Allottees threaten to boycott election over long-pending TNHB issues in Coimbatore

As part of an election boycott initiative, members of Ganapathy Maanagar Veetu Urimaiyalarkal Kootukkuzhu Block I to IV submitted copies of voter identification cards along with petitions the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) office at HUDCO Colony, Peelamedu, on Monday.

Petitions were sent via email to the Chief Electoral Officer, Chief Secretary, Deputy Chief Secretary, Secretary and Managing Director of TNHB, and the District Election Officer, Coimbatore, seeking intervention.

The petition stated that TNHB and the Coimbatore Housing Unit had followed irregular practices for over 33 years, affecting allottees. Payments were not recorded on the actual date of receipt in Working Sheet-A, while interest was charged, leading to excess burden.

TNHB fixed a notional land cost of ₹6,000 per cent for 33.34 acres based on assumed LAOP cases and collected statutory interest of around ₹29 crore, despite no legal dispute. The petitioners sought implementation of court and arbitration tribunal rulings.

In Working Sheet-B, payments made by allottees were taken into account only after delays of 13 to 17 years, after which interest was calculated for the entire period at rates between 17% and 21%.

Payments were misclassified under non-demand heads, with excess amounts left unadjusted while interest continued to be charged. Outdated FoxPro-based systems delayed the accounting of smaller payments, in some cases by nine to 15 years.

K. Jeyachandran, president of the association, said representations had been made to ministers and officials, but no action followed.

He sought implementation of rulings, issuance of house ownership documents, and refund of excess amounts. He said members would return voter ID cards to the District Election Officer and boycott the Tamil Nadu Assembly Election 2026 if issues were not addressed.