The Hindu 23.02.2013
Houses for pavement dwellers by June-end
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.