Deccan Chronicle 10.01.2014
Rs 117 crore for slum rehab projects
minister Jayalalithaa has sanctioned a sum of Rs 117.15 crore for the
Slum Clearance Board towards construction of 1,472 homes for
rehabilitation of slum-dwellers and other poor families residing at
Kakanji Nagar in ward 96 of the Chennai corporation, a release said.
The
multi-storeyed tenements will be constructed on the outskirts of the
city at Athipattu near Ambattur. The project has also received an
additional Rs 42.68 crore as part of the state government fund. “The
individual homes will have a total area of 271 square feet with two
rooms, a kitchen, balcony and a toilet area,” slum clearance board
officials said in a release.
The Slum Clearance Board is also
engaged in the construction of an additional 8,048 multi-storeyed
homes at Kannagi Nagar near Okkiyam Thoraipakkam in addition to the
existing 15,656 homes already constructed at the site and have been
handed over to the poor and roadside dwellers from across the city.
The
ambitious Kannagi Nagar project had been taken to clear illegal
roadside tenements across the city and thousands of families who lived
in huts and roadside tenements were gradually moved to the new homes
built at Kannagi Nagar, the release added.
Due to the sudden surge
in population due to the relocation of slum dwellers from across the
city, the state government has taken adequate measures to ensure that
these people have enough transport facilities to commute to the city for
work.
“Hence, the existing bus terminus in Kannagi Nagar is
being expanded to accommodate the parking of 20 buses. An administrative
office and a time keeper’s office will also be set up soon. The chief
minister has allocated Rs 2 crore towards the expansion of the bus
terminus,” state officials said in a release.