Port users on Wednesday expressed their anguish against Chennai Corporation and Chennai Port Trust (ChPT) officials for failing to evict those staying on the Corporation land in Cherian Nagar, to pave way for the widening of Ennore Manali Road Improvement Project (EMRIP).
Cherian Nagar has 41 houses and 94 families. Dwellers of the tenements are living in structures constructed on Corporation land. To enable the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to complete its Rs.600-crore project on time, the Corporation had issued notices to the dwellers a few weeks ago to vacate the place by July 24. In return, tenements were offered alternative houses at AIR Colony, Ernavur, about five km from the existing site. Besides, they would be rehabilitated.
A State government official said: “The deadline for them to vacate the place expired on Tuesday. However, there were no signs of these people moving out on their own, though we have arranged for Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) to them under Project Affected Families scheme.”EMRIP is facing similar problem with regard to widening of 1.6 km road from S.N. Chetty Street to ChPT zero gate, as 146 fishermen are reluctant to vacate the existing site, even after they have been provided with newly built fishing stalls. The project will get a final shape only after evicting 447 tenements of NTO Kuppam and relocating Bhavani Amman temple.
