(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of India
(Marxist)
Vol. XXXII
No.
21
June
01 , 2008
LDF GOVT IN KERALA
Two Years Of Pro-People Governance
V S Achuthanandan
WITH a bright record of unprecedented successes in the spheres of
development and welfare, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in
Kerala enters into the third year. The main feature -- which makes the
LDF government unique -- is the pursuit of alternative policies to
render optimum solace to the common man even as all over the country
they face the phenomenon of food deficiency and acute price rise due to
globalisation.
At the outset itself the LDF government made it clear that the state
cannot progress without increasing the production in agricultural and
industrial sectors. The most essential elements for the sustainable
development of the state were listed: the revitalisation of sick
industries; starting of new industries; and solving the agricultural
crisis as also increasing agricultural production. It is indeed a
matter of pride that we could start and proceed forward in the
aforesaid matters.
OVERCOMING
AGRARIAN CRISIS
The threat on food security front is a matter of concern globally. The
United Nations itself is in the forefront warning against the ensuing
food wars. India, too, is heading towards an acute food crisis. The
sky-rocketing prices, leasing out of warehouses to monopoly houses,
ceasing procurement of foodgrains and the destruction of public
distribution system are the main reasons behind this status of affairs
in our country. It is the outcome of the conspiracy of globalisation to
open up market to the foreign monopoly by destroying our agriculture
sector. This situation has landed Kerala in trouble, as it is
absolutely a consumer state. We have to depend on other states for
everything, including rice. We had not utilised fully our possibilities
in agricultural production.
The government is giving utmost emphasis on resolving this crisis.
Encouraging paddy cultivation by conserving at least the remaining
paddy fields is our aim. The approval of the Bill preventing
reclamation of paddy fields and wetlands is as part of this effort. A
comprehensive programme is in the pipeline to enhance production of
foodgrains and other food materials.
When the LDF government came into power, the procurement of paddy was
nominal. And the rate was just Rs 7 per kg. The LDF government enhanced
the procurement rate up to Rs 10 by this year and thus the procurement
has been vitalised. As a result, a 30 per cent increase in production
at Kuttanad and Palakkad could be achieved. But severe damage was
inflicted on paddy cultivation due to the summer rains this March. The
government could render a compensation of Rs 10,000 per hectare to the
affected farmers. Even though the centre turned a blind eye, the state
government could console the farmers by dispersing due compensation on
a war-footing.
It is worth mentioning that the various steps taken by the government
from its very inception could almost wipe out the suicide tendency
among farmers in the state. The progress achieved in this regard can be
seen from the fact that the three districts of Kerala which were
included in the central government�s list of 36 districts where severe
farmer suicides were reported, have now been exempted from that list.
The remaining 33 districts still report farmer suicides. Herein lies
the distinctness of the LDF government from the other governments in
the country.
In order to solve the raging crisis in agricultural sector, the LDF
government could obtain Vidarbha-model packages from the centre for the
three districts by providing accurate statistics and engaging in
continuous parleys with the centre, unlike the previous government
which was suppressing the facts on farmer suicides due to egoism.
The Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has been implemented effectively
in the state, which also helped in the revitalisation of the
agriculture sector. Ours is a land of 7.5 million farmers and 2.5
million agricultural labourers.
A special package worth Rs 1840 crore was got approved for Alappuzha
district to drive out the crisis and paralysis. Long-term scientific
projects have been prepared for conserving Kuttanad, our granary,
Onattukara paddy lands, and for reviving other crops in Alappuzha
district and to rejuvenate the fisheries sector. But the centre is not
willing to grant the amount. However, we are pressurising for the same.
The Swaminathan Commission has submitted a comprehensive package to the
central government to solve the agrarian crisis in Idukki district. But
the centre has not yet shown any readiness to accept this report and to
grant the required amount. During the previous regime suicides were the
phenomenon in plantation sector too. Many units were locked out and
workers destined to starvation. The government could change that
situation and reopen the plantations.
PROTECTING THE PDS
The LDF government is striving to grapple with the unprecedented price
hike by strengthening the public distribution system (PDS) through
�Supplyco� and �Consumerfed�. Rice shops have been opened to supply at
moderate rates. The state government grants subsidy without any
reservation in order to intervene and control the market.
The central government is persecuting the state for making such efforts
by effecting a cut of 87 per cent of the APL rice share of Kerala. The
state government is mounting strong pressure against this cut and is
taking all measures possible to avoid scarcity of rice to the needy.
