THANJAVUR: Nearly three years have passed since the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) directed the tenants in the 450 flats at its Old Housing Unit in Thanjavur to vacate so as to raze the buildings down and construct new ones to rent them out again to government staff but the authorities are yet to commence demolition.
While district TNHB officials say they are waiting for the tenants in five flats to vacate and also awaiting nod from their higher-ups to the proposal for demolition, government staff say the vacated buildings are on the verge of collapse, posing safety risks, and call for new ones to be constructed and rented out at the earliest.
According to sources, the work on developing the Old Housing Unit in the city commenced in 1965 and by 1981, 64 tenements with a total of 450 houses were constructed. All the housing units were rented out to government employees. While maintenance works were entrusted with the board, the tenements became dilapidated with time. In 2022, the TNHB decided to demolish the tenements and issued orders accordingly.
As part of it, the tenants were issued notices to vacate the flats so that the old buildings could be demolished. Save for five flats, the rest have been vacated. With no occupants in the remaining flats, there has been no maintenance at all. This led to vegetation growth almost everywhere, including on the buildings and the cross roads in the complexes. Dharuma Karunanidhi, the district secretary of Tamil Nadu Government Employees Union (TNGEU) said that the buildings could collapse at any time.
Hence, they need to be demolished at the earliest and new houses constructed in place for renting out to government employees, he added. When contacted, TNHB officials told TNIE that a proposal for demolition of the tenements at the Old Housing Unit was already sent months ago. "The remaining occupants in five houses were also given notices to vacate. Once the board gives approval, tenders will be called for dismantling of the buildings," an official said.
Based on fund allocation new houses will be constructed for renting out to government employees. As for demand, the district administration has given a demand for constructing 480 new flats, officials added. Meanwhile, sources said that those continuing to occupy the five flats have been demanding alternative accommodation at the TNHB’s New Housing Unit, which is about 1.5 km away.