Chennai Elevated Expressways

[die4chennai]

The stretch between Ethiraj rd and Spur tank rd has less no. of slums when compared to the other parts... may b thats y they r targetting this first...

[die4chennai]

Duplicate

[sshivakumar]

CHENNAI: Preliminary work for the elevated highway project connecting Chennai port and Maduravoyal has gained momentum, with government agencies

the Public Works Department (PWD), Slum Clearance Board (SCB) and the revenue department clearing encroachments. On the second day of clearing operations, 433 hutments on the embankment of the Cooum river near Spur Tank Road were bulldozed and families evicted. On Friday, 34 families were evicted from hutments near Ethiraj Salai.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is laying the 19-km-long elevated highway to facilitate free movement of heavy vehicles. For long, container operators had demanded the construction of such a highway, forced as they were to take the congested Koyambedu and Poonamallee High Road routes to the port.

According to officials, 433 families were staying near the Chetpet junction out of which 275 families were eligible for the resettlement and rehabilitation package of the state government. The cut-off date for eligibility criteria was June 2006. All eligible families were given accommodation in the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) tenements in Thoraipakkam near Rajiv Gandhi Salai.

Traffic was disrupted in Chetpet in the morning on Saturday after evicted residents placed their belongings on the road. Within hours, PWD officials arranged transportation. "We wasted no time in shifting the residents to Thoraipakkam because the formalities there have to be completed on time," said a senior official.

Though the city police had made elaborate security arrangements for eviction, the police faced a tough time driving away crowds who demanded resettlement. S Kalaivani, a resident, said that her family possessed a ration card and a voter identity card as proof of residence; she was denied rehabilitation. "We paid a huge sum to people who introduced themselves as officials to get us slots in Thoraipakkam. But now, people who have residential certificates from the local taluk office have managed to get allotment orders and we are left out," she said.

TNSCB is in talks with the government to pay Rs 1,000 a month to each of the affected families, for 21 months. "They will be accomodated in tenements that will come up soon in and around the city," an official said. The department will resume its eviction drive on Monday. Earlier, district collector V Shobana, along with a team of revenue officials, visited the site to oversee the drive.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...ow/5231473.cms

[think_different]

http://www.dailythanthi.com/article....ate=11/19/2009

[Kewl Batty]

Slum kids facing eviction seek CM’s help


Students from the slums in Choolaimedu staging a demonstration against the demolition of their houses, in the city on Sunday.
Express News Service
First Published : 30 Nov 2009 04:12:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 30 Nov 2009 04:56:55 PM IST

CHENNAI: The children of slum dwellers, who face eviction under the proposed elevated Expressway between Chennai port and Maduravoyal on Sunday made a fervent plea to Chief Minister M Karunanidhi to intervene in the matter and rescue them.

These 300 slum children who signed the letter affectionately addressed him as ‘Kalaignar Thatha’. The letter goes on to read as, “You gave us nutritious meals. You gave us free education. You gave us muttais (eggs). Now why are you forcing us get muttais (ciphers) in our exams?’’.

The children asked Karunanidhi not to demolish their houses now, in the middle of their academic session. These children, studying in the nearby schools, fear that if forced to resettle in hovels in far-off areas like Kannagi Nagar, it would be a Herculean task for them to commute everyday. The slums are being demolished by the government to pave the way for what is billed as India’s longest four-way elevated expressway from the Chennai port to Maduravoyal, at a cost of Rs 1,655 crore stretching 19 km along the banks of the Cooum river.

Most of the slums which were evicted are along Cooum in Choolaimedu and Chetpet area. M Perumal, Secretary of Tamil Nadu Slumdwellers Association said ``there are lot of children who are in class 10 and class 12. This eviction, which comes in the middle of the year, will largely impact their studies.”

Apprehending eviction to make way for the proposed elevated expressway, hut-dwellers from Appasamy Street in Chetpet have got a stay order from the high court to stop the eviction drive, but even after that the government continued their demolition drive.

So far 400 houses in Spurtank Road, Chepet, 590 houses from Appaswamy street, 400 from Joythiammal Street , Eraettaimalai Srinivasan Nagar 120 house were demolished. These project it likely to evict at least 30,000 families who dwell along the Cooum river, which are mostly slums. The government propose to send them to Kannagi Nagar, Asia’s largest Slum resettlement colony.

Housing Rights Campaign, an NGO, says proximity to the place of work holds the key to the slum-dwellers most of whom are employed as domestic workers. If they are resettled in far-flung areas, they run the risk of losing their jobs. With the State government high on an ambitious mission to make Chennai “slum-free by 2013,” tough times are ahead for slum-dwellers, especially those living in 122 objectionable slums.

[Fusionist]

thats something serious to consider. Resettling 30,000 families is something that needs better attention and surely more effort towards EFFECTIVE resettlement should have been considered.

