The Hindu 08.11.2009

Demolition drive to prevent encroachments on Valankulam

Special Correspondent

— Photo: K. Ananthan

Clean city: Threatened by an eviction move, people dismantle a newly put up structure on the Valankulam in Coimbatore on Saturday.

COIMBATORE: A special demolition team of the Coimbatore Corporation on Saturday removed the roof of some houses that were allegedly put up on Valankulam Tank, off Tiruchi Road. But, torrential rain stopped the drive in the afternoon. The Corporation called off the drive when the people living in the slums on the tank promised not to put up new huts.

The drive was carried out in the wake of charges that some people were putting up new huts on the tank to become eligible for the project for houses for slum dwellers. Corporation Commissioner Anshul Mishra had recently formed a special demolition squad to remove unauthorised structures across the city. Under the Basic Services for the Urban Poor project, the Corporation and the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board would build multi-storeyed tenements for slum dwellers encroaching water bodies. A town planning official who was part of the drive on Saturday said the Corporation had come to know that some persons were putting up structures in addition to the ones of the families listed for re-location under the scheme.

There was suspicion that this could be an attempt by ineligible persons to get a house under the project.

The Corporation’s workers removed two huts in the morning, apart from the roofs of 10 others, the official said. But, the slum-dwellers tried to stage a road blockade in protest against the drive. Later, they protested against the removal of the structures.

The Corporation official said that subsequently the slum-dwellers promised not to put up or allow any new huts to come up.

A police vigil was also being maintained to prevent any further encroachment. The action taken on Saturday would deter further encroachment, the official felt.

The Hindu 08.11.2009

Builders urged to focus on low-cost housing

Staff Reporter

PHOTO: S.R. Raghunathan

In discussion: (From left) P.R. Swarup, Director General of CIDC, G.V.Ramakrishna, patron, CIDC, and Vikram Kapur, Member Secretary, CMDA, at the inauguration of a seminar on high-rise buildings in Chennai on Friday. —

CHENNAI: The city of Chennai does not even have a single high-rise building though Mumbai and even Hyderabad and Kolkata have several of them, said speakers at a seminar on high-rise buildings, organised by the Construction Industry Development Council Chennai Advisory Group (CIDC-CAG) here on Friday.

Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority Member Secretary Vikram Kapur said since there was a paucity of parking place and infrastructure had to be improved in the city to meet the standards necessary for developing high-rise buildings, permission for such structures was only being considered.

He said the CMDA had recently revised the floor space index to allow builders to construct taller buildings.

No-objection certificates

“We have relaxed the number of no-objection certificates needed for builders to go ahead with a multi-storied building project, except a few mandatory ones like those from the fire services authority and the Airports Authority of India,” he said.

He suggested that the construction industry focus on meeting the housing needs of the economically weaker sections and low-income group families.

He advised construction companies against indulging in unscrupulous practices and keep affordability in mind while building apartments.

Former bureaucrat G.V.Ramakrishna, a patron of CIDC, said Chennai was not yet prepared for high-rise apartments as this required infrastructure and safety standards to be created first.

“Imagine if there was a fire in the 14th floor of a building and there was no fire-fighting equipment in it, what would happen to the residents,” he asked.

While it was easy for builders to make money by building high-rise apartments, thought should also go into the problems unwary occupants were likely to face.

“In the absence of facilities like service lifts, moving up and down the building will be difficult,” he said.

Facilities such power back-up were also essential in such buildings.

In a panel discussion that followed, issues such as safety of high-rise buildings in the event of earthquakes were discussed.

Zachariah George, a structural engineer, said because Chennai had high wind forces and was in seismic zone III, builders had to first acquire the necessary technology and materials required to construct high-rise buildings in the city.