Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Thursday unveiled housing projects, estimated to cost around Rs. 1,200 crore, for Chennai.
To be implemented by Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) and Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB), the projects would include construction of 10-storeyed apartments, numbering 1,500 dwelling units, in Sholinganallur at a cost of Rs. 612 crore and Rs. 371.05-crore project of 844 multi-storeyed tenements over 13.8 acres of seven sites in and around the city, and 2,550 such tenements in six city Assembly constituencies. The first two projects would be executed by the TNHB and the last by the TNSCB.
[Approximately, Rs. 220 crore would have to be set apart for houses to be built in Chennai, says a TNSCB official].
Making a suo motu statement in the Assembly, the Chief Minister said the 1,500 flats, which would come up on lands belonging to the TNHB, would be built, using pre-fabricated technology that would ensure reduction in cost and construction period. Multi-storeyed buildings of 24 floors could be completed in 24 months.
To be carried out under the self-financing scheme of the Housing Board, this project would have flats for persons of all categories of economic status. As regards the other project of the TNHB, it would be taken up in nine districts including Chennai. The other districts were Kancheepuram, Coimbatore, Erode, Krishnagiri, Salem, Virudhunagar, Dindigul and Tiruchi.
A total of 1,630 individual houses and 2,792 multi-storeyed tenements would be constructed at a cost of Rs. 918.45 crore. Besides, 32 plots would be developed. Work on the construction, which would begin this year, would be completed in 24 months.
Pointing out that the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board had built 1.29 lakh tenements and houses, the Chief Minister said many of the houses were structurally weak due to variety of factors.
Though the average life of the buildings was 70 years, they had become unfit for occupation. This was why the government decided to demolish such buildings and go for new buildings. Initially, 3,500 multi-storeyed tenements would be pulled down, giving way to an equal number of new dwelling units to be built at a cost of Rs. 280 crore this year.
In the case of the TNSCB’s project in Chennai, 480 houses would come up under Ranganathan scheme and 120 houses under Parthasarathy Nagar scheme of Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar Assembly constituency; 392 houses under Sathyavani Muthu Nagar scheme of Perambur; 288 houses under Nehru Park scheme and 32 units under Pillaiyar Koil Street scheme of Egmore; 304 units under Lock Nagar (Navalar Nagar) scheme and 708 houses under Ayodhya Kuppam scheme of Chepauk; 136 houses under Kotturpuram scheme of Saidapet and 42 houses under Andimanya Thottam scheme and 48 units under Pallakkumanyam scheme of Mylapore constituency.
