Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

VS: Munnar mission will continue

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan claimed here on Wednesday that the government was able to end suicides by farmers.

In an article released on the eve of Kerala Formation Day, the Chief Minister said that the government could remove despair from the agriculture sector by enacting the Agriculture Debt Relief Commission Bill, implementing special packages for farmers and increasing the procurement price of rice.

Mr. Achuthanandan said that the Munnar mission would continue vigorously and extended to other areas. The government wanted to check destruction of hills, forests, wetlands and paddy fields. The declaration of Kurinjimala sanctuary and Silent Valley buffer zone showed its commitment to conservation of nature.

The government, he said, could enact laws setting up welfare funds for about 10 lakh workers. The devaswom board and Walayar check-posts were freed of corruption.

He said that most of the programmes announced in connection with the golden jubilee of State formation had either been completed or nearing completion. The State could get the Indian Institute of Science Education and the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology. An Indian Institute of Technology had been promised during the Eleventh Plan. The national waterway connecting Kovalam to Kasaragod was becoming a reality.

He recalled that the government could sign the agreement for the Smart City Project with better terms than expected. Steps had been taken to set up new information technology parks in Kozhikode, Palakkad and Alappuzha. The number of profit-making public sector undertakings had increased from 12 to 24.

He said that the government’s protests over sidelining of the Palakkad Railway Division had yielded results. Its demands for a coach factory and other packages had been approved. Price rise could be checked through interventions.

The government was taking steps to remove poverty from among tribal people and other poorer sections of society. Steps were also being taken to improve the condition of government hospitals.

It was launching an action plan on the Clean Kerala Mission to address problems like the spread of diseases such as chikungunya.

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