Homeless group urge CM to provide in-situ entitlements for urban poor

Chennai:

The City Makers Rights Group, comprising of community leaders from the homeless community in Chennai, on Friday urged Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to take steps to provide in-situ entitlements for the urban poor communities with security to land tenure.

Addressing a press conference here, the community leaders also urged the state government that the urban poor should not be forced to pay for their houses under the hire purchase or land-cum-lease scheme.

They also urged the government not to follow the steps of DMK regime by resorting to forceful eviction as it is a gross human rights violation.

The plea by the group comes in the wake of state government issuing a Government Order to constitute a high level committee headed by chief secretary to resolve infrastructure issues in  resettlement of slum families. Interestingly, the Slum Clearance Board has built 22,000 tenements in Okkium Thoraipakkam and Semmencheri in Chennai and now the board is constructing 31,912 tenements in Okium Thoraipakam and Perumbakkam in South Chennai.

Adequate shelters have to be opened for the destitute individuals as per the Supreme Court guidelines and for the families they have to be linked with the housing scheme of the state not more than three kilometers from their existing place of habitation, said Vanessa of the Citizen Rights Forum.

“We oppose any move to shift us to far away places,” said Bhavani of the City Makers Rights Group while urging the chief minister that any housing process should commence only after community consultation process involving representatives from various social groups in the settlement.

The group also said detailed mapping of homeless in the city should be re-surveyed as there are gaps in the previous enumeration. “The mapping has to be done in consultation with the people,” they demanded.