Ukkadam tenements: final report of expert panel to be ready soon

Two teams are carrying out independent inspections

The damaged portion on the ground floor of block - 4, which sank 15 cm. The TNSCB will attend to the block once it receives instructions from the State Government. Photo:K.Ananthan

The final report of the expert committee that studied the stability of Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) tenements in Ukkadam, will be ready soon.

Experts

According to sources in the Coimbatore Corporation and the TNSCB, the committee will forward the report to the State Government, which will consider it along with the report to be submitted by another committee, comprising experts from the Public Works Department.

After State Minister for Housing and Urban Development R. Vaithilingam inspected the damaged Block 4 and other structures on September 6, 2011, he constituted the two committees to carry out independent inspection and submit reports. The Block had sunk 15 cm and developed cracks.

The first team comprises Professors K. Ilamparuthi , Senthil, Santhakumar and L.S. Jayagopal, who have expertise in soil mechanism, structural design and stability, retro-fitting among other things.

The sources say the team conducted soil test for 15 days, quality control test for 10 days, and foundation test for five days. The PWD team also carried out similar tests.

After the tests in October – November, the first team submitted its pre-final report to the Government. This was in the third week of December, say the sources.

Once both the committees submit their reports and Government recommends action, the TNSCB will act accordingly. The sources also say that if the TNSCB were to pull down Block 4, as per Government recommendation, it will recover the construction cost from the builder, as it did in the case of Ammankulam.

The Board constructed Block 4 at Rs. 4.26 crore. In all, it constructed 21 such blocks, consisting 2,904 flats, at nearly Rs. 70 crore for the Coimbatore Corporation under the Basic Services for Urban Poor component of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Mission scheme.

The sources say that notwithstanding the setback, the Board will be able to handover the tenements by December 2012.

Relocation

Once the tenements are ready for occupation, the Corporation will first relocate those living along canals and channels that drain water into tanks.

Thereafter, it will look at shifting those alongside the tanks.