Chennai, Oct 13 (BPNS)

The Tamil Nadu government released the draft of its resettlement and rehabilitation policy of slum dwellers. The policy draft note was released on Tuesday.

The policy was released by the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) and notes that it is applicable to encroachment, eviction, and displacement undertaken by the departments, statutory bodies, and local bodies under various acts and rules.

The note says that while identifying land for resettlement, the daily livelihood activities of the intended beneficiaries must be taken into consideration. The note also states that the distance from the source of employment and from the nearest towns must also be considered while scouting land for resettlement and rehabilitation.

The TNUHDB which was earlier the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board has also in the draft specified that slum dwellers must be accommodated only in areas from where it will take only half an hour to reach the nearest town by bus or train.

This draft policy has envisaged that it would prevail over other instructions on people evicted from objectionable poramboke land. It also states that the policy is applicable only to the encroacher/non-title holders of the land.