Every time 73-year-old Sheikh Mohiuddin, a resident of Cholaimedu, wanted to avail any of the state-sponsored welfare schemes for the aged, he would prepare himself for an ordeal — the exhausting trip to Egmore, which is where the taluk office was located.
With a new taluk office having been opened at Aminjikarai, this problem is a thing of the past. It is headed by tasildar S. Sekar
The establishment of the new taluk office has made it considerably easier for thousands of residents to access government services and get documents such as birth and death certificates. “Earlier, I had to go all the way to Egmore to get any certificates including community certificates. If the work got delayed, I had to travel a couple of times there. ,” said S. Krishna, a resident of Anna Nagar.
The Aminjikarai taluk was formed recently following the bifurcation of the Egmore–Nungambakkam taluk, which included Vepery, Kilpauk, Kodambakkam, Choolaimedu and Aminjikarai. Among the areas the new taluk office will cater to are Anna Nagar, Villivakkam (up to Nathamuni theatre on Thirumangalam Road), Koyambedu, Arumbakkam, MMDA and Tirumangalam.
As per the norms, a new taluk office can be created if a group of areas in the neighbourhood has at least five lakh population or more. The office provides certificates pertaining to community, legal heirship, income, nativity, residential, field boundary, patta transfer, old-age pension and scholarship documents. It will also disburse relief in the event of a disaster and be responsible for eviction of squatters on government land.
According to officials, the government had in 1964 divided the city, which earlier had only two taluks, north and south — into five taluks. It has now carved out the five additional taluks of Velachery, Purasawalkam, Ayanavaram, Aminjikarai and Guindy. The existing taluk offices at Periamet, Perambur, Chetpet, Mylapore and K.K. Nagar continue to remain the headquarters of Tondiarpet, Perambur, Egmore, Mylapore and Mambalam taluks respectively. The new taluk functions from a rented building.
The revenue department got land from the Chennai Corporation near the Thiru Vi Kaa park in Aminjikarai to set up its own building for the taluk. “Currently, around 100 applicants visit the new taluk office on West Mada Street every day . A permanent building for the new taluk will be opened next year,” said a revenue official.
