TN gives green light for tenurial rights to 55,000 beneficiaries of TNSCB waterways plots after three decades

C Shivakumar
Chennai:
After three decades, Tamil Nadu government has given a green signal to comply with High court order granting tenurial rights to 55,000 beneficiaries of schemes of the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB), who have been living along the waterways in the city.
The possibility of granting sale deeds was discussed at a high-level meeting on November 14 to look into the legality of the schemes by relaxing the norms along the waterways following a High court order on July 30 which ordered TNSCB to execute the sale deeds. The schemes were implemented under the Madras Urban Development Project (MUDP) and Tamil Nadu Urban Development Project (TNUDP).
Sources said out of 617 schemes, the tenurial rights to plots are yet to be issued for the families living in 255 schemes which includes 114 schemes situated on the lands belonging to PWD as the lands have not yet been alienated in favour of Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board so far.
The hitch was the Supreme Court order last year which directed state governments to prepare schemes for eviction of illegal or unauthorized occupants of gram sabha, gram panchayat or promboke lands and they must be used for common use. 
Sources said following the Supreme Court order PWD was not inclined to transfer their lands where slum improvement works are carried out citing the orders of the Supreme Court, on the transfer of panchayat lands.
The meeting said, “Supreme Court has instructed to evict illegal encroachers only. In all these cases, TNSCB has issued lease cum sale deeds decades ago for the families living in these schemes on the strength of Government orders and hence they can not be classified as illegal encroachers.”
Sources said during the meeting it was decided that the water course poramboke lands where Slum Improvement schemes are taken up  by Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board may be alienated to Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board  and the orders of the High Court be complied with.
The eri-poromboke areas discussed during the meeting included Ullagaram Karunanidhi scheme, Selaiyur Bharath Nagar, Anna Nagar Thundalam, Anna Nagar Thundalam II, Nehru Nagar Phase I, Velachery, K R Ramasamy Nagar, Velachery and Valluvar Nagar and Thiruvanmiyur.