As many as 213 families living in the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) tenements at Perumbakkam here have raised concerns over the inordinate delay in receiving entitlements – shifting allowance of ₹5,000 and subsistence allowance of ₹30,000 (₹2,500 a month) – despite over four years since their resettlement, a report released by the Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC), an NGO, said.
One of the largest resettlement sites of the TNUHDB, Perumbakkam has over 23,000 multi-storeyed tenements whose occupants are those evicted from river fronts and other parts of Chennai. The TNUHDB tenements were constructed to accommodate the urban poor in a bid to improve their living conditions. The IRCDUC report highlighted that many families evicted under the Integrated Cooum River Eco-Restoration Plan (ICRERP) were yet to receive the shifting and subsistence allowances.
Speaking to The Hindu, several residents confirmed that they were yet to receive the amount.
N. Shyamala (name changed), a resident who relocated here from Amma Nagar near Chintadripet in 2019, said, “I have been working as a house help in Sholinganallur and struggling to run the family. My income has reduced after the COVID-19 pandemic. The government should disburse the allowance at the earliest.”
Some of the residents complain that they have not been issued permanent allotment certificates. “I have received a paper token with my name, house number and block number from the TNUHDB. It says ‘CRRT temp’. Like me, a few other residents who were relocated, also have not received entitlements and allotment certificates,” said a resident.
Residents said that TNUHDB officials had informed resettled families that only after they pay a maintenance cost (₹750 a month) without arrears, would they be issued permanent allotment for their houses. “Many of us are daily wage labourers and travel far to earn money. With inflation, we are struggling to manage the family,” the residents said. Vanessa Peter, founder, IRCDUC, said: “All families resettled under the ICRERP should be provided the pending allowances in a single instalment. To compensate for the delay, they should be provided the pending entitlements with interest for five years.”
TNUHDB officials were unavailable for comment.
