Corporation evicts 300 families from Choolaimedu, residents rue

The eviction drive was conducted under the Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust (CRRT) project.

Evicted families will be resettled in TNSCB (Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board) tenements Perumbakkam, where the government is yet to provide adequate school facilities. As of now, Perumbakkam tenements have only five schools for over 16,000 school children. A recent study revealed that around 84 per cent of children living in Perumbakkam travel more than three hours a day reach the school on time.

“Without providing necessary schooling facilities for the evicted children, the government authorities are resettling them in far-away tenements. The move will put a strain on the students already studying in an inadequate number of schools and also on the newly shifted students. Shifting families without basic amenities is a violation of human rights,” said Venessa Peter, policy researcher of Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC).

Meanwhile, the residents alleged that the Chennai Corporation and TNSCB have failed to provide electricity and water connections to the apartments. Anticipating tension, huge police force was deployed in Kakkan Nagar during the drive.

“We refused to unload our belongings from trucks at Perumbakkam and demanded power and water connections. Also, we are demanding to provide apartments for all of us in a same block. They have promised to provide water connections only on Thursday,” Parthasarathy, one of the evicted persons, said. Parthasarathy, who is a carpenter, added that his daughter is studying Class 12 in a private school in Choolaimedu. “Now, she has to travel long to attend school. Our request to wait until the end of this academic year went unheard.”

When sought clarification on the allegation that the authorities failed to serve prior notices, a Chennai Corporation official said that they were trying to evict the families for over four years and all the residents know about our intention. “The eviction drive is conducted along with the Public Works Departments and TNSCB. Apartments have been allotted to 172 families. Others, who do not have houses in Kakkan Nagar also claim apartments. But the decision will be taken by PWD and TNSCB,”he said.