Urging the district administration to allot the 1,072 houses constructed for slum dwellers one-and-a-half years ago, residents submitted a petition to the Collector here.
The petition said the Tamil Nadu Housing Board constructed 464 houses at Perumpallam Canal, 336 houses at Periyar Nagar and 272 houses and Karungalpalayam in which they lived for 30 years. Since the buildings lost its stability, the residents were asked to vacate the tenements and the houses were demolished in 2014. Later, the board constructed 1,072 slum tenements at these areas and works were completed in May 2019. But, they said that tenements were yet to be allotted to them and they continued to live in rented houses.
They said they were urged to pay ₹ 1.25 lakh for receiving the key which they were unable to pay. Due to COVID-19, they lost their livelihood and hence the government should reduce the beneficiaries’ contribution and allot the houses, the residents said.
Members of Slum Tenements Residents’ Welfare Association said that the tenements were constructed at ₹ 125.89 crore. Though the works were completed, no steps were taken to hand over the keys to the beneficiaries, they added.
The members said since the tenements were lying idle without any security, pipelines were stolen while the doors and windows were broken by miscreants. They wanted the tenements allotted to the beneficiaries at the earliest.
