The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Consumers air grievances

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Thursday, Jul 05, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Consumers air grievances

Staff Reporter

CHENNAI: Consumers from across the state aired their grievances at a meeting organised by Tamil Nadu Consumers’ Protection Organisation here on Tuesday.

Many of them said they were denied the right to live peacefully, in some cases by government officials and politicians. Several women’s organisations that participated in the daylong meeting explained their problems. “The story of Tamil Nadu Drivers’ Wives Association shocked us,” said C. Paul Barnabas, district president of the organisation. “We could not believe that even the officials were not listening to them.”

Founder Leena Joshi said: “The association was formed in 1987. In response to our demand, then Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran granted us 20 acres and 43 cents of land for 600 members in Thoraipakkam. The cost of a cent of land then was Rs.10,900.”

Though the chief minister had approved the site, they have not been given title deeds yet. The association members also had to battle two ministers who allegedly tried to occupy the land.

After the tsunami, “we were told that the land would be given to the victims of the tsunami. We prevented the move through court. Though the Tahsildar and the court acknowledged the document, the district officials want us to lease the land to the engineering college,” she alleged.

In the southern part of the city, including Guindy, Adyar and Tiruvanmiyur, real estate brokers are forcing house owners to hand over homes that have already been rented out. The information technology industry boom has adversely affected middle class residents here, said M. Natchatra Mary of Nivedhan Women’s Development Trust.

The brokers offered house owners twice the amount that current residents were paying as rent, she said.

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