Chief Minister M.K. Stalin will hand over the keys to free houses to Sri Lankan Tamils at the rehabilitation camp in Melmonavoor village near Vellore on September 17.
He is scheduled to participate in a public meeting to mark the birth centenary celebrations of former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi in Kandaneri village. He will visit the rehabilitation camp prior to the meeting.
As part of the preparations for Mr. Stalin’s visit, Collector P. Kumaravel Pandian inspected the new houses in the camp on Monday. “We are happy that we will soon move into new houses. It will end our ordeal of living in damaged, cramped houses all these years, said K. Selvam, a resident.
In the first phase of the free housing scheme, which is being implemented by the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) at a cost of ₹317 crore, 3,510 beneficiaries were identified in the State. Of them, around 2,000 will get new houses. The initiative was launched by the Chief Minister at a function in Vellore in November 2021.
A total of 2,239 families have been living in 18 relief camps in Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupattur and Tiruvannamalai districts since 1990. Tiruvannamalai has the highest number of camps, at 12, with 1,111 families. Vellore, Tirupattur and Ranipet have two camps each.
Under the rehabilitation project, each house measures 300 sq. ft. and has a living room, a bedroom with an attached washroom, and a kitchen. It also has free water connection and power supply.
Each house costs ₹5.85 lakh to the State exchequer. Each camp has a community centre, a common children’s centre for reading and tuition, and a fair price shop.
Under phase 1, 933 houses are being built in these districts, with Tiruvannamalai having the highest number of houses, at 255, followed by Tirupattur (236), Ranipet (222) and Vellore (220).
