TNSCB may tie-up with ADB to build houses for urban poor in TN

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) may tie up with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the construction of 900 houses in Karaikudi and another 876 houses in Tirunelveli for people living in urban informal settlements which are located in flood-prone or other high-risk areas.

According to slum board officials, the project is in preparatory stages and an agreement with ADB has not been signed yet. If everything goes according to plan, the project will focus on urban areas in the State other than Chennai, including the two above mentioned locations. The dwellings will come up in three-storeyed buildings at Kazhanivasal in Karaikudi and Reddiarpatti in Tirunelveli. 

“We are in the preparatory stages prior to the signing of the agreement,” said a TNSCB official.  The ADB, in July this year, put out an Initial Poverty and Social Analysis as part of its ‘India: Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable Housing for Urban Poor Sector Project in Tamil Nadu’ under which the Tirunelveli and Karaikudi projects are expected to come up.

The poverty and social analysis document states that the project targets urban poor and migrant workers who resort to living in substandard housing or commute from considerable distances because they cannot access affordable housing. “ADB will engage NGOs to facilitate consultations during the project design phase and ensure adequate pre relocation preparations,” the document said. Further, a gender action plan will also be formed to analyse gender-related resettlement issues.