Vellore Corporation halts eviction drive after residents’ protest

Vellore Corporation halts illegal structure demolition after residents protest, seeking alternative land for displaced families.

The officials of the Vellore Corporation had to abruptly halt demolition of illegal structures, mostly houses, on Anjaneyar Road after residents protested.

Corporation officials said the drive was based on an order issued by the Madras High Court on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) to restore the original width of the stretch by demolishing illegal structures on it. Wednesday’s eviction drive was the second one in the past six months when the civic officials tried to execute court directions.

Residents said that they had been living on the stretch in Kansalpaet that comes under Ward 27 of the Corporation for more than four decades. Over the years, residents managed to get water and power supply to the illegal structures, which are mostly concrete houses. In 2021, they said, the district administration promised to provide alternative land on the outskirts of the town on Chennai - Bengaluru Highway in Abdullapuram village.

“No concrete steps were taken by the district administration to provide alternative land sites for displaced families from Kansalpet. Most of the residents are wage labourers and they need a piece of land to stay,” said S. Kamatchi, a resident.

Corporation officials said that a proposal to allot three cents of land for each displaced family from Anjaneyar Road in Kansalpet was made by the district administration a few years ago. Land was also identified in Rickshaw Nagar of Abdullapuram village near the airport. However, the identified land in the village had also been allotted for another group of displaced families from Thottapalayam within civic body limits. As a result, displaced families from Kansalpet were unable to relocate to their allotted land in Abdullapuram village.

On Wednesday, along with a large number of police personnel, revenue officials, Corporation officials managed to demolish only four small buildings on the stretch that has 46 illegal structures.

After more than three hours of stand-off, residents sought alternative land. On their part, Corporation officials filed cases against a few residents for obstructing the drive.