The agony of living at TNHB flats in Villivakkam

CHENNAI: For a working-class population in India, purchasing a house is one of the biggest accomplishments there is. Though Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) flat owners in Villivakkam were over the moon while purchasing an apartment at a prominent location in the city, they’re currently regretting it.

The TNHB Vilvam Towers was completed in 2019 and 324 flats in the 18-storey building were sold at Rs 36.5 lakh/flat the same year. Till date, TNHB has sold 262 flats.

The reasons for public swamping to purchase the flat is its affordability, said TNHB officials and the State government. However, owners now lament the lack of basic facilities and have safety concerns.

There’s the looming water crisis that plagues the residents. PI Prabhakaran (36) was overjoyed when he was allotted a flat on the 15th floor in 2021. But now, he’s running between different government offices to get building issues resolved.

“Water supply is often fully cut off for the whole day,” rues Prabhakaran. “With children, families and elderly residing here, how do we live without water supply?”

Serious water problem began in February this year. “On most days, water supply is cut off in the mornings. How are we to go to the office or send children to school? Due to this, residents are using drinking water cans in toilets,” added Prabhakaran who purchased the flat by availing a housing loan.

Interestingly, flat owners and tenants in the building pay a monthly maintenance of Rs 2,500, which is higher compared to maintenance charges in private flats in the city. “Most of us here use the RO facility. So when there’s no water supply, we’re deprived of drinking water too. Even after paying Rs 2,500 for maintenance, we’re forced to buy water cans and also outside food because we do not have water to cook or clean,” said Uma, another resident.

Moses Jeevanandam, another flat owner on the 18th floor, feels like he purchased a hut and not a well-constructed flat. “My roof started leaking during the rainfall in December 2021. So my tenant vacated the house. After buying a house of Rs 36.5 lakh, I can’t even rent it out,” he says.

Moses is not an isolated case. Other owners on the floor suffered roof leakage and water seepage in last year’s rain.

When contacted, a TNHB official told this reporter, that they’ve planned to construct a metro water pipe and sump tank at the same level. “The work will be over on Saturday. And to ward off the issue permanently, we’ve planned to construct a fifth bore in due time. Metro Water is supposed to provide 1.5 lakh litres, but they reduced the quantity.”

A Chennai Metro Water official responded that water is provided in sufficient amounts, but due to lack of yield from the bore, residents are facing water shortage.

When inquired about other concerns, officials at TNHB said that the tenants must form an residents welfare association to resolve maintenance issues.

Lack of fire service facility, back-up generator in disrepair

With 262 families living in TNHB Vilvam Towers, it does not have power backup or an operational fire service facility. Laments a flat owner, “There’s a power generator that can be used for lifts but it’s not in working condition. Fire extinguishers are installed at all floors, and they’re not operational. The department has not conducted any demos in the last three years.” DT NEXT found that in the last 3 years, the building has had 3 fire incidents. And fire extinguishers did not operate all 3 times. According to residents, the first fire incident was on the 5th floor around 18 months ago. The second was on 8th floor about 8 months ago, and the last one was on the ground floor 2 months ago.

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