CHENNAI: The State Government is mounting a multi-agency effort to make Chennai slum-free by 2017, with “a focus on social inclusion of slum-dwellers.”
“We will not repeat the mistakes done in Mumbai [where slum-dwellers were forcibly evicted]. Rather, the entire exercise would be carried out with the people’s co-operation and nobody will be compelled to shift. The plan would involve two aspects — resettling people living along the city’s waterways and those along the coast,” R. Sellamuthu, Housing and Urban Development Secretary, told The Hindu on Thursday.
The exercise will be a joint effort by the Chennai Corporation, the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB), the PWD and the Revenue Department.
The process of identifying slums has already begun and tenements will be built under both the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission and the Chennai City River Conservation Project. Land acquisition for the new tenements is not expected to pose a problem as there is enough government land available. “Plenty of land is available in Tiruvottiyur and Tondiarpet in north Chennai and Okkiyam Thoraipakkam in south Chennai,” Mr. Sellamuthu said.
According to Government estimates, roughly 25 to 28 per cent of the city’s population live in slums. “We will try to ensure that the slum-dwellers are neither marginalised nor segregated under the new plan. Apart from preserving the existing waterways, this will also enable us to work out a long-term housing policy for the slum-dwellers,” he added. Housing will either be free or provided at “a reasonable cost.” Wherever possible, the Government would go in for reconstruction of tenements or new tenements would be constructed by the TNSCB. The co-operation of non-government organisations would be sought whenever needed.
Though the Government is optimistic that there would be no opposition to the resettlement move, social activists remain apprehensive.
The existing slums should be restructured and basic amenities provided, they say.
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