Trifurcation of Sub-Registrar Office in Thiruporur draws flak from residents

The people of Sathankuppam in Kelambakkam are up in arms against the decision of the Revenue department to take over their community hall and convert it into a Sub-Registrar Office (SRO).

“It has been built on the land belonging to Siva Sakthi Vinayakar temple of the village. The hall has two floors, and the first floor has been built with public funds. The hall is being let out to the poor for ₹3,000 per day. As the facility has been taken over by the department now for setting up the SRO, the building cannot be used for the purpose for which it was constructed,” said Divya Ravichandran, a councillor.  

Vinodhkannan, another resident, said that previously to register lands they had to go to Thiruporur, which is 8 km away. “No resolution was passed in the council to take over the hall. The keys were just handed over to the department. Many of us residents have lands and sell them too. Now, we have an office on our own land and yet we have to go to Navalur, which is 10 km away. There is no logic in this decision,” he pointed out.

The SRO has come up in Sathankuppam as the result of the trifurcation of the office in Thiruporur, which is over 150-years-old. The trifurcation has attracted a lot of flak from residents in villages, including Thiruporur, Sirudavur, Ambur, Karunguzhipallam, Porundhavakkam, Salavankuppam, Paiyyanur, Pattipulam, Krishnankaranai and Nemmeli, who will have to go to Kelambakkam or Navalur for registrations.

K. Sivaraman, a resident of Thiruporur, said that people in Pattipulam, Paiyyaur, Nemmeli and Krishnankaranai have to go to Kelambakkam instead of coming to Thiruporur, which is closer. “Even those going to Kelambakkam and Navalur have to come to Thiruporur for obtaining approvals and pattas, since this is the taluk headquarters and block headquarters. The trifurcation has been done without application of the mind. We are wondering what was the hurry to have temporary buildings as offices. They could have built proper offices on poromboke lands and then moved the records. Now there is every chance that records might go missing or get mixed up,” he said.

Residents and representatives of political parties have been staging protests demanding that the trifurcation be carried out after studying the geography of the area properly and keeping in mind the distance people would have to travel to get work done at SROs.