The Chengalpattu district administration has stopped work on 21 houses meant for Irula tribals at Vadapattinam village in Lattur block as a few villagers did not allow the cement in the under-construction houses to cure properly.
Officials said this was due to a personal enmity between the sitting panchayat president and one of his predecessors. Visuals of the walls of a few houses seen “shaking” when pushed hard by the beneficiaries has gone viral on social media.
Each 300-sq.ft house is being constructed at a cost of ₹4.50 lakh. “The beneficiaries have to construct the house with their own funds, and then upon completion of construction, they will get reimbursed. Since the beneficiaries here were unable to construct the houses on their own, the present panchayat president is funding the work. This has made the former president unhappy,” an official said.
An FIR has been filed against those who stopped the construction of the houses. Panchayat president Velayudham said he belonged to a Scheduled Caste community but won in the General category.
The “shaking” walls will be pulled down and reconstructed. “The contractor has to put in a bit of advance for the materials and labour and will be repaid as and when we get funds. A road is being laid to the houses and a water tank is also coming up in the area,” he said.
