NAGAPATTINAM: About 10,000 permanent houses are now in various stages of construction in various parts of the tsunami-hit Nagapattinam district. These houses will be ready in two months and steps are being taken to hand over them to the tsunami-hit families in the district before the onset of the northeast monsoon, said Tenkasi S. Jawahar, Nagapattinam Collector, here on Tuesday.

After reviewing the progress of the construction of permanent houses with the officials and the representatives of the non-governmental organisations, the Collector told The Hindu that it had been decided to construct 17,106 permanent houses in 76 locations in various parts of the district for the tsunami-affected families.

Mr. Jawahar pointed out that the Government had acquired 322 hectares of land by spending more than Rs.30 crore and handed over these sites to 51 NGOs for construction of permanent houses.

So far, 1,816 permanent houses had been constructed and handed over to the beneficiaries. About 10,000 houses will be constructed and completed in two months.

The Collector said all the NGOs were instructed to speed up the construction of the permanent houses and warned the NGOs, which were delaying construction in several areas. He said he had cancelled the agreement of one of the NGOs for its lethargic attitude in taking up the construction of 795 permanent houses in Vanagiri, Poompuhar, Melavanjur and Veppancheri coastal hamlets despite repeated reminders.

Mr. Jawahar said there were many NGOs interested in carrying out tsunami rehabilitation works and these NGOs might be considered for speedy execution of works. The Collector said the Government would not keep quiet if the NGOs violated the Government guidelines in the construction of houses.

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