TNUHDB: A starting point to leaving none behind

The urban habitat board is seeing much-needed changes, from SOPs on humane evictions to emphasis on quality of buildings
The art district project, executed in Kannagi Nagar to improve the aesthetics of the buildings, has been welcomed by all | Express
The art district project, executed in Kannagi Nagar to improve the aesthetics of the buildings, has been welcomed by all | Express

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board was founded in 1970 by late DMK leader M Karunanidhi’s during his first term as Chief Minister. Fifty years on, Chief Minister MK Stalin, his son, has renamed it as the ‘Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board’. The changes, thankfully, go beyond the obvious.

The decision to change the name was driven by the intent to bring in a more holistic approach towards improving the lives of marginalized communities through livelihood opportunities and skill development, apart from just a change of place, M Govinda Rao, Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board, told TNIE.

The board’s new Standard Operating Procedure tries to ensure a more humane and dignified eviction where demolitions would not be carried out until the entire settlement has been relocated and private packers and movers would be engaged to help people shift their belongings safely. “Before taking up a new project or reconstruct dilapidated buildings, we take the opinion and suggestion of the people concerned,” Rao said.

“To ensure greater engagement by communities, we have started using institutions involved in social audits. We have signed MoUs with five colleges and assigned them nine projects. Our community development team works with their teams to connect to families better,”

Rao said. “Before taking up a new project or reconstruct dilapidated buildings, we get the feedback and suggestions from the community.”

Under ‘Nam Kudiyirippu Nam Poruppu’, resettled households are encouraged to form residents’ welfare associations where their contributions will be matched by the board to carry out maintenance work on the premises. About Rs 100 crore has been allotted for three years for the purpose. Residents pay welfare associations a monthly fee of Rs 750 in high-rise buildings for maintenance.

But forming residents associations to handle maintenance work and association accounts creates other issues, say some residents of the TNUHDB tenements in Perumbakkam. “In some blocks, if you ask the association heads about the expenditure reports, they tell us that they are not answerable to us. So, we don’t know how this money is being used,” said a resident of Perumbakkam who did not want to be named.

A technical committee with experts from Anna University was formed to inspect the quality of TNUHDB buildings, particularly those that are more than 30 years old, after a block on Thiruvottiyur’s Grama Street collapsed last month. The board has now allocated Rs 70 crore to refurbish 60 resettlement sites, predominantly in Chennai, that are over 15 years old. Buildings that are run down will be repainted and structural repairs will be taken up to ensure their safety, Rao told TNIE.

The Board has also planned to extend the art district project, executed in Kannagi Nagar to improve the aesthetics of the building, to other settlements including Nochikuppam. For the first time in 50 years, the board has planned to recruit its own staff through TNPSC instead absorbing them from other agencies on a temporary basis. A notification was issued recently for recruiting 64 assistant engineers and 64 junior assistants through TNPSC.

Habitat development committees headed by Corporation Commissioner in Chennai and District Collectors in other districts have been formed to ensure inter-department coordination in issues relating to urban habitat development. Tamil Nadu released a draft resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R) policy in October last year. The final policy may be released soon.

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