regularised under the regularisation scheme. We are being targeted since we are poor,” said a resident