Minister for Rural Industries and Slum Clearance Board T.M. Anbarasan said on Thursday that stringent action would be taken against contractors and officials who were responsible for the poor construction of Slum Clearance Board flats at K.V. Park in Egmore.
Replying to a calling attention motion moved by E. Paranthaman of the DMK on the poor construction, Mr. Anbarasan said he had visited the area with HR&CE Minister P.K. Sekarbabu and officials and approached the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras for a report on the quality of construction.
“It was our leader Kalaignar [M. Karunanidhi] who created the board for constructing houses for the poor and to create a State without any huts. We will not spare anyone involved in the poor construction,” he said.
Mr. Paranthaman made a strong case for inspecting and reviewing all the buildings constructed in the last 10 years of the AIADMK government. “What has happened in Egmore is an open secret. The hospital building in Namakkal district collapsed during construction and a check-dam in Villupuram was washed away,” he said.
