Thiruvananthapuram: 78-year-old Bhavani K, despite being the first to arrive at the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation building adalat, had to wait from 9 am to 5.30 pm for her turn. But the wait was worth it this time, as the adalat decided that she be given a temporary TC number. The last few times, she and her 68-year-old brother Sreedharan Nadar had come back emptyhanded. The first time, her application was not even accepted. In December 2016, she was told she would need to produce tax receipts to get a TC number. But she would not be able to remit her tax, until the resurvey of her house, formerly part of Vattiyoorkavu panchayath and now in Vattiyoorkavu ward, was complete. It was a catch 22 situation.
Her old 600 sq ft house, which she inherited from her father, had collapsed during heavy rains in December 2015. The new house was built with the support of a residential association here. After the application was rejected in February, she and her brother met Mayor V K Prasanth with various tattered and yellowing documents, including receipts of resurvey charges remitted in 1987, electricity bills and documents from Vattiyoorkavu panchayath. Her brother came to the Corporation to check the status of the file on May 25, as the building adalat was scheduled for May 29. However, certain incidents provoked him to complain to the Mayor about a clerk who behaved rudely. “This would have been the last time I came here,” Bhavani had said on Monday. Fortunately, she got the temporary TC number, and has been asked to produce a possession certificate from the village office.
