Farmers miffed over stopping of registration corrections

RANIPET: Farmers, whose lands are registered wrongly, are unable to cancel such registrations following the department putting on hold en masse all such issues due to a case in the Madras High Court.

Farmers Muniandy of Karanavoor in Nemili taluk complained to the Ranipet district registrar on May 29 this year seeking cancellation of the registration as his land was registered as Survey number 36/1B2 instead of 36/1B3 at the sub registrar’s office at Kaveripakkam. When he turned up at the office seeking a remedy, he was told that his file was missing. He was asked to return after two weeks when too he was told that his complaint status was still ‘file missing.”

“I wonder how a government office can give this excuse when they very well know that such issues affect farmers who are not very rich,” he fumed.

Similarly, S Fausia Beevi, wife of Shamsudeen of Sayanapuram village in her complaint to the district registrar said that her land was illegally registered in somebody else’s name and sought cancellation of the registration in December 6, 2021. Here too, she was initially told here file was missing and finally when she was asked to appear in person for an enquiry, officials refused to conduct the enquiry citing a court case and there the issue hangs today.

However, Gunasekaran of Wallajapet faced another kind of problem. On October 16, 2021, he registered land in two instalments. While he paid the official fees of Rs 90,000 for the first lot, he paid another Rs 8,000 for the second lot. When he sought registration documents through the document writer, the latter informed him that Rs 61,000 had to be paid, to ‘higher ups’ if he wants to get what he needed.

Gunasekaran demanded to know why he had to pay extra when he had paid the required government fees and given the document writer his fees.

“I am now in terrible mental stress as in spite of paying Rs 30,000 of the Rs 61,000 demanded there has been no result,” he rued. Speaking on this matter, District Registrar said that files missing might have been an excuse used by the staff as the IG had ordered stoppage of cancellation of registrations across Tamil Nadu due to an ongoing court case. Asked when this would end and those affected be given their proper due, she said “no idea.”