THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With a little over a fortnight remaining for the current financial year to end, local bodies have already spent 59.73 per cent of their plan funds which is an all-time record, claimed Local Self Government Minster K T Jaleel during a discussion on demand for grants in the Assembly.
He added that by the end of this the fiscal, local bodies would achieve a spending target of 64.10 per cent after Rs 336 crore pending in the treasury is released. Jaleel said that in 2016-17, the spending by local bodies was only 34.23 per cent.
He added 69 per cent of the property tax dues were collected by urban local bodies by the end of February this year. During last year, property tax collection stood at 74 per cent. Panchayats were able to net 66.59 per cent of property tax, Jaleel added.The LSG Minister said hundreds of posts in local bodies were filled during the ongoing fiscal. In order to end plastic waste menace, plastic shredding units have been proposed in 84 blocks, 62 municipalities and six Corporations.
Memorandum of Understanding has been inked with Clean Kerala company to set up 158 plastic shredding units. While 49 have already started functioning, 73 will also become operational by May this year, he added.Jaleel lamented that the state received only 0.5 per cent of the Central funds allotted through the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY). Despite this, the state was able to complete 583.31 km of roads under the Central project over the last two years, he added.
Jaleel took the Muslim League by surprise after he came with a list of 44 people who have been killed in violence unleashed by the UDF constituent. He even read out a few of the names which provoked League members to disrupt his speech. But Jaleel went ahead and tabled the list in the Assembly.
Jaleel also hit out at League MLAs jibe as to why CPM in Kerala did not go to Tripura to prevent demolition of Lenin’s statues. The LSG Minister said it was akin to the RSS asking Muslims why they did not rush to Ayodhya when the Babri Masjid was being demolished. Jaleel’s reply to League MLAs’ earlier remarks about Shuhaib’s murder provoked the party’s legislators who demanded that the minister’s remarks be expunged from the records. The Speaker said he would examine the matter and take a decision.
Efforts on to find land for family court: CM
T’Puram: The government will find suitable land in Neyyattinkara to establish the proposed family court, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan informed the Assembly on Monday. Responding to a submission by K Ansalan, Pinarayi said the government’s search for land started after it received a letter from the High Court Registrar in September 2015.“The High Court’s communication had mentioned about a place. But, after the meeting with the registrar, the state police raised opposition over handing over the land. Now, the government is looking for another suitable place,” he said. According to Ansalan, the absence of the court was putting several persons in difficulty.