Chennai’s road height dispute has moved from public protests to direct engagement with engineers and officials, with anti-corruption NGO Arappor Iyakkam asking residents to question road levels before new works begin in January.
The organisation has launched a campaign asking residents to collect, complete and submit pamphlets directly to assistant engineers and executive engineers responsible for road projects. Arappor Iyakkam convener Jayaram Venkatesan said the campaign was aimed at the officials who decide how roads are designed and laid, rather than only at creating public awareness.
The pamphlets list six demands, including recording and publishing road measurements, withholding contractor payments when road levels are raised and compensating affected homeowners by up to ₹40 lakh. The campaign is scheduled to continue through December, ahead of road-laying work expected in January.
Venkatesan urged residents to visit government offices and hand over the pamphlets in person. He said this would help residents identify the assistant engineers and executive engineers responsible for projects and establish whom they should approach with complaints once construction begins. According to him, residents from Chennai and other corporations, including Coimbatore, have requested the pamphlets, which have also been distributed digitally.
The campaign comes after protests and petitions to the government over the practice of raising road levels. The issue has particular significance for homeowners when new road surfaces are placed above existing property entrances and surrounding plots. The supplied report does not establish the number of roads or homes affected across Chennai, but it records concerns from residents and civic activists about the consequences of road work carried out without adequate oversight.
Sandhya V, an Anna Nagar resident and civic activist, said awareness alone would not be enough unless residents began questioning authorities. She referred to a Greater Chennai Corporation circular issued on October 6 stating that road height must not be raised. She also alleged that patchwork on Second Main Road in Anna Nagar was carried out without milling, or scraping away, the old surface before the new layer was placed.
Sandhya further alleged that Greater Chennai Corporation officials do not supervise contractor work adequately and said residents ultimately bear the consequences when construction quality is poor. Her comments place the dispute not only around the level of individual roads, but also around how municipal instructions are translated into work at street level.
Arappor Iyakkam’s demands now put measurement records, payment control and possible compensation at the centre of the campaign. Residents are expected to approach engineers before road-laying activity begins, while the organisation continues distributing its pamphlets through December.
