Chennai

In response to a petition by Tsunami Kannagi Nagar Podhunala Sangam against the levy of a maintenance fee, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed the Government of Tamil Nadu to take appropriate action within eight weeks. According to the residents of settlement, the GO for increase in maintenance fee from Rs 50 to Rs 250 was sent in December, 2015. 

According to recent data, the family income of 62% of the Kannagi Nagar residents is less than Rs 5,000 a month as 92.3% of the families are engaged in the unorganised sector. Moreover, 79.3% of the residents lost their employment immediately after relocation, because of the increased commute to their workplace. The petition said that since most of the residents are slum dwellers, they can’t afford to pay Rs 250 as a monthly instalment for a period of 20 years, depending on the year of allotment by Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB). 

Policy Researcher Vanessa Peter from Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC), who has been working with the residents, pointed out that permanent property papers have not been given, even to the ETRP beneficiaries. “The residents are only given an allotment order, which is not permanent. 

“Depending on the year the home was allotted, this amounts to Rs 36,000 to 60,000 per flat on a hire-purchase basis. Furthermore, the allotment of houses will be cancelled if the residents failed to pay three consecutive monthly instalments. 

“This has forced families to take loans at higher rates of interest to pay these instalments. Over 90% of the residents surveyed reported being more in debt after the relocation process, as they had to take loans because of increased poverty,” said this researcher, adding that the resettled families still continue living under insecurity. 

Stephen Raj, Head of Kannagi Nagar Podhunala Sangam, said the resettled families are taking a bad hit because there is no proper infrastructure. “The poor roads are leading to an increase in accidents. There are no schools and a large number of children are being forced to drop out as they can’t commute to their schools in the city. There are no hospitals and we have to go all the way to Government General Hospital. We are demanding more schools and ICD Srun Balwadi for younger children, employment opportunities nearby and healthcare facilities,” he said. 

An official from the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) said, “The residents have not been charged for either the land or the house. They only have to pay the maintenance fee. We also suggested that they form an association and the residents can contribute accordingly and undertake repairs. So far, we have only announced the maintenance fee and will only start collecting it in the future,” said the official. 

On receiving the complaint, the NHRC has directed the concerned state authorities to take appropriate action within eight weeks. 

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