BELAGAVI: An error caused by a staff member at a local revenue office has left a 62-year-old man in a difficult situation. He has been fighting for more than 17 months to prove that he is "alive."
Ganapati Khachu Kakatkar of Savgaon village in Belagavi taluk was declared "dead," and his proof of identity, such as his Aadhar card, was cancelled by the tahsildar’s office one and a half years ago.
The problem began after Ganapati and his brothers applied for a "succession certificate" to claim their rights over six acres and 23 guntas of land, which was in the name of their late grandfather.
Ganapati’s grandfather, Masanu Shattu Kakatkar, died on February 2, 1976. Before his death, he transferred nine acres of land each to his three sons and kept six acres and 23 guntas for himself.
Even after his death, Masanu’s three sons did not bother to transfer the land to their names. A few years later, Masanu’s three sons passed away. Masanu’s eight grandsons, including Ganapati, decided to get the land transferred to their names two years ago.
When the grandsons did not receive their grandfather’s death certificate from the tahsildar’s office to apply for the "succession certificate," they filed a petition before the Fourth JMFC Court in Belagavi. Subsequently, the court directed the tahsildar’s office to issue Masanu’s death certificate to the petitioners.
After the revenue inspector’s office at Hindalga prepared the death certificate, a computer operator there asked Ganapati to provide his Aadhar card as proof of identity. However, the computer operator mistakenly entered Ganapati’s Aadhar card number instead of his grandfather’s and printed it on the death certificate. At the same time, Ganapati’s Aadhar number was locked, and his name was deleted from the ration card, marking him as "not alive." Ganapati, who discovered this on August 3, 2023, visited all local offices, including the tahsildar’s, to get the issue rectified. However, no official was able to provide a solution.
In June 2024, he learned that his name had been deleted because the computer operator had entered his Aadhar card number in his grandfather’s death certificate. With no official taking action, Ganapati approached Deputy Commissioner Mohammed Roshan along with his family members and an advocate on January 6 to prove that he is "alive." Roshan promised Ganapati that the issue would be resolved soon and directed the assistant commissioner to initiate action.