Chennai
As the collapse of a slum board building in Tiruvottiyur brought the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) into the spotlight again, a retired engineer of the board blamed the incident on poor maintenance by both the residents and the board.
The former chief engineer of the board clarified that the TNUHDB would only carry out maintenance works on common areas like stairs and corridors. “Residents should maintain the inner and private portions. However, both the parties failed to do their part, “ he said, pointing out that the allocation of funds for repair and maintenance was done only once in five years and was meager.
“Any leak from water or sewer pipelines should be attended to immediately, as seepage would weaken the building. The board should create awareness among the residents about the proper maintenance of buildings,” he said.
Venessa Peter, Venessa Peter of Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC), requested the State government to put in a mechanism so that periodic quality audits of TNUHDB buildings are carried out.
"Presently, the authorities are proactive and start the reconstruction of weaker buildings only after cracks are reported. Also, while giving alternate accommodation to the affected families in the Tiruvottiyur incident, the government should consider their livelihood," she requested.
Soon after the building collapse incident was reported, officials from TNUHDB visited the site to assess the stability of other blocks.
According to Minister for MSME TM Anbarasan, in the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) there are 23,000 such houses that were constructed 40 to 45 years ago. After DMK came to power, it was decided to demolish these 23,000 houses which were not suitable for living in a phased manner.
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