Ranipet group houses in danger state, to be repaired at Rs 3.70 cr
Talking to DT Next, the Collector pointed out that the houses in areas like Arunthathipalayam in Timiri panchayat union and at Chinnaparuvathur near Sholinghur in the same district require some war-time measures.
Dilapidated condition of group houses built 35 years ago at Arunthathi Palayam in Ranipet district
RANIPET: The Ranipet administration has urgently sought Rs 3.70 crore to renovate and repair group houses, which were built more than 30 years ago in many places across the district, as most of them are so bad that they may collapse any time, said Collector S Valarmathi.
Talking to DT Next, the Collector pointed out that the houses in areas like Arunthathipalayam in Timiri panchayat union and at Chinnaparuvathur near Sholinghur in the same district require some war-time measures.
Elaborating, Valarmathi said, “The state is yet to receive funds from the central government and when approached, the department of tribal welfare said that only Rs 2.50 lakh per house could be allotted. I requested that these funds be allocated immediately to ensure that construction could be completed before the next monsoon.”
“The houses have to be completed before the rainy days to ensure that inmates of 148 houses in various locations, do not suffer the same trauma again this year,” she added.
Asked if group houses could be constructed within Rs 2.50 lakh, officials replied in the negative. However, along with the promised Rs 2.50 lakh per individual dwelling unit, the administration plans to pool the Rs 12,000 provided for individual toilets along with funds from MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) which when dovetailed would ensure the completion of this work, they added.
However, what peeved residents in the affected houses was that no official came to inspect the houses despite repeated petitions to various revenue officials. “Even after the roof caved in many houses some time ago, we continued to stay as we had nowhere else to go. It has been long since we had a peaceful sleep at night,” said Umapathy of Arunthathipalayam.
“As complaints given to various collectors yielded no action we do not know what else to do or whom to approach as most of us are illiterates,” said Ambiga of the same area.
The residents’ only hope now is Collector Valarmathi, whose words they believe would result in action expeditiously.