A group of residents from Leprosy Patients’ Rehabilitation Centre at Sathya Nagar in Pettai on Monday submitted a petition to Collector Shilpa Prabhakar Satish against the proposed move to convert a cremation ground used by them into housing plots.
Led by Centre president S.V. Stephen Raj, residents expressed their objection to revenue officials’ plan to divide the cremation ground into housing plots for distribution to beneficiaries.
The residents of the Centre were using the cremation ground near Narasinganallur for 30 years. However, the Department of Revenue had marked it for distribution to beneficiaries as housing plots and installed ‘marker stones.’ Hence, the Collector should intervene to put an end to the acquisition, Mr. Stephen Raj said.
Plea for borewell water
According to petitioners from Mela Ilanthaikulam, housing 600 families, they approached panchayat clerk Muthupandian with a plea for a borewell in their village as there was no drinking water supply to their hamlet. Although he agreed to sanction ₹40,000 for the project, Mr. Muthupandian said the amount would be released only if there was adequate supply of water in the borewell.
Subsequently, the villagers mobilised ₹49,000 to sink a borewell, which yielded adequate quantity of water to fulfil their requirements. Of this, ₹9,000 was borne by the residents and the rest by the village panchayat.
“However, the panchayat clerk did not take any step to lay distribution lines to bring water to our area. Instead, he took steps to take water from the borewell to residents living another area, who did not bear the expenses for sinking the borewell. When we questioned it, he verbally abused us and told us to submit a petition to the Collector if we have any objection. Besides transferring the problematic panchayat clerk, the Collector should instruct officials concerned to ensure distribution of drinking water to us as we have borne a portion of the project cost,” said P. Ulagan of Ilanthaikulam.
The petitioners also said the Collector should take steps to improve sanitary conditions in the village and instal streetlights.
Payment counter
A group of residents from Pattamadai submitted a petition in protest against the shifting of the electricity bill remitting counter from their hamlet to Cheranmahadevi. Since the residents had to travel to Cheranmahadevi to pay the bill, the facility should be reopened at Pattamadai itself.
‘Land usurped’
Petitioner R. Balammal of Vasanthapuram in Melapalayam submitted a petition seeking criminal action against three persons, who allegedly created forged documents to sell a land belonging to her family.
She said her maternal uncle Ayyadurai’s land had been usurped by a person from the same area, who is now living in Mumbai and his son by creating forged documents and had sold the same to a person from Melapalayam.
“Since my maternal uncle and his wife, who do not have any children, have already passed away, the property was inherited by us as we are the legal heirs. However, the Mumbai-based person and his son have created fake documents to sell the property to another person from Melapalayam by registering it in the Sub-Registrar’s Office in Melapalayam. Hence, the Collector should instruct the police to take appropriate action against those who created forged documents for usurping our property,” Ms. Balammal said.
