Around 1,500 homeless families to get houses in Chennai

CHENNAI: Around 1,500 families who have made pedestrian pavements as their home will soon get a roof over their heads as the Chennai Corporation and Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) have decided to construct family tenements inside the city.

On Wednesday, PK Sekar Babu, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments minister, TM Anbarasan, minister for MSME and Tamil Nadu Urban Habitation Development Board inspected three venues shortlisted for the construction of the tenements along with Chennai Corporation and TNUHDB officials. The ministers inspected available land on Wall Tax Road, Seven Wells and Prakasam Road. The land parcels are owned by the Chennai Corporation, public works department and education department respectively.

Once constructed, the tenements will be given to homeless families living in St. Xavier Street, Muthialpet and Narayana Sarang Garden Street, George Town.

"Projects to provide housing to homeless persons in the city have been taken up. Homeless families in Harbour constituency are living without even basic amenities for several years. Measures have been taken to protect their livelihood and resettle such families, " TM Anbarasan said.

He added that further action will be taken after consultation with the chief minister. The ministers also inspected the police quarters in Davidson Street to construct a water pumping station.

Vanessa Peter of Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC) welcomed the development and said that the homeless families in the city have been demanding housing for several years. "However, the government should make clear how the beneficiaries will be selected to benefit under the new project, " she opined.

For several years, the civic body could not move homeless families to the Corporation night shelters as the families refused to stay in separate shelters for men and women homeless persons as is the case now.

It may be noted that homeless families in George Town demanded the government to allocate houses to them in under-construction tenements in Mint two years ago. However, the government denied the allocation citing that the tenements are constructed only for conservancy workers. Meanwhile, the civic body also communicated the TNUHDB seeking housor the homeless families.