Supreme Court dismisses plea to stop government's eviction drive in Chennai

CHENNAI:  The Supreme Court on Tuesday disposed of a petition filed on behalf of Govindasamy Nagar residents in RA Puram, stating there is no reason to modify its earlier direction to evict encroachers.

Saying that the entire eviction process should have been completed long ago, and apprehension about alternative housing was misplaced, the court asked residents to approach local authorities with their grievances.

The State government submitted that with no other tenements available nearby, allotment orders for 259 families were issued in Perumbakkam (126 families), Kannagi Nagar and Ezhil Nagar (48 families), Semmancherry (17 families), and Navalur (68 families).

All the tenements had basic amenities, it said. According to sources, at least 40 families who were allotted houses in Perumbakkam returned to Greenways Road saying that the houses were damaged and devoid of amenities.

"We sat inside the partially demolished buildings at Govindasamy Nagar and houses of relatives when it started raining on Tuesday," said M Lakshmi, a local resident. She added that houses in Perumbakkam were uninhabitable.

"My house was demolished on May 6 and they showed us houses in Perumbakkam. There were houses only on the seventh floor, and they were damaged. I returned to the city with my son and started staying at the railway station. We are not able to find a house on rent, and are surviving on food from Amma Canteen," said J Samanthi, a 58-year-old. A few families were also seen cooking food outside the demolished houses.

Meanwhile, the family of VG Kannaiyan, who died by suicide in protest against the eviction, received his body. "Officials assured us that other houses would not be demolished and the residents can stay in locality till they are allotted houses in a nearby area. So, we decided to receive the body," said a family member.