Among the key interventions that the civic body will make in terms of monsoon preparedness this year is the resettlement of over 20,000 families residing along Kallukuttai lake in Perungudi zone, to reduce flood risk in the city. The civic body is yet to take a decision on where the residents should be relocated.
Officials said such encroachments could cause heavy flooding again this year. Over 15 monitoring officers — IAS officers appointed by the State government to oversee the progress of monsoon preparedness activities in Chennai — had identified several such areas for eviction of encroachers. Kallukuttai will be the largest such operation.
According to official sources, the encroachments in Perungudi on government land measuring 200 acres, particularly in areas including JJ Nagar, Santhiya Nagar, and Sempon Nagar have been one of the main factors behind massive flooding.
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The buildings, developed in the vicinity of the Pallikaranai marsh, have long been seen as a hindrance to the flow of stormwater in the area.
‘Need alternative solution’
More than 80% of the residents are manual labourers who claim they had purchased their land from people who had grabbed lands belonging to the government over two decades ago.
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Kallukuttai resident V.S. Lingaperumal said the majority of the residents were born in the locality. “There are many students here. Their parents were poor. They settled here after paying money to the people who said they owned the land. They should get an alternative solution. We have organised protests demanding civic utilities.”
Pointing to the lack of street lights and water supply in the area, Mr. Perumal said the residents possessed voter IDs and ration cards. “But they do not have patta. Our request is that the people of this area should be treated with dignity even during a move to evict them,” he said.