THOOTHUKUDI: Residents of Punnakayal urged the district administration to ensure water supply to their hamlet during the public grievance redressal meeting here on Monday.
District Revenue Officer S Ajay Seenivasan presided over the meeting, following the transfer of District Collector G Lakshmipathy, and received over 570 petitions.
According to the petition given by the residents of Punnakayal, the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD) and the panchayat has not supplied water for the past two months. Over 10,000 people live in the hamlet, mostly seafarers. Despite every house having a connection under the Jal Jeevan scheme, they are yet to get water, forcing them to buy water for `10 per pot. The villagers urged the district collector to ensure water supply for them.
‘Former BDO siphoned funds’
In another petition, Srivaikuntam union chairman S Vasantha, also the AIADMK district deputy secretary, alleged that one Sivarajan, who served as the block development officer (BDO) for the union between March 8, 2023, and June 14, 2024, mishandled funds and fraudulently allotted houses meant for 2023 December flood victims to others. To restore flood damages in the villages in Srivaikuntam union, Rs 1.55 crore had been utilised from the union general fund, as per the cash book.
During the block-level meeting, Sivarajan presented the expenditure details for only Rs 1.27 crore, which is Rs 27 lakh less than the amount withdrawn. The mismatch revealed a huge scam, the petition stated. Hence, the audit report had been withheld during the recently held union councillor’s meet.
Vasantha told media persons that the district collector must order an investigation into the misappropriation of funds by the BDO and other officials, and recover the money.
‘Probe illegal allocation of land patta’
Activist Gandhi Mallar alleged that the former Thoothukudi tahsildar illegally issued a patta for land allotted for a playground, which is at least worth Rs 10 crore. The suspected landowners had produced bogus documents while applying for the patta.
He also charged that the town planning officials arbitrarily approved the layout without obtaining necessary permission from the Thoothukudi corporation, which has authority over the playgrounds. The district administration must initiate necessary action against the officials and others involved in the scam, the activist said.