The Hindu : Kerala News : Government takes over Child Welfare Council

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 07, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Government takes over Child Welfare Council

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, APRIL 6. The Government today issued orders appointing T. K. Gomathy, an Additional Secretary with the Social Welfare department, as the administrator of the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare, even as the Council moved a petition in the High Court demanding that the Government appoint a returning officer to conduct elections to the executive committee of the Council.

The three-year term of the present executive committee of the Council ended on April

4. According to the by-law of the Council, if the elections to the executive committee have not been held before the end of its term, the existing committee can continue for another three months.

If elections have not been held even after this three-month period, the by-law says that the Chief Minister, who is also the president of the Council and the Social Welfare Minister, who is the vice- president, should jointly issue an order appointing a Government official as the administrator.

The general secretary of the Council, Sunil C. Kurien, alleged that the Government has chosen to ignore the provisions in the by-law by issuing the current GO appointing an administrator.

"Even if an administrator was to be appointed, it should have been done by the Chief Minister, and the Social Welfare Minister, wheras the GO has been signed by the Social Welfare Secretary, Lida Jacob, who is only an executive member of the Council. This GO has been issued even as the High Court is to take up tomorrow our petition demanding that the Government take steps to hold elections to the Council's executive committee," he said.

The executive committee has seven elected members, 14 members from all district child welfare councils and the Chief Minister, the Social Welfare Minister, the Social Welfare Director, Secretary, the Director of Health Services and the Director of Public Instruction as the Government representatives.

The Government had on April 2 issued another order removing Mr. Kurien from the Council, following a vigilance report holding him responsible for certain financial irregularities in the Council. Mr. Kurien had subsequently obtained a stay from the High Court on this order.

Mr. Kurien said that the standing committee of the Council (which consists of the elected members of the executive council), had as per the by-law, met on February 3 and passed a resolution demanding that the Government appoint a returning officer so that elections can be held before the committee's term ends.

The said resolution had been forwarded to the Social Welfare Secretary on February 6 and under the by-law, the returning officer should have been posted within 15 days.

He said that the GO issued today cites two letters, one issued by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, dated March 10 and another by an official in the Finance wing, dated March 29, as the reasons for not appointing the returning officer.

"If the Government seriously intended to conduct elections, the returning officer would have been appointed within February 21, after the receipt of the standing committee's resolution.

This is a deliberate attempt to take over the administration of the Council," he alleged.

He pointed out that the 14 district council members on the executive committee did not have voting rights.

Now that the seven elected members too have been removed, there are only Government officials in the executive committee of the Council now.

This is what the Government intended to happen all along, Mr. Kurien alleged.

He said that he and the other elected members would wait for the High Court's order on their petition, before deciding their future course of action.

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