The plan to construct new houses for the Sri Lankan refugees at Vazhavanthankottai on the outskirts of the city is set to get delayed due to an issue over the site that has been identified for the project.
According to sources, rehabilitation camps for Sri Lankan Tamil refugees function at 107 places in the State. A camp at Vazhavanthankottai is one of the biggest refugee camps in the State. It has 435 houses. A total of 1211 refugees have been sheltered in it.
The camp was said to have been set up about 35 years ago when the State witnessed a steady arrival of refugees from Sri Lanka due to the civil war in the island nation. Similarly, one more camp was also set up at Sembattu in the Tiruchi district during the same period. The refugees, who landed along the southern coast of the State, were accommodated.
The condition of several houses in both the camps is said to be in bad shape due to poor maintenance. The State government took up repair and maintenance of the badly damaged houses on a few occasions. But, it is said that their condition has deteriorated due to age and other factors. Following this, the Commissionerate of Rehabilitation and the Welfare of Non-Resident Tamils of the State government recently accorded sanction to construct 250 new houses at the rehabilitation camps for Sri Lankan Tamils at Kottapattu and Vazhavanthankottai in Tiruchi district. Of them, 150 houses will come up at Kottapattu and 100 houses at Vazhavanthankottai. In the first phase, it has been proposed to build 30 houses at Vazhavanthankottai.
However, the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) that owned the site of the Vazhavanthankottai refugee camp has reportedly expressed reservations over building permanent structures in the location. This has delayed the start of construction.
A senior official told The Hindu that Tiruchi Collector M. Pradeep Kumar had taken up the issue with the TNHB, seeking approval to build new houses. In addition to it, steps had also been taken up to identify alternative sites. The issue would be sorted out soon, he said.
