The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Complaints against officials galore

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Wednesday, Oct 20, 2004

Kerala

Kerala - Kochi

Complaints against officials galore

By Our Staff Reporters

KOCHI, OCT. 19. Students, nuns, women and farmers thronged the Ernakulam Town Hall today to air their complaints to the Chief Minister ranging from getting recognition to a course to rectifying flaws in a welfare scheme. However, a complaint pending for 22 years failed to get resolved today too.

It was the Deputy Director of Panchayats against whom maximum number of complaints was registered - 96. Eighty four complaints were registered against the Tahsildar of Kanayannoor. Fifty three complaints were registered against the Superintendent of Police (Ernakulam Rural) and forty three against the Kochi City Police Commissioner.

Recognition demanded

The students of the Government Nursing School of the Ernakulam General Hospital demanded steps to get recognition for the course they are studying. Since it was not yet recognised by the Indian Nursing Council (INC), the students were often denied the opportunities for higher studies and employment abroad. The Chief Minister asked the district medical officer to initiate steps for getting the course recognised by INC from today itself.

The nuns running the Lady of Hope Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School and the Canosa Upper Primary School in Vypeen complained that with the opening of the Goshree Bridges and the bus route along them, the private buses plying in Vypeen were entering the bridges from Kalamukku, without going to the Vypeen private bus stand. This was causing hardships to the students in the two educational institutions. The Chief Minister asked the District Collector to take steps to solve the problem.

Welfare scheme

The Kerala Yuvajana Karshaka Samithy, which claims to represent the young farmers who had joined a young farmers' welfare scheme launched about ten years ago, complained that the project was yet to be completed. Though they were given a reply from the Assistant Principal Agriculture Officer to the petition filed on September 30, 2004, the samithy leaders said it was not satisfactory.

They were informed by the Principal Agriculture Office, Ernakulam that Rs. 8.59 lakhs have already been distributed among the beneficiaries of the scheme including benefits for the heirs of deceased members and re-fund of membership fees for those who had withdrawn from the scheme voluntarily. The Agriculture Department had also informed that it was not yet time to give pension and gratuity for members between the age group of 20 and 30. But the farmers were not satisfied with these explanations. The Chief Minister told them that many of their demands needed to be discussed in the Cabinet and action would be taken at the earliest.

Forcible eviction

A woman complained that a group of girls staying at her house as paying guests were forcibly evicted by some anti-social elements. The Chief Minister directed the police to probe the incident.

The complaint of P. K. Thomas, a contractor from Piravam, regarding the encashment of a bill for the construction of a pump house could not be settled today. It has been pending for 22 years.

Mr. Thomas had constructed a pump house at Mulanthuruthy for the Irrigation department in 1981 and had submitted a bill for Rs. 1.35 lakhs. However, the Irrigation department officials claimed that he had completed only 85 per cent of the work and had prepared a bill of Rs. 75,000 for the work that was done. The contractor also failed to complete the work on time and was given extension of time on six occasions, said the Irrigation Department officials. The contractor approached the Kerala High Court seeking directions for the release of bill.

The bill of Rs. 75,000 would be released once he agrees with the measurements that have been recorded by the authorities. Most of the officials who were handling the case are either not in the service or not in the office, which dealt with the case. As he has approached the authorities for redressal, he has been asked to meet the Executive Engineer of the Minor Irrigation Department for settling the case, authorities said.

Passport denied

One of the complaints against the police was that they denied passport to a person from Chengamanad for not paying bribe. But the police maintained that the Passport Authorities rejected the applicant's passport, as he had not filled the entry regarding his place of residence one year prior to the submission of application for passport.

As the applicant chose to enter "not applicable" in the column, his application was rejected. The applicant has been asked to resubmit his application form with correct entries and he will be charged a fine ranging from Rs. 500 to Rs. 5,000 for covering up the information, police said.

Complaint against SP

M. J. Jomy and O. A. Anwar Sadath, district general secretaries of the Indian Youth Congress, were among those who filed complaints against the Ernakulam Rural SP. They said the SP insulted them by denying entry to the station when they went there to file a complaint.

Joy John of Kalloorkadu filed a complaint to police demanding the arrest of those who cut down 26 plantain bunches from his land . Though his case was treated as civil in nature, the police have been asked to re-investigate the case.

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