CHENNAI: Within eight months of its inauguration, the Chief Minister’s Urban Housing Project with 776 housing units at Seven Wells, George Town, is plagued by problems.
Residents have raised concerns over defunct lifts, damaged parks, sagging pavements, small cracks in the walls, overflowing sewage and frequent supply of discoloured water. They say the lack of basic facilities makes it hard to live in the tenement, and they have urged officials to take immediate action.
The project, implemented by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) at a cost of Rs 147 crore, stands near the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital. Former Chief Minister MK Stalin had inaugurated the complex in January, which comprises two blocks of ground plus nine floors. Each dwelling unit has a built-up area of 415 square feet and includes a living hall, kitchen, bedroom, toilet and bathroom.
Dwellers are rehabilitated families who had been living for decades along roadsides and canal banks in Mannadi, Muthialpet, Seven Wells, Broadway, Valluvar Kottam Road, Jutkapuram, Kalyanapuram and Wood Wharf.
P Vasanthi, a resident, said, “We see several sags on the pavements and in the frontage zone. Two high-mast lights have also not worked for the past two months. Also, sewage overflows from manholes because of clogging. A few weeks ago, sewage flowed back into the washbasin and messed up the hall. Mild cracks are visible in several houses.”
Explaining the problem with the lifts, M Nalini said that it began two months after allotment. “There are 8 lifts for two blocks. Four months ago, a child was stuck inside a lift, suffocated and was taken to hospital, where he recovered. Last week, only 2 of the 8 lifts were functioning. Officials have rectified the issue, and 6 lifts are now working. The breakdowns force senior citizens with diabetes, including my mother, who has also undergone an angiogram, to climb and descend 8 floors.”
Another resident, R Mathiazhagi, lamented the discoloured water unfit for consumption. “Using this water for bathing has caused hair loss and skin allergies. I earn Rs 500/a day. So, a bubble-top can for Rs 35 for drinking and cooking is expensive,” she said. “Worms emerge from garbage accumulating in the corridors.”
A school student said that swings, merry-go-rounds and chairs in the children’s park are broken. “Sewage also overflows and stagnates inside the park, and uncleared plastic waste poses a health risk to children. We cannot play here. One main gate is broken, and it should be repaired. The plastic waste should be removed immediately,” the student said.
Vanessa Peter, founder of the Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC), said that independent infrastructure and social audits of these tenements were the need of the hour. “Structural quality, water and sanitation, maintenance, and access to essential services such as schools, healthcare, transport and livelihoods should be examined. Housing is not merely a structure; it must ensure dignity, social inclusion and access to rights,” she added.
Responding to the issues, an official at Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) told DT Next that CMDA handed over the tenement to the board in September. “Since then, periodic cleaning of the water tanks has been carried out. Tanks will be cleaned further,” he said. “CMDA maintains lifts and high-mast lights for one year. Four defunct lifts were repaired last week, and six are functioning. The remaining lifts and the high-mast lights will be rectified.”