Chennai Dec 27 PTI A block of a residential building complex housing 24 flats collapsed here on Monday reducing tenements to a huge mound of rubble No casualties were reported as residents moved out of their flats hours before the collapse after noticing widening cracks inside of their houses Domestic appliances and household goods however were buried in the debris A cloud of dust emerged when the building crumbled and anxious residents crowded the spot Police fire and rescue personnel rushed to spot and cordoned off the area Backhoe loaders were deployed by authorities to clear the rubble Some residents said they lost household items and consumer durables The collapsed block was part of a large residential complex at Thiruvotriyur in north Chennai developed in 1993 by the TN Urban Habitat Development Board TNUHDB Chief Minister M K Stalin ordered alternative housing arrangements and an assistance of Rs one lakh to each of the 24 affected families an official release here said The CM said he has directed officials to identify old structures and take appropriate safety measures to avoid recurrence of such an incident Tha Mo Anbarasan Minister for Rural Industries who holds the TNUHBD portfolio inspected the spot and interacted with affected residents who have been provided food and accommodation elsewhere The block part of a state developed housing complex was built in 1993 the Minister said and blamed the previous AIADMK regime for not taking any steps to pull down dilapidated tenements and build new structures The Chief Minister has ordered that the affected people should be provided alternative housing Soon they will be allotted tenements he said A team of experts has been appointed to ascertain the structural stability of other adjacent blocks in the housing complex he said adding that appropriate follow up action would be taken based on the findings If the team recommends alternative housing for residents who live near the block that collapsed they will also be provided tenements by the government An allocation of Rs 127 crore has been made to carry out repairs to dilapidated structures in the north Chenani housing complex A government commissioned study found that in Chennai alone 23000 tenements built 45 years ago have become unhabitable and when this was brought to the notice of Chief Minister Stalin he ordered providing new houses for people living in such flats following phased demolition of old structures For 2021-22 an allocation of Rs 2500 crore has been made by Stalin for building 7500 new apartment complexes All dilapidated tenements built and allotted to beneficiaries by government agencies in Chennai would be demolished and rebuilt within five years and Rs 125 crore has been set apart to refurbishrenovate old apartments in Chennai the Minister said In September 2021 the government had renamed the TN Slum Clearance Board established in 1970 as the TNUHDB PTI VGN APR APR

Chennai Oct 30 PTI The Madras High Court has quashed criminal cases pending against two DMK ministers -- T M Anbarasan and Ma Subramaniam -- and 16 others before the Special Court for cases against MPs and MLAs in the City Justice M Nirmal Kumar quashed the proceedings while allowing two criminal original petitions from the 18 persons on October 27 Anbarasan is presently state Minister for Rural Industries while Subramanian holds the Health and Family Welfare portfolio The charge against the petitioners was that they had indulged in violence during a civic bye-election in April 2005 They had allegedly also set fire to the car of A Santosh the then councillor of 136th division who had lodged the complaint Allowing the petitions Justice Nirmal Kumar noted that there was nothing to show the presence of smell and traces of petrol in the damaged car The person who had lost the vehicle the complainant clearly stated that the accused were not the cause for the fire and he had mistakenly given their names The petitioners and the complainant belong to rival political parties and there seems to be some animosity among them and on the date of occurrence a surcharged atmosphere prevailed due to corporation bye-election The complainant also was not sure the reason for the fire on his vehicle There was nothing on record to show that the vehicle was set on fire by using petrol The Observation Mahazar and Rough Sketch were not referred to by any of the witnesses Further the statements and documents had reached the court belatedly No reason was given for the delay Above all the case was pending without any progress for nearly a decade In view of the above continuation of the proceedings against the petitioners would amount to abuse of process of law the judge said and quashed the proceedings pending before the Special Court PTI CORR SA BN BN