The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : State government quarters in bad shape

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Monday, Nov 09, 2009
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

State government quarters in bad shape

Staff Reporter

Parapet of balconies in 15 blocks has deteriorated significantly

Residents afraid to live in the quarters, but have no option
Complaints to authorities have failed to evoke any response

— Photo: M.Vedhan

CAUSE FOR CONCERN: Children stand on the balcony of a damaged block in the government staff quarters in Ayanavaram.

CHENNAI: Come rainy season and it looks as if the last place one would want to find refuge is the State government staff quarters. The condition of most of the 16 odd Tamil Nadu Government Rental Housing Scheme (TNGRHS) quarters in the city has deteriorated significantly over the years because of a lack of maintenance.

A Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) engineer admitted as much during an inspection of the Ayanavaram government staff quarters, which were damaged due to incessant rain on Sunday.

Roof caves in

The parapet of balconies in 15 blocks had collapsed and the roof caved in at several places on Sunday morning. No one was injured.

“We are very afraid to live here but do not have any option,” said T.Thara, a resident. “The government built these structures around 20 years back but annual maintenance is never done. The rain adds to our woes.”

Most of the 256 houses in the quarters are in a bad shape, said Annadurai, president of the Residents Welfare Association.

Leaky roofs

“Most of the houses on the third floor have leaky roofs. Poor material used during construction, lack of weathering on the roof and zero maintenance have led to the situation.”

He added that a part of the roof which caved in on Sunday almost fell on a 10-month-old baby. “We have been petitioning the authorities for a long time. It looks like nothing will be done until someone gets injured.”

According to the TNHB engineer, the allocation of funds for maintenance had to be done by the government. “We do not get adequate funds from the Housing and Urban Development department to address such problems. Eviction drives like the one in Foreshore Estate has to happen primarily because of a lack of focus on maintaining structural stability through regular reinforcements.”

Funds for maintenance

He added that the maintenance fund was not forthcoming in many cases because the government did not want to spend money on extending the life of a building by 5-10 years.

“The reinforcement rods and columns in the Ayanavaram quarters have corroded significantly. The residents will have to be moved elsewhere if nothing is done.”

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