Concrete plaster of the ceiling of a Tamil Nadu Housing Board apartment here fell on Sunday, damaging consumer goods including a television set. However, none of the residents was injured as they were outside the house.
Lokambal, on security duty, and her relatives who were in the kitchen, had a providential escape. The quarters, built under the Government Rental Housing Scheme of the TNHB, had developed cracks over a period of time.
Officials from the Tamil Nadu Housing Board and Karthick R. Thondaiman, MLA, visited the spot and made alternative arrangements to accommodate Lokambal and her family in an adjoining apartment.
Many residents complained that the quarters were ill-maintained, although they have been remitting rent to the TNHB promptly. They wanted immediate repair and maintenance of the quarters.
Official version
TNHB officials said there were a total of 372 apartments in the quarters, constructed in a phased manner between 1978 and 2000.
The structural stability of several apartments had been found to be unsafe.
“A structural stability committee constituted as early as 2008 had advised demolition of eight blocks accounting for 78 apartments. The TNHB had issued notices to the occupants following which residents of only 46 apartments had vacated the premises,” the official source told The Hindu here on Sunday.
The officials sought the cooperation of residents of 32 apartments who are yet to vacate.
“The occupants have been pleading for alternative quarters far above their eligibility norms,” the official said, explaining the difficulty in allotting the type of apartments they sought.
“A government incumbent in the grade of ‘Office Assistant’ cannot be accommodated in another quarters meant for other category of employees with higher scale of pay,” the official clarified.
The Housing Board has recommended to the district administration to constitute a new committee for conducting a study on the structural stability of the apartments in the area, the source told. The official said steps would be taken for providing basic amenities to the residents of the quarters in a week’s time.
Officials say apartments unsafe for living, but residents refuse to move out
