Few takers for dilapidated TNUHDB flats in Rajakoor

Dwellers seek govt intervention over lack of transport, crumbling infra

- JEYALAKSHMI RAMANUJAM @Madurai

CRUMBLING walls, overgrown bushes and stagnant water; elements that are characteristic not just to abandoned houses, but also to the multi-storeyed residential apartments constructed by the Tamil Nadu Urban Housing Development Board (TNUHDB) at Rajakoor near Madurai.

With a lack of adequate facilities and poor infrastructure, there are few takers for these flats. In the first phase, 1,566 flats were built nearly a decade ago under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for ₹47.75 crore.

Located in Rajakoor's Periyar Nagar, a good 18 km away from Madurai city limits, these tenements with over 2,000 flats built in three phases have little to offer for the residents—no access to transport, healthcare or education facilities. In 2017-18, 1,088 houses were constructed for ₹89.75 crore in phase II, while 512 houses were constructed in phase III for ₹50.18 crore in 2022-23.