Resettled families return to Chennai, stay at Greenways Road railway station

As the condition of the houses there was bad, the residents, who were evicted on Friday evening, decided to return and stay at the Greenways Road railway station for the night.
Residents evicted from Govindasamy Nagar on Greenways Road return to the railway station on Saturday due to bad condition of allotted houses. (Photo | R Satish Babu, EPS)
Residents evicted from Govindasamy Nagar on Greenways Road return to the railway station on Saturday due to bad condition of allotted houses. (Photo | R Satish Babu, EPS)

CHENNAI: A few families resettled from Govindasamy Nagar to Perumbakkam stayed at the Greenways Road railway station on Friday night stating that it was better for them to stay here than at government-allotted houses in Perumbakkam.

They gave a letter to the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) to allot better houses, and also allot houses for them in the same block of the Perumbakkam site as it will be easier to interact in a new place. Officials sought four months’ time to meet their requests.

The Water Resources Department started evicting residents from Elango Street in Govindasamy Nagar near the Buckingham Canal a week ago even as houses were yet to be allotted for them by the TNUHDB. Initially, over 90 families were provided houses in the resettlement site at Padappai. Those evicted later on got houses in Perumbakkam because there were no vacant houses in Padappai.

As the condition of the houses there was bad, the residents, who were evicted on Friday evening, decided to return and stay at the Greenways Road railway station for the night. “There was no electricity connection. The doors were severely damaged. So, my mother and I decided to return to the city in the night itself and find a house for rent the next day,” said Ganesh, a resident.

The residents complained that they are being provided houses in different blocks and only on the seventh floor at Perumbakkam. “I am 58 years old. As the lifts are not working, it is difficult for me to climb up. Residents from our locality are also given houses in different blocks,” said Samanthi, a resident. Officials from the TNUHDB said that the residents’ requests will be taken to the government and action will be taken.

Meanwhile, 26 civil society organisations including Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC) raised concerns about the evictions as examinations are underway for school students, including for class 10 and 12. “The settlement is listed in the list of “unobjectionable slums” as per the final report of Pre-Feasibility Study for Identification of Environmental Infrastructure Requirement in Slums in Chennai Metropolitan Area, 2005. In this case, the ration cards of families were transferred three years ago to the Perumbakkam area (mentioned in the Peace Committee Report December, 2021) while families continue to reside in Govindasamy Nagar violating their basic rights,” a group of organisations said in a letter to the Chief Minister.

The forced eviction by the State violates the United Nations ‘Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-based Evictions and Displacement, which stipulates that evictions must not violate rights of children and must not be carried out before or during examinations, they said.

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