KOLLAM: It appears the district is poised for a clean makeover. Assuming charge as the 44th District Collector on Tuesday, S Karthikeyan promised to take up waste management programmes and infrastructure projects.
In a brief chat with Express, the new Collector said while his focus will be to ensure the timely implementation of major developmental and welfare programmes of the state government, fisheries sector will also be given special consideration. He said in the next couple of days, he will channelise his efforts to study the district and its problems.
“I think it will be premature to say I am giving priority to such and such areas. First of all, I will have to make myself aware of the problems of the district. At the same time, I can say my primary objective will be to ensure government programmes like Haritha Keralam and Ardram Mission are being executed without any hiccups,” said Karthikeyan.
“Another area I would like to focus on is the infrastructural development of the district. For that works will have to be completed on time. At present, there are some issues in the sector including that of the quarries. We will have to consider the environmental and developmental aspects of quarries. I had talks with the contractors and I will seriously look into the complaints raised by them,” the Collector said.
According to Karthikeyan, initiatives will be taken to make Kollam a model district in waste management. When asked about his plans for the fisheries sector, he said, “How could I overlook it? It’s my own sector. When I was Fisheries Director I was able to introduce a number of schemes and programmes for the welfare of the fisherfolk. As District Collector, my full attention will be to make sure they get the most from these programmes.”
Meanwhile, sources with the Revenue Department said the acid test for Karthikeyan will be to untangle the deadlock in the construction sector as government contractors are already up in arms against the laxity of the department and district administration in clearing the bills and capping the prices of construction materials. They are also at loggerheads over the suicide of two government contractors allegedly due to the delay in clearing their dues.
“Of the many crises he had before him, the issue in the construction sector might be the one that tops his list,” said a source. “In May 2016, taking a serious note on the crisis in the construction sector, the District Development Committee meeting itself passed a resolution demanding the urgent intervention of authorities concerned to address the issue. Also, the delay in resolving the crisis made two MPs - N K Premachandran and Kodikkunil Suresh - openly come out against the district administration.”
Premachandran staged a day-long hunger-strike in front of the Kollam Collectorate and took up the matter with the MPLAD wing of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
Kodikkunil Suresh during the conference of the MPs of Kerala sought the urgent intervention of the Chief Minister in ensuring timely sanction of works under MPLAD by the district administration.