Demolission, and resettlement has often caused conflict between the state and the dwellers so many times in the past. Why is still there no effective branches in the government that ensures that resettlement doesnt affect peoples life so badly ? Shame. Also I don't think grouping up of many 'slum' people into a large colony is a good idea. Yes indeed it is good for easy governance but how about the life of the settlers ? How about finding local job, transportation costs, schools etc ? I think there should be some laws concerning the size and distance any family can be 'displaced' along with better sources to manage the longer term needs of the resettlers. ie. school, work, hospital etc

[robertashok]

I think the road was under discussion a lot of time may be for more than two years , a modest intelligent person would have moved to another location by this time.

In order to winsome you have to loose some.

[sridhar_n]

it's a serious problem though..and at the same time a tricky issue. Are they planning to start constructing pillars in the next 3 - 4 months? Given that it is 19 km long, can they not schedule it in such a way that this area is untouched for another 4 months?? Only thing is that this should not set a precedence and people all along the 19 km shouldn't come up with such requests. All said and done, we cannot afford to delay this project anymore.

[darkprinz]

Though it is a pity to see these children having problem with resettlement ...

As some one said they would have known about these resettlements earlier ... their parents are to b blamed ... y the hell they settle in these places ... they use these poor children as factor to slow the eviction Emotional blackmailing

Is this place near the port section or further away .. so that they can start building pillars and all such things near port .. and by the time they reach this place academic year will be over

[ezhilan81]

I dont think they will build pillar by pillar. It should be simultaneous work across the entire stretch and it only makes sense to clear the entire area if that is the proposed way of construction. But the situation of these kids are touchy. However they should not be partial to one section of the mass alone. This might lead to protests in other areas too. In a way its good to see that people are forced to leave the slums, else they will never leave. Am sure they can live in better conditions if they shift to Kannagi Nagar

[kannan infratech]

SHIFTING SLUM DWELLERS:
Most of the people who were / are living along Cooum, Adyar and B Canal are being shifted to mainly Kannagi Nagar off Thoraipakkam on the bank of B Canal.

PWD and TNSCB started constructing additional new tenements at this location in a big way. But due to CRZ II rules and so many other goof ups from the Dept side, all the works have been stopped. The contractors who were awarded the works have already done pilings and some above the ground also and are into a big loss.

This may seriously affect the further migration to this location.

Another issue which I can not substantiate with proof:
Most of the pickpockets, petty thieves, chain snatchers - charge sheeters have been shifted from all the slums to this area to have effective control over them, it seems.
This has created a huge problem in the Southern Suburbs - These guys know only their past profession and they they are now living in a pucca flat and trying their skills in the southern suburbs.

[kannan infratech]

Elevated Highway along Besant Nagar Beach:

I noticed that beach near Adyar estuary is being cleaned and levelled. The grapevine says that the Govt may go ahead despite the warnings and protests from the environmentally conscious people.

The residents of Besant Nagar may start a vigilance squad to keep an eye on the development; otherwise one day suddenly they may find the Elliots Beach being raped royally with a huge eyesore called the Elevated Expressway.

[Fusionist]

Originally Posted by robertashok

I think the road was under discussion a lot of time may be for more than two years , a modest intelligent person would have moved to another location by this time.

In order to winsome you have to loose some.

so if your parent's house is in the way ouf some expressway.... as reported in media, no eviction warning etc given you will be happy to sell your parent's house and ask them to move to a new suburb in the outskirts of Chennai within a year ? Please be practical. There is severe emotional, financial and practical problems with such evictions.

It doesnt mean govt. has to stop all plans for the future. It simply means govt. simply will have to learn to make sure that the people who are affected are not left in the dark like this.

btw this is what life is like in Kannagi Nagar..

CHENNAI: A day after they were packed off to Kannagi Nagar off Rajiv Gandhi Salai from their houses on Langs Garden Road in Pudupet, many families still have not been able to occupy their new houses. Their belongings have been kept on the road and no provision had been made for drinking water, families said.

A total of 1,260 families that had encroached upon land belonging to the Public Works Department and many of whose homes had been destroyed in a recent fire are being shifted by the district administration to Kannagi Nagar as part of rehabilitation measures.

With the families finding the houses constructed by the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) still incomplete in many aspects, many of them were forced to spend the night in utter misery.

“We were brought here on Tuesday morning by 10 a.m. and we were not allowed inside the houses till late evening. When we entered the houses, they were filled with dust and rubbish. There is no electricity and the toilets are clogged with the pipeline broken in many places,” said Nandakumar, a resident who had moved to Kannagi Nagar on Tuesday.

Manju, another resident, said there was no facility for them to cook and that they were forced to buy food from outside. She said that mothers with infants found it most difficult. “There is no water here for us to bathe or wash clothes. It has been two days since we left the comfort of our homes inside the city,” she added.

Another resident asked why the houses were not repaired and readied for occupation before they were shifted to the new place. Others alleged that they were given only photocopies of their allotment orders.

Later, TNSCB Managing Director T. K. Ramachandran told The Hindu that those resettled from Pudupet were being provided with houses that have been built a few months ago. “But the problem is that anti-social elements in the area are misusing them and in some places, damaging property. We have begun repair work and the houses will be ready for occupation in a couple of days,” he added.

