The district consumer disputes redressal forum here has fined Madurai Corporation for failing to provide assistance to two residents of New Ellis Nagar here under the slum development programme.
The litigants K. Vanitha and K. Nithya, residents of R.C. Church Road approached the forum stating that the corporation authorities did not provide them monetary assistance to reconstruct their houses, despite requests.
“The officials promised to disburse the assistance in instalment. Relying on the promise, I demolished the existing building, took loans from outside sources for interest and initiated the construction. But I received only one instalment of the assistance,” Ms. Vanitha told the forum. She said the officials did not provide necessary information when she filed a query under the Right to Information Act.
According to Ms. Nithya, the corporation authorities had promised to disburse assistance. However, despite her paying property and drainage taxes for the house, they did not provide her the assistance to which she was lawfully entitled.
Therefore, the litigants filed separate petitions seeking a direction to the Corporation Commissioner to disburse an assistance of Rs.60,720 due to each of them.
Besides, they also sought a compensation of Rs.75,000 each for the mental agony they underwent.
No representative from Madurai Corporation appeared before the forum and hence, P. Deivaraj, president of the forum and N.Thilagam, member of the forum, delivered an ex-parte judgment, directing the commissioner to pay Rs.60,720 each to the two litigants.
The commissioner was also directed to pay Rs.7,000 more to each of the two litigants for the mental agony and towards court expenses.
