CPI leader Nallakannu, ex-min Kakkan’s family to be allocated new houses after outrage

Following outrage in Tamil Nadu after veteran Communist Party of India (CPI) leader R Nallakannu and the family of late minister P Kakkan were asked to vacate the house they were living in, the state government has promised to give them new houses. They were staying in the houses of the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) in CIT Nagar in Chennai.

This was widely condemned by political leaders. On Saturday, DMK President MK Stalin slammed the ruling AIADMK government. “The house was allotted to him as a tribute to political leaders who uphold integrity in public life. He lived in the house for 12 years. The government should allot another house to him,” he said in a statement.

Nallakannu told the New Indian Express, “I was told the building is going to be demolished for reconstruction, following a court order. TNHB issued a notice to vacate by May 15, so I moved on Friday and am at my daughter’s rented house in KK Nagar.”

Nallakannu had moved into the colony in 2007, and renovated the house with his own money. Currently, as the TNHB wanted to implement a new plan there, it had sent notices to all the residents to vacate the premises. Residents of 96 houses have submitted their keys to the government, and Nallakannu did the same on May 11 and shifted into a rented accommodation.

Speaking to Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami, Nallakannu requested that Kakkan's family be allocated living quarters. Stating that their present houses were in a bad shape, the CM assured that they will be relocated to a newer house as soon as possible.

The government on Sunday said that as per the direction of the Madras High Court, a new policy is in its final stages of being drafted for allocating living quarters at a monthly rental for all those who have been active in public life and have played an important role.

A total of 119 houses were constructed in 1953 in CIT Colony and in 2004. The government realised that the houses were not in a proper condition. In 2011, after the houses were deemed to be unfit for occupation, the housing board sent a notice to all 119 houses, asking them to vacate the houses. The matter then went to court and multiple petitions were filed. In July 2014, the Madras High Court issued the residents a three-month notice to vacate. Multiple petitions are filed, and they were all disposed of by February 2019.