Sri Lankan Tamils in Ranipet, Tirupattur get 184 houses

Sri Lankan Tamils, who have been living in rehabilitation camps at Banavaram and Minnur villages near Sholinghur and Ambur towns in Ranipet and Tirupattur districts, received the keys for their new houses.

Officials of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), which executed the project, said that the new houses were virtually inaugurated by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin. The initiative was launched by Mr. Stalin at a function in Vellore in November 2021. The beneficiaries have been living in dilapidated single room houses with bare minimum facilities since camps were set up in early 1990s.

“Minnur and Chinnapallikuppam villages have two camps for Sri Lankan Tamils. With the allocation of the remaining 88 houses, entire beneficiaries in the district have been covered under the project,” S. Poongodi, Tahsildar for Sri Lankan Tamils (Tirupattur), told The Hindu.

DRDA officials said that in Tirupattur, the houses were built in two phases. Free houses were given to 160 beneficiaries in 2023 under phase-1 of the project. In the second phase, 88 houses, which cost ₹6.30 crore, were given to beneficiaries.

Ranipet district had two camps – each in Walajah and Sholinghur – with 228 families since the 1990s. Houses for 96 beneficiaries were given at a cost of ₹5.53 crore in the first phase of the project.

Minister for Handlooms and Textiles and MLA for Ranipet R. Gandhi and Collector J.U. Chandrakala inspected the new houses.

As per norms, each house, on an average, cost ₹8.10 lakh for the State exchequer. Each house, which covers 291 sq.ft, has a living room, bedroom, attached washroom, and a kitchen. The new house includes free water connection and power supply.

The new housing quarters also has a community centre, a common centre for children, and a fair price shop. Approach roads to the camp area from the main road will also be re-laid.

The quarters also has Over Head Tanks (OHTs), a public library, and a workshop for free vocational training.

Tiruvannamalai has 11 camps, the highest, with 3,196 persons. Vellore, Tirupattur, and Ranipet have two camps each. 2,239 families have resided in these districts since 1990.