The Hindu 15.09.2010
35,000 houses to rehabilitate slum-dwellers
Staff Reporter
CHENNAI: A total of 35,000 houses to rehabilitate slum-dwellers living in the city will be built on the outskirts, Minister for Slum Clearance Suba Thangavelan said here on Tuesday.
Inspecting various slums in Thousand Lights constituency, he urged the residents to cooperate with the government in making the city cleaner.
The site selected for alternative residential accommodation at Perumbakkam in Kancheepuram district for the slum-dwellers will have schools, colleges and shopping complexes, he said.
The Minister assured the residents that there would be better civic facilities on the alternative housing site. The Slum Clearance Board would take steps to address the issue of water stagnation in the slums in the city, he added.
S.Santhi, a resident of one of the slums in Erikkarai, T. Nagar, said that they had been residing at the place for the past few decades. She said that the slum had over 60 houses and most of the residents were daily wage earners.
There were plenty of employment opportunities for them in the neighbourhood. She said that she was not sure of what was in store for them on the alternative residential sites.
