Kerala: Post-poll disturbances, security of 7 lakh people at risk

Thiruvananthapuram: With the assembly elections approaching, file processing in Kerala has stalled due to government negligence. Reports indicate that the number of pending files in the Secretariat and department head offices has exceeded 700,000. Despite the Chief Minister’s repeated reminders to officials that every file is a life, they are unimpressed. Even the establishment of a special court to process files has not seen any significant change. The government’s term is about to end, so officials are hesitant to take decisions on files. Discussions are swirling in government offices about whether the election will result in a change in government or a continuation. Many files are unlikely to see any movement until a new government is formed. With the announcement of the elections, file movement may come to a complete halt. The transfer of officials in connection with the elections has also become a setback. These transferred officials are showing no interest in clearing files. With most officials in the Revenue Department engaged in election duty, file clearance will be delayed. Officials in other departments are also burdened with election work. Only 52% of the pending files in the Secretariat were resolved in the court. 60% of the files were also resolved in the department head’s office. The Chief Minister himself took the initiative and held a court from July 1 to August 31 for the resolution of the files. 2. The Administrative Reforms Department again issued an order giving 16 point instructions to resolve the pending files even after the court period. Still the progress is slow. 3. Resolution was taking place at three levels: Secretariat level, department head level, and files of those institutions which have contact with the public. The order of priority was also decided according to the subjects present in the files. Total files pending in the Secretariat: 305,555 Disposed of in court: 158,336 Pending in the department: 909,778 Disposed of in court: 549,267 Portal not even launched The IT department was directed to consider creating a dedicated portal for quick action on public complaints and petitions, but this did not happen. This directive was related to the file court.