Satellite towns with earthquake resistant houses and lift facilities are under construction in Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai under the Ministry of Slum Clearance Board.
The project entails construction of 23,000 houses in 8-storied buildings in Perumpakkam, 5,000 houses in 4-storied buildings in Thiruvottriyur, both in Chennai, 2500 houses in Ukkadam in Coimbatore and 1500 houses in Rajakur in Madurai. This was stated by Suba Thangavelan, Minister for Slum Clearance Board and Accommodation Control here on Tuesday evening.
Additionally, under the Jawaharlal Urban Renewal Mission Plan, houses are being constructed in Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai. The plan envisages targets of 1,11,190 houses, 33,500 houses and 24,300 houses respectively for the three districts. According to the Minister, delays due to encroachments and land identification had been sorted out and the project is scheduled for completion by 2011.
According to the Minister, about 6,000 houses had been planned along the coastal districts as an extension of Tsunami rehabilitation. Of this, about 921 houses are being constructed at a cost of Rs.21 crore in Nagapattinam and 173 houses at a cost of Rs.4.20 crore are under progress in Velankanni. These houses are slated for completion in three months.
Since the inception of the Ministry for Slum Clearance in 1973, about 1.23 lakh houses have been built in Tamil Nadu, Mr. Thangavelan said. A target of 55,000 houses have been set by the state government for this term, of which about 30,000 houses have been built in the past 3 years.