The Hindu : Kerala News : Top IAS officer for Sabarimala

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Monday, Dec 17, 2007
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Top IAS officer for Sabarimala

Staff Reporter

Devaswom Minister says proposal has been submitted to Chief Minister

KASARAGOD: The Devaswom Department has submitted a proposal to the Chief Minister to appoint a senior IAS officer at Sabarimala with special powers to look into various issues at the holy hillock and coordinate with the court, the Travancore Devaswom Board and the government, Devaswom Minister G. Sudhakaran has said.

Speaking to reporters here on Sunday, Mr. Sudhakaran said Devaswom Principal Secretary K.K. Vijayakumar had submitted the proposal to the Chief Minister. As per the proposal, the official would work in association with Pathanamthitta District Collector Raju Narayanaswamy and Additional Director-General of Police in charge of Sabarimala V.R. Rajeevan, Mr. Sudhakaran said.

The Minister said the ‘aravana’ issue had been sorted out and devotees were getting up to 5 kg of aravana. Regarding the issue of container shortage, the Minister said he was of the view that it would be better if devotees themselves brought vessels of standards prescribed by the government. There were reasons to doubt that those who raised their voices for containers were in fact trying to help private factories which manufactured them, the Minister said.

Mr. Sudhakaran said it was important that courts had not struck down even a single decision taken by the government in Devaswom matters. The intervention of courts in Sabarimala affairs had only helped reduce corruption and the government needed the support of courts in future too to curb corruption at Sabarimala. The laws on Devaswom did not have enough clauses to prevent corruption and that was why the government enacted a new law, Mr. Sudhakaran said.

He said the United Democratic Front’s agitation alleging corruption in Devaswom affairs and Sabarimala administration would boomerang on them. The Minister said that as Ayyappa Seva Sanghom president Thennala Balakrishna Pillai should not have participated in the agitation. The State government had given due importance to the views of the Sanghom and the organisation had been a participant in all discussions held by the government on Sabarimala, Mr. Sudhakaran said.

On his relationship with the Nair Service Society, Mr. Sudhakaran said he had respect for the organisation though he was not its member. On the criticism by some Left Democratic Front leaders against him, Mr. Sudhakaran said he would not name or single out any leader for the attack. Mr. Sudhakaran said he respected RSP leader T.J. Chandrachoodan and was happy that Prof. Chandrachoodan had termed him a corruption-free Minister.

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