Slum dwellers along Adyar likely to be resettled

The resettlement drive is being resumed after 7 years, officials cite lack of tenements for delay
Saplings planted along the Adyar river | Ashwin prasath
Saplings planted along the Adyar river | Ashwin prasath

CHENNAI: After a gap of seven years, the government may restart a drive to relocate nearly 5,000 families along the Adyar River to various resettlement tenements built across the city. After the floods in 2015, no major resettlement drive was undertaken along the Adyar barring a small drive to relocate 300 families. Hitherto, resettlement was largely restricted to slums along the Cooum River.

The main reason for the delay, according to officials, was lack of availability of tenements. Now, since the new tenements are ready, the city corporation, which is the implementing agency, along with Water Resources Department (WRD) and the Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust (CRRT), has prepared a comprehensive plan for resettlement.

"We have finished enumeration of families residing in Chitra Nagar in Kotturpuram last week and we will proceed with a few other localities like Jyothiammal Nagar and other areas over the next few days. Relocation will start in a few days," said a corporation official. Residents may be allotted houses in the Perumbakkam Light House project or other tenements, officials said.

While officials have a plan in place, activists said mistakes that occurred during Cooum relocation must be avoided. "Government should prioritise in-situ development. Resettlement should be the last option and must be considered only when there is no possibility for on-site development. In the case of the Cooum River Eco-Restoration Plan, there was a scope for in-situ development/reconstruction as mentioned in the report prepared by CRRT and TNUIFSL, but the government opted for 100% resettlement without taking into consideration the views of the community," said Vanessa Peter, founder of IRCDUC.

According to sources, the civic body has prepared a three-phase plan for the Adyar project. Once the families are moved out, the corporation, under second phase, will fence the river. "We have almost finished fencing work along the four-km stretch in Manapakkam. We have also taken up fencing in bits and pieces along the river in other places. Only after resettlement and rehabilitation of families is fully completed, we will roll out a full-fledged fencing project," said a corporation official. The civic body has planned to take up mass plantation drive during the third phase. Four plant species have been planted on a 2.3-km stretch along Kotturpuram Bridge.

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