He said that until Chennai Metrowater was able to provide piped water supply, the Board would ensure supply of water through tankers. On the issue of maintaining Kannagi Nagar, Mr. Ramachandran said there was need to set up a proper institution for managing the area.

ps. this article was from a year ago, hopefully it will be marginalyl better now, but I doubt if it is ideal by any means even now.

[darkprinz]

Originally Posted by Fusionist

so if your parent's house is in the way ouf some expressway.... as reported in media, no eviction warning etc given you will be happy to sell your parent's house and ask them to move to a new suburb in the outskirts of Chennai within a year ? Please be practical. There is severe emotional, financial and practical problems with such evictions.

It doesnt mean govt. has to stop all plans for the future. It simply means govt. simply will have to learn to make sure that the people who are affected are not left in the dark like this.

btw this is what life is like in Kannagi Nagar..



ps. this article was from a year ago, hopefully it will be marginalyl better now, but I doubt if it is ideal by any means even now.

MR.Fusionist i think robertashok meant was if ur house illegal .. then y build it .. They are evicting slum people , who have encroached the banks of a city waterway ... The encroachment itself is illegal ...

[Fusionist]

Originally Posted by darkprinz

MR.Fusionist i think robertashok meant was if ur house illegal .. then y build it .. They are evicting slum people , who have encroached the banks of a city waterway ... The encroachment itself is illegal ...

ofcourse I know the difference between encroachmwent and legal buildings. I was addressing the issue of the problems of eviction and resettlement and not ( the issue about eviction itself, which I didnt question ). Also from the perspective of resettlement issues it really should matter if the resettler is a 'slum' dweller or a private landlord.

[ramvaradan]

Originally Posted by Fusionist

ofcourse I know the difference between encroachmwent and legal buildings. I was addressing the issue of the problems of eviction and resettlement and not ( the issue about eviction itself, which I didnt question ). Also from the perspective of resettlement issues it really should matter if the resettler is a 'slum' dweller or a private landlord.

I believe a common minimum facilities must be agreed upon, such as plumbing, electricity and water and basic sanitation, cleanliness .. the rest such as unfinished/unplastered walls, lack of woodworks, closets should be agreeable to the slumdwellers or encroachers. They got a legal asset in their name..free of cost.


If only the KK has evinced the same interest on the KannagiNagar properties as what he bestowed upon building his own abode @ Assembly Building!!!

[robertashok]

Originally Posted by Fusionist

so if your parent's house is in the way ouf some expressway.... as reported in media, no eviction warning etc given you will be happy to sell your parent's house and ask them to move to a new suburb in the outskirts of Chennai within a year ? Please be practical. There is severe emotional, financial and practical problems with such evictions.

It doesnt mean govt. has to stop all plans for the future. It simply means govt. simply will have to learn to make sure that the people who are affected are not left in the dark like this.

btw this is what life is like in Kannagi Nagar..



ps. this article was from a year ago, hopefully it will be marginalyl better now, but I doubt if it is ideal by any means even now.

I was living in pammal and shifted to pallavaram once the airport issue came along, i know i was in a position to afford things [it was difficult for us well],but the elevated road was now or somewhere down the line in future. so people living legally should have done something properly.

[die4chennai]

CHENNAI: The draft feasibility report for the high-speed circular transportation corridor, which includes the much-awaited bus rapid transport system (BRTS), is likely to be ready next week.

According to sources in the Tamil Nadu Urban Development Fund (TNUDF), work on the first phase of the corridor, from Adyar to Porur, will begin with the preparation of a detailed project report after the draft feasibility report is finalised.

The sources also revealed that the corridor was likely to have only one layer and not two or three as planned previously

Source: TOI

[rsthesmart]

Originally Posted by die4chennai

CHENNAI: The draft feasibility report for the high-speed circular transportation corridor, which includes the much-awaited bus rapid transport system (BRTS), is likely to be ready next week.

According to sources in the Tamil Nadu Urban Development Fund (TNUDF), work on the first phase of the corridor, from Adyar to Porur, will begin with the preparation of a detailed project report after the draft feasibility report is finalised.

The sources also revealed that the corridor was likely to have only one layer and not two or three as planned previously

Source: TOI

Only one tier? Wouldn't that significantly reduce the amount of roadspace that's gonna be added? This feels like a let down to me, I dunno abt others.

[kannan infratech]

Originally Posted by rsthesmart

Only one tier? Wouldn't that significantly reduce the amount of roadspace that's gonna be added? This feels like a let down to me, I dunno abt others.

This road is along Adyar river bank. They may encroach upon waterway area for the road. Serious enviro issues are involved.

Most areas are CRZ II (Inland waterway in a developed neighbourhood). Generally no construction is allowed above ground upto 100 metres from the high tde line. (There are a few exceptions like - if a road has been existent between HTL and the site for more than x years, construction may be allowed blah blah).

Multi storeyed construction may not justify the revenue saved / spent. A detailed analysis may be needed.