The Namakkal district Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has directed the Namakkal Municipal Corporation (NMC) to pay Rs 50,00 in compensation to a petitioner for providing inadequate service related to the delimitation of a vacant plot.

The petitioner, Tamilselvi, a 56-year-old resident of Karuveppampatty near Tiruchengode, purchased a 3,200-square-foot plot within the corporation's limits in 2000. In February 2021, she applied for the state's delimitation scheme and paid a Rs 500 registration fee, submitting all necessary documents. The NMC then forwarded the application to the Assistant Director of Urban Development for approval of the unauthorised housing plot.

In May 2021, the NMC received approval instructions, directing it to collect the delimitation and development fees and issue the delimitation order. However, Tamilselvi's husband, Karthikeyan, who repeatedly approached the corporation for processing, did not receive a proper response and was eventually asked to reapply for delimitation. Tamilselvi submitted a new application in August 2021, paying the registration fee again. Later, in October 2021, she paid the corporation Rs 26,820 as a development fee, Rs 74,500 as a delimitation fee, and Rs 500 for Flag Day. Despite these payments, the delimitation order was never issued.

Frustrated with the lack of response, Tamilselvi filed a complaint with the NCDRC in April 2023. After hearing arguments from both sides, NCDRC Judge V. Ramaraj, along with members R. Ramola and N. Lakshmanan, found that the NMC had provided inadequate service. They ordered the corporation to compensate Tamilselvi with Rs 50,000 within four weeks for the distress and inconvenience caused.

(ET)