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
A phenomenal task of recouping government land from encroachers has
been going on ever since the LDF came to power. In Munnar alone, it
recovered 12,000 acres of land while in the state as a whole, more than
15,000 acres of land has been recovered. This removal of encroachments
is an unprecedented one in the history of Kerala. The recovered and
other surplus land will be distributed to the landless. Each family
should have land, home, electricity and drinking water - this is the
policy of the LDF government. Towards this end 'EMS Total Housing
Scheme' has been started for all the homeless people in the state.
Within the next three years, Kerala will become a total housing state.
In Aralam farm alone, one-acre land for each of the 1717 adivasi
families has been distributed. Tribal people in the state will be given
free medical treatment in all government hospitals, including in
medical colleges and specialty hospitals. Thus medical treatment for
tribals will be delivered absolutely free of cost.
The previous UDF governance was the personification of breakdown in law
and order and prevalence of goondaism. By making police impartial and
implementing innovative reforms, the LDF government could ensure a
giant leap in maintaining law and order. By rooting out goondaism,
crimes could be brought down to a great extent. The studies conducted
by India Today magazine and others disclosed the fact that Kerala ranks
first in the country in maintaining law and order. Community policing,
which is being implemented in the state under the title 'Janamaithri
Suraksha Project' is the embodiment of the idea of people�s police.
Interaction between public and police has resulted in the reduction of
crime. Union home minister Shivraj Patil has stated that the union
government was planning to promote community policing across the
country on the lines of the Kerala government�s Janamaithri Suraksha
Project.
The government has also taken steps to open new jails, taking into
account the over-crowdedness in the existing ones. Two new sub jails
and a new building for the Cheemeni Open Jail have been opened. A new
central jail will also be opened.
The tourism sector has seen new projects taking shape. Kerala has
become one of the most important tourist destinations of the world and
has become a super brand in the global tourism industry with a high
rate of growth. For developing tourism at village level, �My Village
Tourism Friendly Village� programme has been implemented. The state
registered a hike of 20 per cent turnout in foreign tourists than in
the previous year.
The UDF and other rightist forces tried to depict the Left Front as
anti-developmental during the election time. The vigorous protests and
agitations by the LDF against unscrupulous exploitation of land, water
and nature were viewed as anti-developmental. The LDF strongly objected
to the signing of the Smart City agreement between the government of
Kerala and Dubai Internet City during the UDF regime. It had demanded
that the government must go ahead only after ensuring fair price for
the land; without handing over the Infopark; and rejecting the
exclusivity condition that there should not be any other IT park in
Ernakulam district. The Smart City became the central slogan of the
assembly election.
Now, the Smart City is going to be a reality. Relentless attempts to
materialise the project protecting the noble intentions of the state
has been undertaken. Thus major modifications in favour of the state
were brought about in the agreement. A quantum jump in the field of IT
sector could be achieved within the past two years. The government of
Kerala is in the process of acquiring 507 acres of land in
Thiruvananthapuram for establishing Techno City. Technopark, one of the
two major IT hubs of Kerala, is further expanding where another 100
acres of land is being acquired. In line with its plans to develop
Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi as the foremost IT locations in the
region, the Kerala government has commenced work on integrated
townships, specifically for IT and ITeS industry. We are developing
parks in all districts of Kerala through a hub-and-spoke model with the
hubs in Thiruvanathapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode, and spokes in all the
remaining districts. Many IT companies have already started new
ventures in Technopark and Infopark. Our target is to create two lakh
job opportunities in the IT sector. However, the present position
reveals that the employment opportunities will be many times more than
the target. 40,000 more job opportunities will be generated within the
next three years at Infopark, the very institution that was decided to
be handed over free of cost to the Dubai-based company by the previous
government. Projects are being implemented to make the state totally
computer literate. Two districts have already been declared as
e-literate. Under the programme 'Akshaya', the Kerala government has
launched delivery of key e-governance services like e-payment
facilities, e-forms, product selling, training programmes etc. By the
end of 2008, Kerala is expected to become the first e-literate state in
India. More than 3000 Akshaya Kendras will be set up through out the
state by the end of this year as service delivery outlets. The state�s
software exports during 2006-07 totalled Rs 750 crore and this year,
the figure has crossed Rs 1,200 crore.
