CUDDALORE: Upset over the delay in the allocation of houses, the families who were relocated from Rajavinayakar Street in Aalpettai for a road expansion project in 2022, adopted a resolution during a community meeting on Monday to occupy flats in Gundu Salai apartment complex on December 20.
Within a few hours of the resolution, revenue officials convened a peace meeting at the Cuddalore taluk office and assured the families that they would be allotted houses by the end of next month.
As many as 43 families, who had been residing in the area for over 60 years, were shifted out from Rajavinayakar Street by the NHAI in 2022. The Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) had promised to provide them with alternative housing. However, the allocation got delayed.
Following repeated protests from the residents, the TNUHDB finally allotted them housing units in the under-construction Gundu Salai apartment complex at a payment of Rs 30,000 as advance. However, the families were still not sure when they would be provided possession of the flats following completion of the construction.
“A few months ago, a TNUHDB executive engineer assured us that the houses would be handed over by October 2024 if we paid the full amount of Rs 2.78 lakh each,” said a resident. The families managed to arrange the amount by taking bank loans or borrowing from private parties.
However, despite making the payments, the families (17 have paid the amount in full) are yet to receive possession of the houses. “We are struggling to pay rent at our temporary accommodation in addition to repaying loans with interest,” said R Babu, Area Coordinator, Aalpettai.
As a mark of protest against the prolonged delay, the families on Monday decided to occupy the Gundu Salai housing units on December 20. Responding to the families' warning, revenue officials convened a peace meeting at the Cuddalore taluk office on Monday evening. The officials assured the families that the houses would be provided to them by January end.