Forty-three Irula families have been given new houses with basic amenities at Meesanallur village in Thellar panchayat. The houses were constructed at a cost of ₹1.76 crore.
The houses were built under the tribal economic development scheme of the Department of Tribal Welfare during 2015-2016. Sevur S. Ramachandran, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister handed over the houses to the beneficiaries. Collector K.S. Kandasamy was present, a press release said.
Each house was constructed at ₹2.50 lakh and fitted with solar powered-inverters at a cost of ₹37,500 per house. Six street lights in the locality also run on solar power and an overhead tank has been constructed for water supply.
A community hall costing ₹8 lakh has been built.
In addition, a link road was laid from from Meesanallur tar-road to the colony with funds from the Rural Development Department. The colony’s concrete road for the colony was built under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act at a cost of ₹23.52 lakh.
The district administration will soon provide milch cows to each family. This will help the women take up a livelihood.
An anganwadi centre would be established to extend primary education for the children, the release said.
In the first phase, 43 houses were built on 100 acres of land and hundred more houses will be constructed at a cost of ₹15 crore. The government has given the go ahead for the project and the work will commence soon.
