The Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board is planning to make a biometric identification of all those who have encroached upon the banks of rivers and waterways in Chennai.
The exercise is aimed at effectively managing the task of enumeration and relocation of such persons as part of the project to clean the rivers by the Chennai River Restoration Trust (CRRT).
Around 40,000 such families living along various water bodies in Chennai and the suburbs would require rehabilitation, said a Board official.
Many beneficiaries who have been identified are suspected to have registered their name in more than one area, the official said. Biometric identification would help in identify those people and ensure that the benefits reached only those in need of rehabilitation.
According to an official of the Board, photographs are not enough to stop the beneficiaries from obtaining allotment for more than one house during the process of rehabilitation.
Over 20 per cent of the people are likely to be categorised as being not eligible for rehabilitation according to the norms fixed by the government, said an official.
