CHENNAI: CPM state secretary K Balakrishnan on Monday condemned the Public Works Department for demolishing houses of the poor people in Govindasamy Nagar in Mylapore and made them like orphans.

After visiting the Govindasamy Nagar and interacting with the affected people, he said that if the houses continued to be demolished at Govindasamy Nagar, his party would launch a movement to occupy the new houses being constructed by businessmen there.

He also urged the Chief Minister to increase the compensation from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 50 lakh to the family of Kannaiya who killed himself by self-immolation and sought a government job for a member of the victim’s family.

Later, Balakrishnan welcomed the Chief Minister’s announcement in the Assembly that the eviction drive would be stopped until the government come out with a policy on rehabilitation and resettlement. “If the encroachment were removed, it will be done only after the resettlement process was done in consultation with the affected people and their consent, ” he quoted the Chief Minister. He said that Stalin’s statement has come as a relief to the people. “Government officials must keep this in mind and act humanely, ” he tweeted.

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