In 2021, a 10-year-old girl Kalaivani (name changed), who was living with her mother on the pavement in Broadway, Chennai, died of illness. The girl’s mother, a single parent, has been living on the streets for over a decade because she could not afford a roof above their head.
The police, while registering the girl’s death, mentioned her name and noted that she had been “C/O (Care of) Platform” in the Accident Register. Apparently, it has been the practice of the police to refer to people who died in homeless situations as “C/o Platform”.
For the grieving mother, who had raised her child despite all her difficulties, the usage of such an insensitive phrase was another blow. The term undermined all her struggles and sacrifices she had made for her daughter.
Kalaivani’s mother was among the thousands of people across Tamil Nadu forced to reside on the streets for various reasons, including proximity to places of employment and sources of income.
According to the Census 2011, there were 37,117 homeless people in Tamil Nadu, 16,682 of them living in Chennai. There were 4,002 homeless children in the 0-6 age group in TN as per the Census 2011. A survey conducted by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) in 2018 revealed there were 9,087 individuals experiencing homelessness in the city, and 2,361 children.
The GCC survey also revealed that 83 per cent of the urban homeless population resided as families. While individuals in homeless situations could be accommodated in shelters run by government agencies, there is a need to provide housing facilities for families.
Though the Tamil Nadu Affordable Urban Housing and Habitat Policy, 2020 recognised ‘night shelters’ as a solution for the homeless it does not prioritise housing units in the vicinity for homeless families – a basic component to enable children to grow up in a secure environment.
For over a decade, families in homeless situations have been demanding housing near their places of livelihood. They have made several representations to the Government of Tamil Nadu and to the National Commission for Scheduled Caste seeking housing facilities.
Earlier this year, the State government recognised the need for housing for 1,500 homeless families in North Chennai, but issues relating to the payment of beneficiaries' contribution (10 per cent of the housing cost) remain unresolved.
At present, free housing for homeless families depends exclusively on the funds available with the land-owning department or project implementation agency with which to bear the beneficiaries’ costs. Hence, there is a need to evolve a policy decision on the payment of beneficiaries’ costs, especially for vulnerable sections such as the urban homeless, women-headed households, the elderly, transpersons and persons with disabilities.
For thousands of homeless people, housing is not the only challenge. Even accessing basic identity documents and social entitlements like the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme is difficult. Despite the availability of several progressive schemes and services in Tamil Nadu, access remains a challenge as there is no policy to ensure synergy between different departments to facilitate the convergence of schemes.
Therefore, there is a pressing need to frame comprehensive policy guidelines in the State to ensure services such as housing, health, livelihood/entrepreneurship, education, social entitlements, and legal services under a unitary policy framework.
There are multiple days observed across the world in the month of October such as World Homeless Day on October 10 to ensure vulnerable groups are not left behind. This is the central, transformative promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This October is yet another reminder for our policymakers to make our cities inclusive and safe by ensuring policy safeguards for the vulnerable sections.
Footnote is a weekly column that discusses issues relating to Tamil Nadu
On shaky ground
According to the Census 2011, there were 37,117 homeless people in Tamil Nadu, 16,682 of them living in Chennai. There were 4,002 homeless children in the 0-6 age group in TN as per the Census 2011
Vanessa Peter is the founder of Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities, Chennai and Prof Antony Stephen M is the Head of the Department of Social Entrepreneurship, Madras School of Social Work, Chennai