Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has inaugurated 5,674 houses, constructed at a cost of Rs 209 crore, and Rescue Roads for 41 km laid at a cost of Rs 23 crore for the people living in the coastal districts of the State. Using these roads, the people can leave coastal areas quickly and safely during emergencies like tsunami.
The Chief Minister inaugurated these houses and roads through video conferencing from the Secretariat on September 17. She also inaugurated 362 new buildings, constructed by Rural Development department, at a cost of Rs 21.78 crore. After the tsunami struck Tamil Nadu coast in 2004, the then Jayalalithaa government carried out relief works on a fast pace besides evolving a reconstruction project with financial assistance from World Bank.
The government identified 14,364 houses that were prone to destruction when natural calamities strike and decided to build new houses in lieu of the existing ones. Of them, the Chief Minister opened 8,251 houses on March 27, 2012. In the second phase, she inaugurated 5,674 houses on Tuesday. Each of the 325 sq ft houses, built at a cost of Rs 3.75 lakh, have been designed to withstand natural calamities like tsunami and earthquake and have been insured for 10 years.