A women’s welfare organisation has filed a public interest litigation petition in the Madras High Court accusing the Public Works Department and the Greater Chennai Corporation of resorting to the mass eviction of slum-dwellers in the city without abiding by the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Slum Areas (Improvement and Clearance) Act of 1971.
The case was filed by Pennurimai Iyakkam, an NGO represented by its secretary R. Leelavathy. It claimed that slum-dwellers across the city were being evicted forcibly without notification of their residential areas as slum areas, as required under the law. It also alleged that the views of the slum-dwellers were not ascertained.
It contended that the provision of alternative accommodation at far-off locations, such as Ezhil Nagar, Semmencheri and Perumbakkam, led to the loss of livelihood for the slum-dwellers and loss of educational opportunities for their children.
The NGO said, “The displaced children, without the possibility of continued education, fall in the hands of anti-social elements, and this is not good for society.”
Continuing saga
Recalling a similar mass eviction drive carried out in New York and the resultant public outcry over shifting of people to ghettoes, the organisation said the protests forced the New York City Council to enact a law for inclusive housing.
The Greater Chennai Corporation could take a leaf out of that incident and adopt similar measures, it said.
The NGO said that already, residents of about 22 slums in M.K. Stalin Nagar and Thideer Nagar had been evicted fully, and five had been evicted partially. Residents of about 36 slums in the west, east and south of the Cooum, Tiruverkadu and Melpakkam, among other places, were facing the threat of eviction.
The organisation urged the court to issue a direction to the Centre, as well as the State government, to attempt to rehabilitate the slum-dwellers.
