Residents of the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) tenements in suburban Perumbakkam complained that they had not received the benefits promised to them by the authorities when they relocated from their original habitations.
“Our situation has worsened after we moved here,” said P. Alamelu, who along with hundreds of others, had assembled outside the 9th block of the tenements to meet the court-appointed Advocate Commissioner K. Elango on Sunday.
The Commissioner visited the tenements, on the directions of the Madras High Court, to inspect the implementation of the rehabilitation of those evicted from across the city to make way for various development projects.
“I am here to take note of your problems and solve it,” said Mr. Elango. But before he could complete his sentence, the residents poured their hearts out. “We have no proper water facilities, electricity, transport, schools, jobs and even a burial ground here. How can anyone live like this?” asked Rajalakshmi, a resident.
Many residents complained that they did not even receive the mandated shifting allowance of ₹5,000 or the monthly subsistence of ₹2,000. Also, several elderly people and widows were left in the lurch as they weren’t receiving their pensions any more.
“It has been over two years since we moved here. We have no income or pension. Our identity proofs have not been transferred to the new address,” complained 63-year-old Rajamma, who was shifted from Kotturpuramafter the 2015 floods.
The Commissioner also asked a group of children, curiously dressed in school uniforms on a Sunday, if they attended school regularly. They hesitantly said “no”, because the daily bus travel was expensive and they did not have bus passes.
“Safety has become a big issue here. Crimes in this area have increased. We haven’t not got any assurance from the district authorities,” said Rajeshwari, a mother of two young girls. She also claimed that a five-year-old girl was almost kidnapped but was stopped by a few alert locals.
District officials absent
The tahsildar of Sholinganallur, Bhagya Lakshmi was the only official from the district administration to be present at the inspection. She answered questions relating to the pension scheme.
“We had sent notices to them about the hearing a week ago, but they haven’t replied. It is their duty to address the grievances of the displaced,” said a senior official from TNSCB.
“I have directed the authorities concerned to look into their issues,” said the Advocate Commissioner, who will also be visiting tenements in Navalur and Gudapakkam this week.
