The Hindu 14.02.2013
Corporation fined
For failure to disburse assistance to two residents.
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.
