TNIC Orders GCC Officials to Visit T Nagar Resident Over Urimai Thogai Rejection

The Tamil Nadu Information Commission has directed Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) officials to personally visit the T Nagar residence of a 79-year-old man to conduct an inquiry into the rejection of his wife’s application for the Urimai Thogai scheme. State Information Commissioner Atulya Misra issued the order on July 29 while disposing of a petition filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

The petitioner, Vidhya Sankar of T Nagar, had filed the RTI application seeking clear reasons behind the government rejecting his wife's request for the monthly financial assistance scheme.

During the commission hearing, a representative appearing on behalf of the Greater Chennai Corporation stated that replies to the RTI queries had already been furnished to the applicant. However, Sankar submitted his formal objections to the response before the panel during the proceedings.

According to the Greater Chennai Corporation, the woman's application under the Urimai Thogai scheme was turned down on the grounds that her annual family income exceeded Rs 2.5 lakh, which is one of the official eligibility criteria established for beneficiaries.

Corporation officials informed the information panel that applications for the scheme are largely submitted online, meaning that physical records are not maintained in some instances. The civic body noted that senior citizen couples like Sankar and his wife could have faced operational difficulties or made mistakes while filling out the online forms for the assistance program.

In light of these circumstances, the Information Commission directed the GCC’s public information officer to coordinate a home visit by appropriate civic officials to the applicant’s T Nagar residence. The officials must verify all original documents relating to the application and submit an action taken report on or before August 31.