The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Coimbatore News : Government employees plan demonstration against TNHB

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 26, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

Government employees plan demonstration against TNHB

By Our Staff Reporter

COIMBATORE, JAN. 25. The Tamil Nadu Government Employees Association (TNGEA) has planned a demonstration against the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) here on January 29 protesting the alleged administrative lapses in it.

In a memorandum to the TNHB and the Collector, S. Madan, the Secretary of the Association, said that the TNHB, which collected rent from the allottees, seldom carried out even minor repairs.

As for flats with heavy damage, the TNGEA urged the TNHB to allot either new houses or the available flats.

The association termed `illogical and unjustifiable' the TNHB's instruction to the tenants on the second floor to vacate citing the possibility of earthquakes.

The TNGEA wondered whether there was any attempt to make the land available for commercial purpose.

Tenants harassed

If the Government servants living in TNHB flats got transferred within the district, they should be permitted to stay in the same flat and penal rent or market rent should not be levied for the same, the memorandum demanded.

When the tenants vacated the houses, the TNHB staff `harassed' them by asking them to furnish the particulars of rent collection from the day they occupied the houses.

The association demanded that they be allowed to vacate on furnishing the particulars of the last six months.

"It is the responsibility of the TNHB to maintain those records," the Association said.

Similarly, they were asked to pay rent for the houses from the date they fell vacant (antedate). Citing a TNHB directive that there should not be any rental loss on flats, the staff demanded rent with effect from the antedate.

If there was a revenue loss it should have been solely because of the delay in issuing allotment orders.

In fact, applicants were waiting for allotment of flats, the association said. Similarly, while vacating, even if the tenants had given notice well in advance (i.e. stipulated 30 days), the files were held back for several weeks.

While issuing the vacation order, they were asked to pay rental arrears till the date the order was issued.

There was undue delay in refunding the caution deposit and the deposit for power connection, the association said.

Engineer's reply

Reacting to the charges, the Executive Engineer of the Coimbatore Housing Unit (CHU), R. Mariappan, said that a number of initiatives had been taken up to streamline the whole process right from the allotment to vacation.

Detailed proposals had already been sent for taking up the maintenance of the flats.

On complaints about rental arrears, seeking rent from antedate etc., he assured that they would be examined and action would be initiated after a meeting with the TNGEA office-bearers.

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