‘TNSCB officials threatened us to speak only about the good things
Ahead of Advocate Commissioner K Ilango’s visit to the Perumbakkam tenements, residents reported that they were threatened by an official of the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) to only speak about the positives and not the problems faced by them.
By : migrator
Update: 2018-05-27 22:59 GMT
Chennai
Kavitha (name changed on request) was one among the residents who was allegedly threatened by a TNSCB official.
“The official asked us to tell only the positive things to the advocate commissioner and not the difficulties we face here. He said that we should sort our issues between ourselves,” she said, adding that the official threatened them with dire consequences if the residents didn’t follow their orders.
The residents also pointed out that in preparation of the audit, the TNSCB officials have been on a spree to fix the flaws that already existed.
Another resident alleged that trucks were brought in to remove the sewage and clear the pipes.
The garbage was clear and the Anganwadi centre, which generally doesn’t function, was however opened on a Sunday.
However, a senior TNSCB official denied the allegations against them that they had threatened the residents.
Residents meet Advocate Commissioner, rue unkept promises after resettlement
Perumbakkam residents poured out woes during Advocate Commissioner K Ilango’s audit, following his appointment by the Madras High Court to verify the implementation of rehabilitation and resettlement of the families under the Integrated Cooum River Eco Restoration Project.
Braving the afternoon heat, around 50 residents of Perumbakkam’s Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) tenements were waiting for the arrival of the advocate commissioner (AC) since 2 pm. On his arrival at 3.30 pm, the residents rushed to pour out their woes.
E Meghalavathi, a resident from block 10, said, “Most of the residents didn’t get Rs 5,000 as was promised to them and neither did we get any fans or lights,” she rued. Another resident, Bhagyalakshmi, lamented that there are absolutely no jobs available for the residents.
Breaking down, she sobbed, “To begin with, there are no jobs available to us. When we approached the Tahsildar, we were told that there are no jobs for people above the age of 40. In our earlier locality, we used to work as domestic help and earned a living. Now, how will we live? Don’t people above 40 need to eat? We are sitting jobless at home.” Papa, who earlier lived in Thideer Nagar, used to serve tiffin and bajjis from her push cart at Thousand Lights area.
“Back then, the bajjis would get sold out within a few hours. Now, even though I set my shop here in Perumbakkam, business runs at a very slow pace,” said the widow.
The residents requests included the setting up of a hospital, a police station, a compound wall around the school and a ration store within the premises. The AC directed the local authorities to set up a camp to ensure widow pension and other welfare measures.
Activist Vanessa Peter said that the government doesn’t have a comprehensive resettlement and rehabilitation plan.
“The authorities are discriminating between those who were resettled under Cooum project versus under other initiatives. The rehabilitation facilities should be the same for all families,” she added.
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