Languishing resettlement sites of Kannagi Nagar, Semmenchery & Perumbakkam need more than a facelift

CHENNAI: Over the years, the resettlement sites of Kannagi Nagar, Semmenchery and Perumbakkam have turned into a breeding ground of almost all socioeconomic and infrastructural issues for the people living there.

However, despite the years of lingering concerns, the government and the officials of Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) have paid little to no heed to their poor standard of living, livelihood and other status of Human Development Index (HDI).

To identify and resolve the concerns of these sites, the Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC) held an extensive research by the women-led safety and infrastructure mapping in the prominent resettlement sites. The research was done by nearly 40 stakeholders also belonging to different communities in different capacities, most being women. During their research, the team discovered new challenges and situations, and also presented it to the State government with different suggestions and recommendations.

Also, this research was held by the IRCDUC team from 2019. And, in 2024, the team, noticing the slew of concerns, also added Kannagi Nagar and Ezhil Nagar.

As per IRCDUC document, there are over 9 resettlement sites that have emerged in the last two decades (2000-2024) by the TNUHDB. These resettlement sites comprise 78,945 housing units where over 3.15 lakh displaced residents of informal and low-income habitations could be accommodated.

However, the research has found that at present only 63,000 of these housing units, which is 2.52 lakh displaced residents, have been allotted houses and are occupied. The research document released by IRCDUC showed that of the total families evicted in the last two decades, 31.4% (19,817 families comprising nearly 79,000 individuals) of the families were evicted between 2015 and 2023.

“Since Chennai witnessed destructive floods in 2015, the city has witnessed one of the most massive eviction drives carried out in the guise of ‘conservation of waterbodies’ and providing ‘disaster resilient housing’ for vulnerable communities,” the document stated.

And, the team also stated that these sites have become highly vulnerable as some of these sites are constructed in ‘ecologically sensitive’ lands that have further added on to the vulnerability of women and children. “Perumbakkam, one of the largest resettlement sites in Chennai, is continuing to face several challenges over the last ten years including floods almost every year as it’s constructed in the paths of floods. However, the site was expanded with an additional 1,152 houses constructed under the Global Housing Technology Challenge under the Housing for All scheme of the Union government in 2021,” the document read.

Though IRCDUC has found a long list of concerns in these sites, they have also placed a specific recommendation for strengthening services in the resettlement sites in and around Chennai, including reinitiating the high-level committee under the chairpersonship of a senior official of the TN government to strengthen services in the sites.