Anxiety and pain were writ on her face while she was awaiting her turn to meet Mayor Mr. Tony Chammany. It was the promise of instant gratification to the long pending grievance that attracted her to the adalat conducted by the Kochi corporation on Monday.
Mrs. T.M Sumathi from Chottanikara came with a request that as her husband, who was a CLR (casual labourer) worker with the corporation, died when in service, she should be appointed under the dying-in-harness scheme.
The woman told the mayor that she was in dire straits with no means for living. “With two schoolgoing children, debt of Rs. 5 lakh and no regular income, I am in dire straits.”
However, the mayor informed her that as there was no such scheme for CLR workers, the matter should be sent to government for taking a humanitarian stance. Though she cannot be considered for an existing vacancy, her name can be included in the CLR list and considered as per priority, said the mayor.
Mayor Mr. Tony Chammany held the adalat in an effort to reach people and clear the backlog of files. The first adalat held at Ernakulam Town Hall was for the eastern Kochi area. As many as 60 applicants appeared for the adalat. Most numbers were in the revenue and town planning sections.
Most applications were requests for tax deduction and issue of completion certificate for buildings. More than 20 applications for various welfare pensions were also considered at the adalat.
The mayor said that several files had been settled in the adalat while some of them which involve policy decisions and government sanction have been sent to the steering committee for consideration. “The number of applications is less than expected. However, the civic body will go ahead with the programme. Routine adalats will be conducted every four months.”
According to him, the adalat received a good response from the public. Deputy mayor Mrs. B Bhadra, standing committee chairmen Mr. T.J Vinod, T.K Ashraf, Mr. R Thyagarajan, Mr. K.J Sohan, Mrs Essy Joseph, Mrs Soumini Jain, council secretary Mr. Ajith Patil, councillors and officials attended the adalat.
