C Shivakumar
Chennai:
Rights
activists have linked the slum evictions to the alleged increasing
invasion of the private forces on the urban paradigm and questioned the
role of Tamil Nadu Urban Development Fund (TNUDF) and public-private
entities in the development of cities and environmental social framework
(ESF).
A
report of People’s Union of Civil Liberties Fact-finding Team and
Citizen Rights Forum on forced eviction and rehabilitation of
slum-dwellers in Chennai states that since the initiation of various
externally aided projects like the World Bank
funded Tamil Nadu Urban Development Project (TNUDP), affected-citizens
of the city have had little say in the course of events and development
projects that have been planned in the very sites that they have been
living in for many generations.
“The
current funds for urban development is managed by TNUDF, established
under the Indian Trusts Act 1882 by state government, ICICI, Housing and
Development Finance Corporation and IL&FS with a line of credit
from the World Bank to develop urban infrastructure of the state,” the report stated.
“The
role of TNUDF, established in 1996, was to attract private capital into
urban infrastructure and to facilitate better performing urban local
bodies to access capital markets. Despite the fact that the state is the
highest stakeholder in TNUDF (72 per cent), it is being administered by
a corporate trustee Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Trustee Company
Limited and a fund manager in Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial
Services limited with Tamil Nadu holding a minority stake of 49 per
cent,” the report alleged.
“These
public-private entities are making all decisions with regard to
development of the city including preparation of feasibility study and
the environmental and social impact of study of the project,” it
alleged.
Questioning
the role of private players in determining the Environment Social
Framework, the report also castigated the state saying it is moving away
from the welfare approach and catering towards the vested interests of
the powerful.
Interestingly, a survey entitled “Identification of Environmental Infrastructure
Requirement of Slums in Chennai Metropolitan Area” under the World Bank
funded TNUDP II (Tamil Nadu Urban Development Project) clearly states
that of the 242 slums within the Chennai Corporation Area, 122 slums
(41,683 families) were classified
under ‘Objectionable Slums’ and 120 slums (30157 families) as ‘unobjectionable slums.’
“The
people who are mapping the slums are the ones who have done the ESF.
The same private entities are the ones who have a huge stake in the
urban infrastructure financing,” according to CRF member Vanessa Peter.
Quoting
a mid-term project review report of 2001 by Rutul Joshi, a Faculty of
Planning and Public Policy, CEPT University, Vanessa said, “TNUDF has
performed the role of both a financial intermediary and a strategic
advisor”. The report also claims that TNUDF as an institution has
developed a market for municipal infrastructure in the state, she said.
Managing
director and chief executive officer of Tamil nadu Urban Development
Fund K Phanindra Reddy could not be reached for his reaction to the
allegations.
Earlier, Express quoting an RTI has stated that Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Limited (TNUIFSL) have proposed
‘Integrated Development in Foreshore Estate’, pitching for eviction of
10,000 families living in Srinivasapuram. Interestingly, this has been
mapped by the TNUIFSL as objectionable in the survey.
