TIRUPPUR: After a sidewall of a house collapsed on Sunday due to the incessant rain over the last few days, people living in tribal villages in the foothills of Thirumoorthy Hill appealed the government to build new houses. N Manikandan, state committee member of Tamil Nadu Tribal People’s Association, said, “As many as 110 tribal families live in the foothill.
Of these, 93 families have patta under the Forest Rights Act. Most of the people work as farm labourers and they go to nearby villages for work. About 10 families have set up small shops on the way to the Panchalinga falls and Amanalingeswarar temple.This is the livelihood of the villagers.”
“Most of the houses in the hamlet are in a damaged condition. Due to recent incessant rains, the condition of the houses has worsened further. Even on Sunday morning, a side wall of a house collapsed. Our people don’t cannot afford to build houses by themselves,’ he added.
Further, Manikandan said, “93 families in the settlement have housing patta under the Forest Rights Act. We request the state government to build new houses for the families. A resolution in this regard was passed during the Gram Sabha meeting.”
“We are afraid to sleep inside at night because many of the houses are in poor condition. We stay in relative’s houses which are in good condition,” said K Kannappan, another villager.
Officials of Dhali Town Panchayat of Tiruppur district said, “We have applied for approval under the central government’s Housing for All scheme. Only families with a patta are eligible. A Detailed Project Report (DPR) has been submitted for this. But no funds have been allocated yet. Once funds are allocated, the tender process will be completed and the project will commence.”
A senior official of the forest department said, “We have applied for funds under the Special Area Development Project (SADP) to repair the houses. We have also applied under a tribal development project.”