Across Indian cities, resettlement policies have often failed to provide long-term solutions for displaced communities, leaving them with insecure tenure, inadequate infrastructure, and limited growth opportunities. These challenges become even more apparent in resettlement schemes such as Chennai’s Perumbakkam, where displaced communities were relocated into government-built apartments nearly 30 kilometres away.
Antony, one of the first allottees of a plot in Chennai’s Ambedkar Nagar, compares plots and apartments. He explains that having land allows gradual construction and improvements. “This is best. Here, with land, we can construct over time. There (in Perumbakkam), they cannot. There, even if they have money, they cannot do anything.” Ambedkar Nagar is one of the oldest resettlement sites in the city.
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How it started
In Ambedkar Nagar, the Sites and Services (S&S) model was initiated in the 1980s as an alternative to traditional resettlement schemes. Instead of the state constructing houses for allotted residents, the S&S approach allows people to build and upgrade their homes over time. The Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB), now called the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB), acquired large plots of land and converted them into serviced plots. This gave residents the flexibility to improve their homes gradually, based on their needs and financial situation.
More than 30 years after its introduction, Ambedkar Nagar has grown into a low-rise, high-density cohesive community. Despite the absence of formal land titles, residents have steadily upgraded their homes.
As Thangamani, an original allottee, says, “They didn’t provide us a readymade house. They gave us vacant land and a loan of ₹8,000 to help us start building. With that money, we built a very small room, Ole Veedu (temporary house). Over the years, as we saved more money, we were able to construct a better house on our own.”
How has this been possible? And what does this tell us about tenure security and incremental housing?
The evolution of sites and services
The S&S approach emerged globally as a response to the inefficiency of conventional top-down housing approaches — which refer to the centralised planning and implementation of housing projects by government bodies or large developers, often with limited input from local communities.
This model, advocated by housing experts like John Turner and supported by organisations like the World Bank, was designed to empower residents through self-help housing initiatives. However, the Ambedkar Nagar project was the first of its kind, entirely financed and implemented by the State and Central governments, without direct involvement from international agencies.
Unlike the typical S&S model, where families receive serviced plots to build their own homes, in Ambedkar Nagar, the TNSCB mostly provided pre-built housing units. This meant that resettled families had little room for customisation or self-construction, as initially envisioned in the S&S approach.
Implementation in Ambedkar Nagar
The aim was to move families from informal settlements and pavement dwellings into more structured housing. However, Ambedkar Nagar, located 15 km south of Chennai near Velachery Lake, was considered remote at the time, making it difficult for residents to access jobs, social connections, and essential services.
“I am selling fish and earning. There’s one basket on my head and one on my hip, and I go around selling fish. I will get ₹1000 a day only if I go to sell fish; if I don’t go, how can I eat?” asks a resident. This disconnection led many to vacate the area in search of better opportunities.
Key factors that impacted residents:
- Although the model encouraged residents to upgrade their homes over time, the lack of formal land titles and affordable financing made long-term investments uncertain. Still, many gradually expanded and improved their houses.
- The relocation initially disrupted social networks and livelihoods, but shared challenges like poor infrastructure and tenure insecurity eventually strengthened community solidarity.
It took years of gradual adaptation, community cohesion, and incremental housing upgrades for Ambedkar Nagar to evolve into the more developed and resilient community it is today.
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Perceived tenure security
So, how did the community development happen?
The confidence that residents would not face eviction has been crucial to the relative success of the S&S model in Ambedkar Nagar. Even without formal land titles, many families have lived here for decades, reinforcing their sense of ownership. Ramesh, a second-generation resident, shared: “We have lived here for a long time. Nobody has asked us to leave. We built extra rooms when the family grew, and we see others doing the same.”
Some residents still feel uncertain due to the lack of formal land titles. While many believe long-term occupancy secures their right to stay, rising evictions in Chennai have increased anxiety about their legal status. “No patta (land title), nothing they gave us,” says an original allottee.
Despite all this, both original allottees and second-generation residents have developed a strong sense of security in their homes. This feeling of stability could be rooted in several interconnected factors. Firstly, many original allottees rely on their allotment letters, while second-generation residents often depend on notarised agreements and informal transactions.
Although these documents lack formal legal recognition, they still provide a sense of ownership and belonging. Additionally, long-term residence in the area and the bonds formed within the neighbourhood have reinforced this perception of security. The absence of government intervention, particularly in the form of eviction threats, has further strengthened residents’ trust that their homes are safe. Together, these factors have enabled families to invest in their homes and communities, despite the uncertainty of formal legal protection.
Incremental housing: Going beyond construction
Incremental housing in S&S projects is more than just construction—it shapes social, economic, and cultural dynamics. In Ambedkar Nagar, residents have expanded their homes over time, adding extra rooms, balconies, and rental units to accommodate growing families and generate income.
Sita, a second-generation resident, describes her experience: “When we came here, the house was just one small room. Over time, we built another floor and added more rooms because our family was growing, and we needed more space.”
These upgrades have not just improved living conditions. Community investments in infrastructure like water supply, sanitation, and public spaces have strengthened neighbourhood bonds, fostering a sense of shared responsibility and belonging.
Challenges: Where the system falls short
Despite its successes, the S&S approach in Ambedkar Nagar faces ongoing challenges. The most pressing include:
- Lack of formal land titles: Many residents have waited decades for legal ownership, creating uncertainty about their rights. Vanessa Peter, founder of Information and Resource Centre for Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC), says, “The families should be issued sale deeds and transfer of patta at the earliest. Sale deed camps being organised in various settlements developed under the Slum Improvement Programme under the MUDP/TNUDP should also be organised in this settlement.” This highlights the urgent need for formalising land ownership to secure residents’ tenure and enable long-term investments in their homes.
- Poor infrastructure: Roads, drainage, and sanitation facilities remain inadequate, particularly since the number of inhabitants has increased considerably, affecting daily life.
- Market pressures: As land values rise, residents face informal sales and rent hikes, which could lead to displacement.
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While Ambedkar Nagar residents benefit from the flexibility of incremental housing, the lack of legal security leaves them vulnerable to eviction or market pressures. This raises important questions about the long-term sustainability of the S&S model.
Call to action: A shared responsibility
The S&S model offers valuable lessons for urban development by fostering community-driven growth and incremental housing improvements. However, its long-term success depends on action from governments, civil society, and residents themselves.
If the government is committed to providing adequate housing and protecting citizens’ rights, it must fulfil its promise to resettled communities by issuing formal land titles. Without this, the full potential of the S&S model may never be realised.
This step is essential not only to secure residents’ tenure but also to ensure that S&S projects remain inclusive, resilient, paving the way for more equitable urban futures.
[With inputs from Vanessa Peter of IRCDUC.]
This article is based on findings from an academic thesis research project conducted by Sagar Jayaramulu under the supervision of Dr Maartje van Eerd, as part of a Research Atelier Program at the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS), Erasmus University Rotterdam. The project was supported by IRCDUC and knowledge partner Anna University, with research funding support through a travel grant from EFL Stichting.