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Slum Development / Housing

TN to build 1,777 slum tenements

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The New Indian Express                     04.04.2013

TN to build 1,777 slum tenements

Currently, a socio-economic survey of slums in 10 towns, including Chennai, Madurai, Tiruchy, Coimbatore and Tirunelveli, is in progress | D Sampath Kumar
Currently, a socio-economic survey of slums in 10 towns, including Chennai, Madurai, Tiruchy, Coimbatore and Tirunelveli, is in progress | D Sampath Kumar

The Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board will be constructing 1,777 tenements at a cost of Rs 134.36 crore in Athipattu in Chennai and Karikalan Colony in Tiruchy in the initial phase of the Rajiv Awas Yojana’s Slum Free Cities programme this year.

The tenements are a part of an ambitious scheme to build one lakh tenements at a cost of Rs 7,500 crore from 2012-13 to 2016-17. Sources told City Express that the 1,777 tenements will be built in two phases in Athipattu. The initial phase will see 1,056 tenements built at a cost of Rs 84.92 crore and while 416 tenements will be built at a cost of Rs 32.33 crore in the second phase. In Tiruchy’s Karikalan Colony, 305 tenements worth Rs 17.21 crore will be built.

The scheme will have 50 per cent contribution from the Union government, 40 per cent from the State government and 10 per cent from the beneficiaries.

Currently, a socio-economic survey of slums in 10 towns, namely Chennai, Madurai, Tiruchy, Salem, Vellore, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli, Erode, Tirupur and Thoothukudi, is in progress and will be completed soon.

Once the survey is completed a slum-free city action plan for each city will be prepared and sent to the Union government. After the sanction is obtained from the Union government, the programme to construct one lakh tenements in urban areas will commence.

According to State government estimates about 13.96 lakh families (59 lakh people) are living in urban slums in Tamil Nadu. A report of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation estimates the slum population in Tamil Nadu at 86.44 lakh in 2011.

The preparation of a slum-free city plan will broadly involve slum redevelopment or rehabilitation plans based on a survey of all notified and non-notified slums, mapping of slums using state-of-the-art technology, integration of geo-spatial and socio-economic data and identification of a development model for each slum, according to the Rajiv Awas Yojana Guidelines for Slum-free City Planning.

After the AIADMK government came to power, TNSCB has completed the construction of 22,700 tenements and spent Rs 540 crore on its capital programmes. Sale deeds have been issued to 4,404 families and employment oriented training imparted to 8,345 persons.

The State government is also planning to provide Rs 15 crore from State grants to improve basic amenities like roads, streetlights and drinking water facilities for slums this year in various towns of Tamil Nadu to improve living conditions in urban slums and make them habitable.

 

More housing complexes to alter skyline

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The Hindu                          18.03.2013

More housing complexes to alter skyline

 

The metropolis is likely to witness a significant rise in housing as a large number of developers have sought approval for residential projects.

Fewer commercial land-use and planning permissions have been issued so far, this year.

A number of the housing projects will come up on ‘reclassified’ land. Reclassification is the process whereby property earmarked for a particular use — for instance, agriculture, commercial, residential — is notified in the Tamil Nadu government gazette for alternate purpose.

While just two reclassification proposals submitted from January-March 2013 to the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) for Chennai metropolitan area (CMA) are for commercial land-use, six pertain to primary residential-use.

Nine of the 11 multi-storied buildings permitted are residential and 54 of the 64 planning permissions issued to special buildings in the CMA are for residential purposes.

One of the largest residential buildings permitted by CMDA this year has 1,437 dwelling units. Such data point to a potential rise in housing stock in the CMA, said a senior official of CMDA.

The rise in housing stock is also expected to be matched by demand in the medium term as there are also a number of reclassification proposals for industrial land-use. “More industrial-use proposals may create jobs. So the housing supply is likely to match demand because of additional jobs in the future,” said S. Santhanam, former member-chief urban planner, CMDA.

Of the 12 reclassification proposals cleared by the technical committee in the CMDA meeting, five have requested change to industrial land-use.

Because of relatively higher commercial space availability in the CMA, the number of reclassification proposals for commercial land-use is likely to reduce further. The land-use reclassification is made according to the provisions of Section 32 (4) of the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971.

CMDA has given residential reclassification for land in areas such as Ayanambakkam, Ayanavaram, Perungudi, Velachery and Koladi.

Applications for reclassification to industrial use have been made for Noombal, Sholavaram, Sendrambakkam, Nerkundram, Pammal, Ayanambakkam, Vaikkadu and South Perumbedu.

Requests for reclassification of land-use zones are considered taking into account the suitability of the site, accessibility, compatibility with adjoining developments and impact on the environment.

Many developers have submitted reclassification applications to the local body in areas such as Perungudi, Velachery, Karapakkam and Perambur. These were forwarded to the CMDA along with local bodies’ recommendations in the prescribed format.

After detailed scrutiny of the case and ownership documents, CMDA will call for objections from the public.

This will be followed by a notification in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette, completing the reclassification. A number of reclassification applications seeking permission for residential buildings are pending with the CMDA and are likely to be cleared in the coming months.

 

Houses for pavement dwellers by June-end

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The Hindu                     23.02.2013

Houses for pavement dwellers by June-end

Special Correspondent 

The Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board will provide alternative accommodation to encroachers on Muthuswami Salai and Thangai Murugappa Street before June-end.

The Board made the submission before a First Bench of the Madras High Court comprising acting Chief Justice R.K. Agrawal and Justice N. Paul Vasanthakumar. The Bench disposed of a public interest petition in this regard.

The petitioner, K.R. Ramaswamy alias ‘Traffic’ Ramaswamy, a social activist, asked the court for a direction to the authorities to consider his representation from September last year to rehabilitate the poor who were being neglected.

The Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) filed a counter and said if the Chennai Corporation identified hut dwellers, the Board would take appropriate action wherever necessary to provide them alternative accommodation.

The Corporation filed a report and said, 259 families had encroached on Muthuswami Salai near Raja Annamalai Mandram and 87 families had encroached on Thangai Murugappa Street (off Wall Tax Road). A petition had been filed by Mr. Ramaswamy to evict the families.

Enumeration of the families was done and a list sent to the TNSCB for providing alternative accommodation. The board’s counsel said that alternative accommodation would be provided to the families before June-end.

Last Updated on Saturday, 23 February 2013 07:58
 


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