A group of residents from tenements along the Marina protested in front of Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) office on Kamarajar Salai.
The residents alleged that over 150 families had been declared ineligible for inclusion in the beneficiary list for 628 earthquake-resistant apartments constructed under the urban housing component of the emergency tsunami reconstruction project (ETRP) in Nochi Nagar.
The 628 single-bedroom apartments were expected to be ready for occupation in July 2011. But the residents were unable to get allotment because of delay caused by a number of factors. The total number of apartments proposed to be reconstructed in Nochi Kuppam, Nochi Nagar and Domming Kuppam is 2,280.
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But some residents of Nochi Kuppam had demanded two reconstructed houses in order to accommodate all the members in large families. The TNSCB was unable to find a solution to the problem.
Nochi Kuppam reconstruction did not take off even after many residents were relocated to temporary shelters. Now, according to TNSCB sources, officials are allegedly trying to allot 150 houses in Nochi Nagar to residents of Nochi Kuppam. This has caused tension between residents of the two areas.