On June 11, 1972, when veteran socialist Jayaprakash Narayan was in Tamil Nadu at the invitation of Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, he lauded Tamil Nadu’s policies for the welfare of the poor, especially the work of the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB).
Inaugurating 1,848 housing units constructed at Kotturpuram in Chennai, which was the TNSCB’s biggest project till then, he hailed the services of the TNSCB as the most valuable contribution to the building of a socialist society. The amenities provided in the housing units were a “revolutionary change” in the lives of slum-dwellers, he said.
Legislation and measures for tackling the problems faced by those residing in slums existed even before. In 1933, the Corporation of Madras formed a Special Housing Committee (SHC) to study the problem. The Union government enacted the Slum Areas (Improvement and Clearance) Act in 1956. At least four States had adopted similar legislation before the enactment of the Tamil Nadu Slum Areas (Improvement and Clearance) Act in 1971.
