Chief Minister M.K. Stalin will virtually inaugurate free new houses for 41 displaced Irular families at Melpakkam village near Arakkonam in Ranipet on May 29 (Thursday), providing a permanent settlement for the tribal community.
This comes after the State Highways Department acquired patta land, which were provided to the affected Irular families by the district administration, for the widening of Kancheepuram – Arakkonam – Tiruttani Road (SH 58) in 2023. As part of a compensation, the State Highways decided to provide land and build new houses for beneficiaries at a cost of ₹6.32 crore.
“It’s a dream come true for us because, as a community, we have lived in roadside make-shift tents for generations. We are happy that our children will now have a safe place to stay,” said V. Mayan, an Irular.
Accompanied by Collector J.U. Chandrakala, Minister for Handlooms and Textiles R. Gandhi inspected the new houses and interacted with the beneficiaries. He urged Irular families to enroll their wards in schools.
The Minister also directed officials to plant more fruit bearing saplings in the housing quarters to provide shade and as a supplementary income for the Irulars. “Considering the displaced are poor tribals, the State Highways decided to build new houses for them for the first time. The new dwelling has all basic facilities like power supply, water connection, washroom and lights,” K. Mukundan, Assistant Divisional Engineer (ADE), State Highways (Arakkonam division), told The Hindu.
Facilities provided
Each house, built at a cost of ₹10.70 lakh, measures 355 sq.ft with a living room, bedroom, kitchen and attached toilets. A community hall with a seating capacity of at least 100 persons and an anganwadi centre are also being built. It also has a temple and a protective wall.
To ensure safe drinking water to the families, an overhead tank (OHT) with a capacity of 30,000 litres also forms part of the basic amenities. The pathways in the village are also being re-laid with bitumen for easy access by ambulances during emergencies.
Highways officials said that widening of the stretch is part of the Chennai – Kanyakumari Industries Corridor project by the Centre under the East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC) that aims to connect key coastal cities like Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Chennai and Kanyakumari.
Funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB), the stretch has been widened for a distance of 41.77 km between Kancheepuram and Tirutani at a cost of ₹359.06 crore since mid-2021. The existing lane has been converted into a 10 m wide two-lane stretch with storm water drains, footpath, 18 small bridges and 124 culverts.
Published – May 29, 2025 12:46 am IST
