The government stated that declaration of slums would only encourage encroachmentDespite hundreds of slums cropping up in the city, not a single slum has been officially recognised since 1985 by the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board, said a report released by Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC). After the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Act of 1971 was passed, around 1,202 slums in Chennai were recognised, and 17 more were added to the list in 1985. Most of the slums were improved in situ, either by building tenements or by providing basic services, as mandated in the Act. However, not a single new slum has been officially recognised in the city since then. About 51 per cent of slum dwellers in the city, according to the report, belonged to Scheduled Castes and Tribes.

Source: The Hindu September 11, 2016 22:18 UTC