Sholinganallur taluk yet to get treasury account

CHENNAI: More than 18 months after coming into existence, the Sholinganallur taluk  office on Old Mamallapuram Road (OMR) remains without a bank account where money paid for land transactions, community certificates and other jobs can be deposited. Presently, applicants deposit the required sum at the SBI branch attached to the Tambaram taluk office on GST Road and submit the receipt at Sholinganallur. There is an SBI branch near the Sholinganallur taluk office but the RBI is yet to give its nod for the branch to receive money from the applicants. "The taluk office was opened on December 31, 2009. We gave complaints to officials at all levels of governance including CM's cell on grievances and commissioner of treasuries and accounts," says G Satish of Semmenchery. Most of the applicants are senior citizens and women, who come to get certificates for land patta, birth and death certificates, copies of land records and other documents, are the most affected. The distance between Sholinganallur and West Tambaram is 36km and the two are not directly connected by bus. People have to change two buses to reach Tambaram and walk another two km to the bank. "Delays, either at the taluk office or at the bank, force us to visit the taluk office often. For elderly people like me, it is physically tiring," says K Sarawathi of Perungudi. After a Government Order was issued on December 24, 2009, bifurcating Sholinganallur and Alandur taluks from Tambaram, the taluk office at Sholinganallur began functioning on December 31, 2009. Since then, however, it has not got proper administrative and infrastructure facilities. Officials say they have taken up the issue with the government many times. "The government has also written to the RBI for its nod to allow the SBI branch at Sholinganallur to receive amount from people coming to the taluk office but nothing has been done."

TOI