A slum free Chennai in the offing
The Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board proposes to create a slum free Chennai by 2013 according to an article in today’s Hindu. The plan is to create 18000 tenements in two model towns, one in North Chennai and the other in the South, to resettle those living in slums across the city presently. These tenements, measuring 270 sq ft each will have complete facilities including piped water. The families living in slums along the river and road margins will be resettled in these tenements according to the plan. The plan is also to construct multi-story tenements with lifts where possible. All this investment comes under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission to make Chennai slum free by 2013. While this is good, once again, unless the residents are counseled in the need for hygiene and civic sense, the toilets will be misused and garbage strewn all over the place. Worse, previous efforts to clear slums by building such tenements were defeated because those who were allotted homes in them rented them out and continued to live in the slums. Slums today are not just a an economic problem, but more of a social problem due illiteracy and lack of awareness and exposure. Hopefully this time around, with the rising level of aspirations at all levels of society, the efforts to rehabilitate slum dwellers so that they can enjoy a better quality of life will be successful.
Interesting news. It will be giant undertaking if such an effort is taken to clear the slums considering the fact that ¼th of the city’s population lives in shanty towns.
Interesting point you raised about the resettled slum dwellers renting out their apartments. I have personally come across such cases. A point to note is each slum typically has a strongman affliated to some xMK; how would these people react? And if a visit to any TNHB flat is anything to go by, I can only imagine these new settlements a few years from now..
“Slum-free”? Creating a massive, out-of-sight slum outside a major city is a recipe for disaster. There are many examples of this from cities all over the world: these localities will soon start to feel removed and ostracized from the rest of the city, and that’s where the problems will start. Only now, instead of the pockets of TNSCB neighbourhoods, you will have entire satellite towns with festering issues to contend with. (And issues that you can be sure will be easier to ignore – out of sight, out of mind).
The way forward is to integrate low-income housing into our cities, rather than separate them and put them out of sight.
I strongly believe many (not all) living in slum because they are lazy enough to search for better stand of living.
its not the place, stands.. its people has to change. if I can, I would recommend to spend 5% money to education those people to teach social behavior and its importance.
anyways, lets Hope this plan will be fulfilled as intended.
Dear Mr.David appasamy,
i Just explored this website. its good. i am a student in germany doing my master dergee in architecture. could you please help me by providing data on chennai slums with the location.
it will be helpful for my project.
SLUM!!! why thr hell is everybody scared of this word. everyone need these guys to clear ur sewage lines, to lay ur road, to build ur house.. but dont want them.. this kind of a in-humane attitude is what we call litracy?? just one question to u all.. if i resettle u from ur house to some place far away and provide u with a vehicle to commute, will u take it?? these guys are near there only source of income. They eat once or twice a day and u ask them to leave their only known work and go else where just because u dont like them?? just because u have the money u can do anything right!!! i’ll say u are the ones who has to be educated not them. u are all illogical, in-humane people. This idea by slum clearence board is an ABSOLUTE PEICE OF CRAP and be sure this is never gonna happen. >>>JUST BY GETTING BLOODY DEGREE DONT CONSIDER URSELF AS SENSEFUL PEOPLE
My name is SSILESH.H and my mail id is . i am an architectual student doin my final year thesis on SLUM RAHAB inside the city. Anyone can contact me.