The Tamil Nadu Information Commission has directed the Adi-Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Director to publish the list of beneficiaries of free house site pattas online. The order follows a number of petitions received by the commission from across the State seeking to know the list of beneficiaries.
Passing orders on a petition seeking details of such beneficiaries in Ambattur, State Information Commissioner S. Muthuraj asked the State authorities to publish the entire list online within two months. The case arises out of a petition filed by E. Kumar of Ayapakkam here, who sought to know under the Right to Information Act (RTI) the list of Adi-Dravidar and tribal beneficiaries who received free house site pattas in Pothur village of Ambattur Taluk.
No response
With no desired response from the Public Information Officer (PIO)/Special Tahsildar, Adi-Dravidar and Tribal Welfare, Tiruvallur district, he filed an appeal before the First Appellate Authority and then moved the commission. The PIO who appeared for the telephonic inquiry informed the State Information Commissioner that the information called for by the petitioner would be provided soon.
Directing the official to provide the information within seven days, Mr. Muthuraj directed the State authorities to publish the entire list of free house site patta beneficiaries in the official website of the Department of Adi-Dravidar and Tribal Welfare, and asked the PIO to appear in the next hearing posted on January 19, 2022.
The information panel order, according to sources in the Department of Adi-Dravidar and Tribal Welfare, assumes significance against the backdrop of allegations and several petitions that a huge land parcel allotted to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was not in their possession due to a variety of reasons and publishing the list of beneficiaries would throw some clarity on the actual names of allottees and their legal heirs.
The move comes at a time when the Tamil Nadu Government has launched a programme to conduct a district-wise enumeration of Narikuravas, tribals and other members of marginalised communities across the State to assess their living conditions and provide basic infrastructural facilities at the earliest, the sources added.
