Tamil Nadu: Chengalpattu bus terminus plan may render 40 families homeless

CHENNAI: Around 40 to 50 families living adjacent a medical college for the last 30 years are facing eviction after the government has decided to construct a new bus terminus in Chengalpattu, on a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

The inhabitants on three acres of land, which is part of the 10-acre area on which the proposed bus terminus will come up, are a worried lot. She added, "We don't have anywhere else to go, said Sahila, who runs a small shop in the area after her husband developed heart issues. We don't have any money to build a new house."

"We were living in thatched huts. There was an encroachment-eviction drive earlier, but we were spared. With whatever savings we had, we managed to built a house," said Thambiran, who has been living in the area for more than 25 years.

He said the families could approach court to avoid eviction. "We had approached the tahsildar, but he rejected our plea. We have also approached officials at the Secretariat," he said.The government had announced in the Assembly about the proposed bus terminus.

Chengalpattu Collector AR Rahul Nadh told The New Indian Express that notices were served, asking the families to vacate the land located near the Grand Southern Trunk Road. Nadh said, "Around 300 acres of land was given to the medical college by Vedachalam Mudaliar, a landlord, through a gift deed in the 60s. At that time the area was not fenced, resulting in encroachments."

Although the government has cleared some encroachments these families remain, the collector added. He said that the 40-odd families knows that the land belongs to the medical college and that is the reason they did not seek pattas for the last 30 years.

Meanwhile, the State government is planning to start work in the remaining portion of the land. Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority is in the process of selecting a consultant for the purpose.