By G Saravanan
Published on November 16,2009.
In a tug of war of sorts between the residents of Power Kuppam Slum Clearance Board tenements in Kasimedu and the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board, both parties are holding on tight to their ends of the rope, and showing no signs of giving up.
The Power Kuppam residents, who are fishermen, had complained to the TNSCB about the dilapidated condition of their homes and requested that they be renovated. The Slum Board went one step ahead and promised to build them all new homes in the same premises. But here began the problem.
While the TNSCB insisted that the fishermen move about 30 km away to Kannagi Nagar near Thoraipakkam until the new homes are built, the fishermen said it was absurd to ask them to move so far away from their place of livelihood and demanded that they be resettled near Kasimedu until they could move back into Power Kuppam.
As the tugging continues, the funds that the 12th Finance Commission had sanctioned for the project to build 420 homes in Power Kuppam is about to lapse in March 2010.
According to sources, the TNSCB would now not be able to fund the project even if it were to begin in another month’s time, as it would go beyond the March 2010 deadline for use of the funds. More than two decades ago, the TNSCB had constructed the tenements for fishermen at Power Kuppam, an area close to Kasimedu fishing harbour. Over a period, the apartments started developing cracks in many places and the fishermen demanded that their houses be renovated.
After the 2004 killer tsunami, the slum board decided to construct new houses for the Kuppam residents instead of renovating existing structures, as they had received several complaints from the residents about the dilapidated structures.
Though the TNSCB has served several notices to the Power Kuppam residents since 2007, none of them were willing to vacate the tenements as they had not been provided with alternative accommodation.
Supporting for the fishermen’s demands, K Bharathi, president of the South Indian Fishermen Welfare Association, said, “Since the residents are fishermen, moving them away to an area far from the coast would affect their livelihoods. Therefore, it would be better if the government provided them with alternative accommodation near Power Kuppam as a temporary measure until the new houses are built.”
Speaking to Express, most of the residents said that they were ready to vacate en masse if they were given temporarily put up in an open space, near their homes, which belongs to the Fisheries Department. However, there has been no development on that idea as the TNSCB seems stubborn on having things done their way.
When contacted, a senior official in TNSCB said that the project is unlikely to start in the next few months due to the funding constraints.
He was of the view that it was the residents themselves who delayed the project, which would ultimately have benefited them.
The official, however, said the project would not completely be shelved as the Board was planning to seek funds for it again in the next Finance Commission.
Now what’s left to be seen is whether the ‘relocating’ problem will be resolved or whether the wrangle will continue until the funds lapse again.
The Power Kuppam residents, who are fishermen, had complained to the TNSCB about the dilapidated condition of their homes and requested that they be renovated. The Slum Board went one step ahead and promised to build them all new homes in the same premises. But here began the problem.
While the TNSCB insisted that the fishermen move about 30 km away to Kannagi Nagar near Thoraipakkam until the new homes are built, the fishermen said it was absurd to ask them to move so far away from their place of livelihood and demanded that they be resettled near Kasimedu until they could move back into Power Kuppam.
As the tugging continues, the funds that the 12th Finance Commission had sanctioned for the project to build 420 homes in Power Kuppam is about to lapse in March 2010.
According to sources, the TNSCB would now not be able to fund the project even if it were to begin in another month’s time, as it would go beyond the March 2010 deadline for use of the funds. More than two decades ago, the TNSCB had constructed the tenements for fishermen at Power Kuppam, an area close to Kasimedu fishing harbour. Over a period, the apartments started developing cracks in many places and the fishermen demanded that their houses be renovated.
After the 2004 killer tsunami, the slum board decided to construct new houses for the Kuppam residents instead of renovating existing structures, as they had received several complaints from the residents about the dilapidated structures.
Though the TNSCB has served several notices to the Power Kuppam residents since 2007, none of them were willing to vacate the tenements as they had not been provided with alternative accommodation.
Supporting for the fishermen’s demands, K Bharathi, president of the South Indian Fishermen Welfare Association, said, “Since the residents are fishermen, moving them away to an area far from the coast would affect their livelihoods. Therefore, it would be better if the government provided them with alternative accommodation near Power Kuppam as a temporary measure until the new houses are built.”
Speaking to Express, most of the residents said that they were ready to vacate en masse if they were given temporarily put up in an open space, near their homes, which belongs to the Fisheries Department. However, there has been no development on that idea as the TNSCB seems stubborn on having things done their way.
When contacted, a senior official in TNSCB said that the project is unlikely to start in the next few months due to the funding constraints.
He was of the view that it was the residents themselves who delayed the project, which would ultimately have benefited them.
The official, however, said the project would not completely be shelved as the Board was planning to seek funds for it again in the next Finance Commission.
Now what’s left to be seen is whether the ‘relocating’ problem will be resolved or whether the wrangle will continue until the funds lapse again.
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