CHENNAI: Over two years have passed since they were constructed, but nearly half of the thousands of Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board tenements across the State are still lying vacant. With the Board blaming Collectors for not providing the list of beneficiaries, the Union Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Ministry has rapped the State for the inordinate delay in allotment process.
The Board had constructed about 60,000 tenements to relocate people living in slums in the urban nodes. According to figures available with Express, only 26,000 have been allotted so far, while the rest 34,000 tenements in Chennai and other towns are lying vacant.
This has drawn flak from the Centre. Authorities here are concerned since the poor performance in this regard could affect the flow of funds from Centre. During a meeting on May 26, the union government rapped officials and has directed to allot the tenements immediately.
Board sources said allocation could not be done in the absence of the list of beneficiaries from the urban local bodies and district collectors. As such, a high level meeting chaired by the chief secretary would look into the issue, sources added.
In Chennai, having highest percentage of slum population, families along the banks of Cooum river are yet to be resettled. The departments have identified 13,000 families that were encroaching the banks of Cooum. A biometric survey was done and officials are validating the survey.
In the case of Adyar river, 4,100 families were allotted homes, but could not be resettled due to Assembly elections, sources added. During the high level meeting, it would be decided whether priority should be given to shift those along the banks of Adyar or Cooum.