No encroachment involved in R.A. Puram slum, says Panneerselvam

AIADMK leader seeks immediate suspension of demolition of the houses in the area

The AIADMK coordinator, O. Panneerselvam, on Monday demanded that the State government inform the Supreme Court that families living in 259 houses, east of Ilango Street, R.A. Puram in Chennai, be allowed to remain there on the ground that there was no encroachment involved.

Calling for the immediate suspension of demolition of the houses in the area, Mr. Panneerselvam, in a statement, said the site, on which the dwelling units had come up, was actually identified by the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board and it was  declared a “slum area” in 1973. Residents had been paying the government all the taxes and the houses had not been built, encroaching upon any road or the Buckingham Canal. 

Urging the government to pay a compensation of  ₹50 lakh to the family of Kanniah who died following the demolition,  Mr. Panneerselvam, who held the subject of housing during the previous regime, recalled that when his party was in power, the then Mylapore legislator [R. Natraj] had raised a question regarding the fate of the slum dwellers, he had assured him that the interests of the slum dwellers would be protected so long as the AIADMK was at the helm of affairs. An affidavit, supporting the position of the slum dwellers, was filed in the Supreme Court. 

In a series of tweets, the AMMK general secretary, T.T.V. Dhinakaran, wondered whether the authorities were not aware that they should show minimum humanitarian feeling towards those who had been living in an area for years and see to it that the residents were provided with alternative sites  and livelihood opportunities.