Corpn to study fundamentals of slum settlements for well-planned facelift

Recently, the civic body held a meeting with the Indian Institute of Human Settlements (IIHS) and Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), who would conduct a study in city slums as a part of the slum development initiative. Of late, several development projects are implemented using Smart City funds, but the slum development study will be conducted using civic body’s own fund. 

According to a Corporation source, the civic body would select one of the slums in the city for the study and analyse the present facilities. “IIHS will study the water distribution and sanitation aspects while ITDP will study mobility and transport,” the source said. 

The source added that the study would be conducted at one of the notified permanent slums, including resettlement areas developed by the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) and others. The slum, where the study would be conducted, is yet to be finalised. However, the study will not include the settlements along the banks of waterways as the government has been relocating families residing in such settlements. Presently, the city has more than 800 notified slums, in which more than 26 lakh persons reside. 

“The study will identify aspects to be developed and conditions to be improved. Even though each slum in the city is different from each other, the study will provide a common idea based on which the development projects for the slums will be devised,” the source said. 

Presently, most of the slums in the city lack proper water supply and public toilet facilities apart from other basic needs forcing the slum dwellers to live in unhygienic conditions. Meanwhile, the State government had issued an order to relocate 21,000 families from the slum settlements on the banks of Buckingham Canal as a part of the restoration of the waterways project.