The Tamil Nadu government should revisit its Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) Framework to ensure that working class and vulnerable groups have the right to equitable access to reside in and enjoy government services, the Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC), a non-governmental organisation working for the urban poor, has said.
In a statement, IRCDUC said the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB)’s Resettlement and Rehabilitation Framework released in February 2023 had several flaws. These have not been addressed to date.
Vanessa Peter, founder, IRCDUC, alleged that communities and workers’ unions had not been consulted while formulating the policy. She said people relocated from the banks of the Adyar river in Chennai district had been provided houses with ₹5,000 as a shifting allowance, ₹30,000 as subsistence allowance and livelihood assistance training. “However, families relocated from the Adyar river banks in Kancheepuram district had to pay the beneficiaries contribution for the houses and did not get any other benefits available for other residents…This is a discriminatory process that creates tensions within resettled communities under different programmes in the same resettlement site.”
She also said that existing resettlement localities like Perumbakkam, Semmenchery and Kannagi Nagar, though located in the IT corridor, are unable to provide livelihood opportunities for resettled families because of the mismatch between their employment profile and available employment opportunities. This calls for prioritisation of in situ development or providing houses in proximate locations, she said, and urged the State government to revisit the Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) Framework.
Published - June 19, 2024 03:19 pm IST
