Finance Minister Assists In Lighting Up Kattunayakar Hamlet
Update: 2021-09-10 12:00 IST
A Kattunayakar hamlet at Tirupparankundram in Madurai finally receives electricity upon Finance Minister’s intervention
With the involvement of Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, a 17-year quest for electrical connections for JJ Nagar, a Kattunayakar hamlet in Tirupparankundram, has come to a conclusion. Around six residences were given energy connections within a week of the residents filing a complaint.
In the 1960s, 15 nomadic tribe families who currently reside in a temple property near Thenparankundram, according to MR Murugan, the community head in JJ Nagar. In 2004, local government officials ordered these residents to leave due to infringement on temple property, and ten families were given free patta for land in JJ Nagar.
While in 2007, two additional households received free patta, and ten more families received patta in 2016.
Murugan stated that JJ Nagar was a part of the town panchayat when they moved there. It was added to the Madurai Corporation in 2011. They had to submit for a property tax assessment before they could receive an electrical connection. Officials from the Madurai Corporation, on the other hand, refuted the assessment, claiming that the patta certificate issued by the government was just temporary.
In the hamlet currently, there are 52 families. Around 20 of the 52 dwellings are within the Madurai Corporation's jurisdiction, while the rest are within the Nilaiyur village panchayat's jurisdiction. A few have built homes, while the majority live in huts and tents.
Despite these difficulties, a child from the hamlet completed the Class 12 exams with flying colours last year and is currently pursuing further education. Thirunagar Pakkam, a local NGO, visited the hamlet to provide Covid remedial measures in this situation. When the NGO learned of the community's difficulties, it brought it to the attention of the Finance Minister.
On August 30, they made a Whatsapp complaint to the Finance Minister requesting electricity for their neighbourhood. They received a response from him within hours, stating that officials will contact them immediately. Dhanasekar, the Minister's personal assistant, phoned us and requested that they submit a formal petition the next day at the office.
Meanwhile, theregion was afterwards investigated by a team of authorities from the district administration, Madurai Corporation, and Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. When they discovered that the pattas issued to the families had expired, they promised to renew them. Six of the ten houses were connected to the power grid within a week.