Panel to address infrastructure issues

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu government has constituted a high level committee headed by the chief secretary to resolve infrastructure issues in resettlement schemes.Accepting that basic amenities like water supply, electricity and other social infrastructure were not being provided to people rehabilitated in Okkium Thoraipakkam and Semencheri at the time of occupation, the state government has said it has resulted in serious law and order problems.The decision to constitute a high level committee came in the wake of a review meeting of the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.A government order passed recently said the committee would be headed by chief secretary Debendranath Sarangi with secretaries to government as members.Interestingly, the rehabilitation and resettlement policy had become an electoral issue in the recent assembly elections with All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader Jayalalithaa slamming the then Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam (DMK) regime for toying around with the livelihood of slum people.Even the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has demanded a report from the state government to address the vital issues of resettlement and rehabilitation of slum dwellers. The Government Order states that the tenemental schemes lack basic infrastructure like water supply, sewerage disposal, electricity, streetlights, roads and social infrastructure like Integrated Child Development Services, schools, colleges and hospitals resulting in slum families living in objectionable location in core city reluctant to move to the tenements in the periphery of towns.The resettlement has also resulted in rights activists alleging that Semenchery and Kannagi Nagar slum resettlement is a big example of mass disaster and betrayal of poor on the part of policy makers and government. Even the housing secretary in the previous Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam regime has stated that this kind of concentration of slum population in one place is not desirable and future programme should ensure they are more distributed and there is a mixed development.But surprisingly, after constructing 22,000 tenements in Okkium Thoraipakam and Semencheri, the housing board is planning to construct another 31,912 tenements in Okkium Thoraipakam and Perumbakkam in south Chennai. “These are deeds and mistakes that have human cost. Why is the government going ahead with the same model,” said Vanessa of Citizen Rights Forum.