slums

The line between Indian housing policy and slum policy is very blurry. This affects the implementation of both policies. This piece examines the slum policy in Chennai and the need for a renewed approach.

The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) ‘Housing for all’ programme was launched by the current Prime Minister of India in June 2015. As the name suggests, the programme envisages to provide affordable housing for the poor in urban areas. It falls under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and is chaired by Mr. Venkiah Naidu. PMAY proposes to build 2 crore houses for the urban poor and economically weaker sections (EWS) of the society.

Poor urban planning and management of cities and towns, large influx of people from rural areas to urban areas in search of jobs and opportunities, and the lack of affordable housing are the main factors which can be seen to lead to the growth and presence of settlements often referred to as slums. Slums are overcrowded settlements, often marked by a lack of basic amenities and tenure security. From time to time, the state re-settles slum dwellers, either in slums re-developed in situ or in tenements that are often in the peripheries of the city.

TNSCB floundering to implement in-situ project

A view of the dilapidated TNSCB tenement, Nochikuppam. Photo Courtesy: The Hindu

TNSCB guilty of violating NBC norms in the Perumbakkam project

A view of the multistoried Perumbakkam Resettlement Colony built by Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board. Photo Courtesy: Annie Divya, Researcher, Citizen consumer and civic Action Group.

CAG finds TNSCB in violation of the TN Slums Act

 

A post-eviction scene at a slum in Ennore, Chennai. Undeclared slums like this are frequently subjected to forced evictions in contravention of human rights and national and international laws. Photo Courtesy: Jacintha Chitra, Researcher, Citizen consumer and civic Action Group

The TCN@CAG team on 22nd December 2015, attended another hearing of the case related to the cleaning of Chennai’s waterways filed by Mr. Edwin Wilson at the southern bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT) in Chennai. The counsels for Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust (CRRT), Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), industries charged for polluting the Cooum (namely, Madras Fertilizers, Chennai Petroleum and Ennore Thermal Power Plant) and the petitioner were present in the court for the hearing.

As the community outreach team at CAG is closely following the developments related to the Cooum River Eco-restoration project, the team attended another hearing of the case related to the project at the southern bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT) in Chennai on 18th November 2015.