Congress MP Shashi Tharoor writes to CM Pinarayi Vijaya over Revenue division office shifting
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Shashi Tharoor MP has urged Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to reinstate Neyyattinkara taluk to the Thiruvananthapuram revenue divisional office. Recently, the government had added 21 villages of Neyyattinkara taluk and Kattakada taluk under the new revenue division of Nedumangad. This move invited widespread criticism from the elected representatives irrespective of political parties from the Neyyattinkara, Kovalam and Parassala regions.
In a letter to Vijayan, Tharoor said the government’s decision was unscientific, causing huge inconvenience to his rural constituents. Tharoor pointed out the people of Neyyattinkara taluk need to travel a long distance to reach the revenue division office at Nedumangad.
Earlier, the revenue offices at the civil station at Kudappanakunnu were even more convenient to them as it was equidistant from Parassala, Kovalam and Neyyattinkara. However, the new decision made them travel a long distance which is highly unscientific. Besides, this will also create unnecessary expenses. The common man always needs to rely on a revenue division office to fulfil his/her daily requirements related to birth-death registration, revenue cases and other cases related to the police department.
So, the sudden shift of revenue division will leave the people of Neyyattinkara taluk in a lurch, Tharoor said in the letter.
Hence, the MP requested the CM to look into the matter seriously and to reallocate the Neyyattinkara taluk under Thiruvananthapuram revenue division. Tharoor had also sent a copy of the letter to Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan to reconsider the government’s decision. Last week, the opposition parties had also observed a hartal in Neyyattinkara taluk protesting against the government’s move.
The Nedumangad revenue division became a reality on April 30. The government decided to begin a new division following a long-standing demand from those residing in hilly areas in the district. In February 2016, the then Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had announced plans to form the Nedumangad revenue division following a report by the District Collector favouring the formation.
Thiruvananthapuram has 14 Assembly constituencies and six taluks, but only one Revenue Division until now. Back then, the Collector had favoured the creation of the new revenue division covering Nedumangad and Kattakada.