Residents of the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board housing complex in Moolakothalam, Chennai, staged a sit-in protest to express their frustration with the DMK government. They lamented their plight just a year after the complex’s inauguration. They noted that the cement floor comes off with a simple scratch, pointed out a hole in the concrete floor on the fourth level, which exposes the floor below, and highlighted that the plumbing works were inferior. The complex, which cost ₹138.29 crore to build, is in dire disrepair.

Residents living in huts in Ramdas Nagar, near the Moolakothalam crematorium, have requested that the government build new homes in the same area to prevent disruption to their livelihoods. The government identified 35 acres of land near the crematorium, reserving 23 acres for its use. Under the Prime Minister’s Housing for All initiative, the government plans to construct 1,044 apartments across 13 floors on 12 acres at a cost of Rs 138.29 crore.

The project, initiated in 2018 during the ADMK administration, was completed in 2020. However, delays arose due to the Pollution Control Board and the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) failing to provide essential services like drinking water, sewage, and electricity connections, which postponed the handover of the homes.

After the DMK took power, the Pollution Control Board and CMDA addressed these issues by installing drinking water, sewage, electricity connections, dryers, and perimeter walls. Chief Minister Stalin inaugurated the complex via video in July 2023.

Despite the inauguration, residents of Ramadas Nagar protested against moving into the new flats, claiming the costs were higher than expected. They demanded an exemption from the ₹4.70 lakh fee charged to each beneficiary, stating they could afford only ₹1.50 lakh. The Urban Habitat Development Board facilitated this initiative.

However, there have been allegations of substandard construction. Within a year of the inauguration, the cement coating began to fall off when touched, PVC windows and doors were broken, and many units lacked doors. The residences have deteriorated further due to leaking rainwater, exposed electrical wires, and a non-functional lift, raising concerns about the building’s stability. Each block is equipped with two lifts, but only one is operational, and residents report being warned that if more than four people use it at once, it could malfunction and fall.

In response, residents besieged officials from the Urban Habitat Development Board, demanding urgent resolutions and inspections by IIT officials to assess the quality of the construction.

Following negotiations with board officials and police, the residents eventually dispersed. They expressed frustration over the lack of basic facilities such as electricity, drinking water, and functional doors. The lifts do not operate at night, and with no water in the pipes, residents must climb 4-5 floors to carry water in jugs. They live in fear due to issues like holes in the upper floors that expose the levels below.

One of the residents said, “There’s a large hole in the floor between the third and fourth floor. A concrete floor will last for minimum fifty years without developing holes, but this was constructed only four or five years ago. However, within that period, the hole appears. We can scratch the concrete floor with our hands, it only has sand. It seems there has been significant corruption in the construction of this building, as many steps have cracked.”

Another resident expressed frustration, saying, “There are no windows, and all the bathroom doors are broken; if you try to open, they just come off in your hand. Additionally, whenever we try to pump water, the pipes break and leak, water comes to flood the ground floor but not reaching the upper levels. Whenever we ask about it, we’ve been told for a month now, ‘It will come.'”

She continued, “The lift isn’t working, and they tell us to carry everything by hand. They start to operate lift at 10 AM and close at 9 PM, but we don’t know why. Workers have to carry their goods up to the eleventh floor by hand, and he peaks like it a law (carry by hand). There’s no response to issues with water and electricity, and whenever we call about the broken facilities, they just say they’ll come nothing more.”

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