178 complaints settled at Karuthalum Kaithangum adalat at Chengannur

Delays in administrative decision-making amount to corruption, Agriculture Minister P. Prasad has said.

Inaugurating Karuthalum Kaithangum, a taluk-level adalat at IHRD Engineering College auditorium at Chengannur on Monday, Mr. Prasad said adalats should be seen as democratic interventions for resolving people’s issues. “Not just financial transactions but delays in administrative decisions should also be considered as corruption. Adalats provide opportunities for complainants to present their side,” the Minister said.

Mr. Prasad said the government was conducting adalats to assist people to the maximum extent possible. “Laws and regulations enacted by the State Assembly are meant to facilitate the welfare of the people, not to cause them difficulties. It is not the government’s policy to remain indifferent to people’s problems. Government offices should adopt the approach used in the adalat while making decisions on various matters,” he said.

Speaking at the function, Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian said the Left Democratic Front government was committed to resolving people’s issues and ensuring development. “This is the fifth Karuthalum Kaithangum adalat in the district. Hundreds of pressing issues have been resolved so far in the adalats held in Cherthala, Ambalappuzha, Kuttanad and Karthikappally taluks. ‘Theera Sadassu’ (a public interaction programme organised under the aegis of the Fisheries department) helped settle 28,000 complaints. Similarly, adalats organised under the aegis of the Forest, Revenue, and Local Self-Government departments have resolved numerous issues. In the Revenue department’s adalat, 4,500 pending complaints in Chengannur were addressed,” Mr. Cherian said.

The Minister said the decreasing number of complaints in adalats in Chengannur reflected the government’s effective interventions. He said the construction of the Chengannur Revenue Tower would begin soon.

During the inaugural session, priority ration cards were distributed to 15 individuals and tax payment receipts were handed over to eight people who were unable to pay their taxes. Orders granting tax exemptions to five beneficiaries were also handed over at the function.

After the inaugural function, the Ministers directly considered complaints at the adalat. Of the total 231 complaints received at the adalat, 178 have been settled.

Karuthalum Kaithangum adalat in Mavelikara taluk will be held at Bishop Hodges School, Mavelikara on Tuesday. It will be inaugurated by Agriculture Minister P. Prasad at 9.30 a.m.

Alappuzha District Panchayat president K.G. Rajeshwari, District Collector Alex Varghese, Chengannur Municipal chairperson Shobha Varghese, Chengannur Block Panchayat president K.M. Salim and others attended the inaugural function.