The Chennai Corporation seems set to embark on an ambitious plan to create attractive walkways and parks along the course of the Cooum.
It is said that 14,257 houses and unauthorised commercial buildings in 35 slums will be demolished to create space for nine parks and walkways.
Following a meeting on Tuesday with agencies involved in the eco-restoration of the Cooum, the Chennai River Restoration Trust has asked the Corporation to launch a biometric survey of residents before resettling them in areas such as Perumbakkam and Ezhil Nagar.
With the assistance of Water Resources Department and Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board, the civic body is expected to start a biometric survey along a 23.9-km stretch from the mouth of the Cooum to the Maduravoyal bypass.
During the previous DMK regime, the eco-restoration proposal was made by senior officials who had studied similar projects in other parts of the world, including Singapore and the United States.
A few slums on roads – such as Langs Garden Road – along the river were demolished even before a detailed project report was prepared. Before the previous Assembly elections, the AIADMK had assured slum residents that the proposal would be dropped. After winning the elections, the AIADMK government shelved the Port-Maduravoyal Elevated Corridor project, leading to a delay in the resettlement of those who had lost their homes.
After a lull, the AIADMK government has resumed the project of resettling slum residents.
The resettlement areas are said to be far away from the residents’ source of livelihood. .