Second phase of evictions at Arumbakkam to begin this week

CHENNAI: While 93 of the 247 families from Radhakrishnan Nagar in Arumbakkam have been resettled, the remaining are to be resettled by the end of the week. No houses will be demolished until then, said officials. While several photos claiming to be that of the Arumbakkam demolition were circulated on social media, an official statement from the city Corporation stated that none of the houses are to be demolished until all the enumerated families are resettled properly. The evictions are under the Cooum river eco-restoration project of the Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust (CRRT). 

Initially, the families were to be resettled to the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) tenements in Perumbakkam. After residents resisted resettlement to Perumbakkam, re-allotment orders to KP Park in Pulianthope, within the city limits, were obtained for 93 families.

According to sources, the remaining will also be accommodated in the same KP Park tenements once the re-allotments are ready. “We are arranging re-allotments for the remaining families and the TNSCB will provide them housing at KP Park as requested. Once the papers are ready, we will resettle the remaining families this week,” the official said. The cost of each house allotted is estimated to be around Rs 13-15 lakhs. 

According to a Corporation statement on Sunday, transport facilities to ferry belongings of the 93 families to the KP Park tenements are being arranged since July 30 when the evictions began and that the city corporation has arranged three meals a day for these families. Officials told Express that the documents of those claiming to be left out will be verified at the end of the drive and all eligible families will receive houses.