Families in Perumbakkam TNSCB quarters denied funds

Chennai: Only 1% of

families

residing at the Tamil Nadu Slum

Clearance Board

(TNSCB) tenements in Perumbakkam have received subsistence allowance — a mandatory remittance provided to evicted families every month — for all twelve months, cites a recent report by the Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC). The remaining families have received the amount irregularly and many did not get any for an entire year.

The study was conducted on 228 families resettled to the tenements from September 2017 to December 2017 under the Integrated Cooum River Eco-Restoration Plan, using random sampling method. During resettlement each family is provided a shifting allowance of Rs 5000 and for one year, they are given a monthly subsistence allowance of Rs 2,500 as a compensation for their loss of livelihood post resettlement.

The study revealed that 85% of the families have received the monthly subsistence allowance only once in six months while 25.9% have not received the any amount till date, a year after the resettlement.

Most families claim they did not know the reason behind the delay because officials from TNSCB were reluctant to provide an explanation. “The only explanation we receive is that the fund will be transferred to our bank account next month. It’s been six months since we are waiting,” said Rohini Kumar, a resident. Despite the fact that over 75% of the families had bank accounts previously, the board insisted that they open new accounts in a specific bank’s Mambalam branch, 25.4km away from the tenements, and not in the branches in the vicinity.

Experts criticised authorities for the disparity in disbursing

funds

to families. “TNSCB must set up a grievance redressal system inside the community with compulsory representation from resident welfare associations at the community level so that all complaints are addressed at the earliest,” said Vanessa Peter, policy researcher, IRCDUC.


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