The Chennai Corporation is set to remove all encroachments along the Cooum by June 2020.
Eviction of nine habitations along the river remains a challenge for its ecorestoration. After eviction of habitations along the river, the Corporation will develop parks, walkways, cycle tracks and nature trails in such locations, to attract tourists, officials said.
However, the civic body has only been able to evict families from 47 habitations along the river. Owing to protests, the Corporation and the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board have not been able to resettle residents of Sathiyavani Muthu Nagar, Padikuppam Rail Nagar, Sivabootham, Kanniah Street, Bharathipuram, Gajalakshmi Colony and Thiruveedhiamman Koil Street.
Encroachments in Shanmugha Nagar and Perumal Koil Street in Tiruverkadu, outside the city limits, have also not been evicted yet.
Eviction under way
“We have relocated 47 slum habitations along the Cooum so far. Over 9,800 families have been relocated from the banks of the river. We have to relocate 4,000 more families,” said an official.
However, residents of five locations in Aminjikarai have been offering stiff resistance to the resettlement drive of the Corporation.
Work on eviction of residents from Sathyasai Nagar is under way. Demolition of encroachments in Sathyavani Muthu Nagar is expected to be taken up this month. But most of the 2,300 families in the area have been opposing the eviction drive for the past few years.
The number of project-affected families to get alternative accommodation is estimated at 4,000. But the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board has just 3,000 houses ready for resettlement. This is yet another challenge, the officials said.
The TNSCB will complete construction of 5,000 new houses by June 2020 in Perumbakkam, Manali and Moolakothalam, which will be offered to the project-affected families. Officials have been explaining the importance of flood preparedness in the city to residents along the river.
