TENKASI: Around 1,500 petitions were reportedly received from public and political parties by officials at the first public grievance-day meet of the newly-formed Tenkasi district. The meeting, chaired by collector G K Arun Sundar Thayalan, on Monday was held at a private marriage hall opposite the Tenkasi RDO office.
Noted among those petitions was of the DMK opposing construction of the master complex to permanently house the Collector’s office at Ayiraperi village here.
The DMK petition submitted in the name of Sivapadmanaban, secretary, United Tirunelveli (west) district, also suggested an alternate site at the Tamil Nadu warehousing premises, where a temporary collectorate building is to be constructed at a cost of Rs 4.62 crore.
“This will also reduce the cost, as the buildings to be constructed for Rs 4.62 crore for the temporary collector’s office also would become part of the permanent collectorate,” opined the DMK leaders.
They also pointed out that the site selected for the collector’s temporary office, located just opposite the Tenkasi new bus stand, would be easily accessible to the public.
The 32-acre-land of the ‘seed farm’, selected to house the master complex which includes the Collector’s and district police superintendent’s permanent offices, surrounded by PWD tanks on three sides, is said to be unsuitable for construction, as it is a marshy land.
“To lay new roads to the site connecting Tenkasi bypass as stated by Collector Thayalan would be possible only by encroaching upon the water bodies,” the petition pointed out.
However, Collector Thayalan said the feasibility of constructing the master complex would be taken up on consultation with appropriate agencies including the PWD after a soil test.
Revenue officials said, the first grievance day meeting of the new district, received an overwhelming response from public. Apart from petitions submitted by political parties like the DMK and Tamil Puligal, around 1,500 petitions from the public have also been reportedly received. Many of the petitions received were related to old-age pension, land patta and patta transfers.