As part of Tsunami Rehabilitation, projects to the tune of Rs 1441
crore are being implemented in the state. It is expected that the
projects will ensure overall development of the costal region. The
target is to complete the scheme by March 2009 and the implementation
of projects is going on a war footing. On the lines of Farmers� Debt
Relief Commission, the LDF government established a Fishermen�s Debt
Relief Commission to extend the moratorium on repayment of loans taken
by fishermen by another six months. During the ban period on trawling,
free ration is being given to the fishermen.
All welfare pensions have been hiked upto Rs 200 at a stretch and the
arrears are being disbursed. Hundreds of thousands of labourers have
been brought under various welfare funds, including about two lakh
small-scale plantation workers. The Shops and Establishments Labour
Welfare Fund law gives solace to one million families in the
unorganised sector. This law ensures job security, pension, family
pension, leave, delivery leave etc. Likewise, a law which fixes pension
and welfare fund for tens of thousands of dairy farmers has also been
implemented. A new law has been introduced to save the Devaswom Board
from the massive corruption engulfing it. All appointments in Devaswom
Board have been handed over to Kerala Public Service Commission (KPSC).
It was only through persistent efforts on the part of the state
government that the centre granted projects such as the building of new
international terminal and aircraft maintenance unit at
Thiruvananthapuram airport; the modernisation project of
Thiruvananthapuram and Kochu Veli railway stations; and the permission
to establish railway coach building unit in the Auto Casting unit at
Chertala. The clearances needed for the Kannur airport have also been
obtained from the centre. The 2200 acres of land needed for the airport
is being acquired through fast track system. ISRO�s Institute of Space
Science and Technology -- the third most important space institute in
the world -- has started functioning in Thiruvananthapuram. The land
needed for the space institute has been allotted free of cost. A
National Fashion Technology Institute has been started at Kannur. Owing
to the relentless attempts by the LDF government, an Indian Institute
of Science Education and Research has been allotted to Kerala.
Similarly, the central government has agreed to grant a Central
University, our long cherished demand.
Vallarpadam Transhipment Container Terminal Project and Vizhinjam
International Transhipment Container Terminal Project are vital for
comprehensive development of the state. The state government has acted
to resolve the crisis regarding the rail connectivity in Vallarpadam
and could obtain environmental sanction. The earlier agreement for the
construction of Vizhinjam International Transhipment Container Terminal
was made with a Chinese company. Raising security reasons, the union
defence ministry did not give permission to it. But the state
government is marching ahead with stern determination to launch the
project. The LDF government could manage preliminary activities with
great enthusiasm so that the construction work of the project can be
started within months. The government has decided to entrust the
consortium led by Hyderabad-based Lanco Kondapalli Power Private Ltd
with the work on Vizhinjam Deep Sea International Transhipment
Terminal. The state government would have 24 per cent stake in the Rs
5,348 crore project which would be implemented through BoT basis. The
term of the BoT would be 30 years. The project would generate 5,000
direct and 1.5 lakh indirect jobs.
Preliminary works have already started for metro rail in Kochi. Also,
primary steps for running of suburban train services in
Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode have been taken. The
waterways development project between the tail ends of Kerala has been
triggered off. Kollam � Kottappuram waterway, a part of the National
Waterway � 3 has been commissioned and the work for Kottappuram �
Neeleswaram waterway is going on. Works for Kollam � Kovalam water way
project has also been launched. The LNG terminal at Kochi, which was in
deep freeze, has been restored due to the relentless effort of the
state government, overcoming all obstacles.
The state government, through its principled struggle against the
negligence of the centre, could fetch a large number of projects, which
were entitled to the state. Progress could be achieved in bringing
issues of Kerala to the notice of the centre. Strong protest has been
registered against the formation of Salem Railway Division by
bifurcating Palakkad Division. Ultimately, the railway ministry was
forced to resolve the issue by reworking the jurisdiction of the
Palakkad division to include 79 additional route km from the Madurai
division. Ever since the inception of railway in Kerala one and half
century ago, no important employment generating institution has been
launched here. A coach factory assigned for Kerala a quarter century
back had been shifted to Kapurthala in Punjab in the eleventh hour.
Now, when we extended great pressure in the case of Salem Division
issue, central government has agreed to set up a coach factory in
Kerala. It has already been decided that a modern railway coach factory
will be set up with an investment of around Rs 4000 crore at
Kanchikkode in Palakkad. This is the first time during the past fifty
years that such huge central investment has come into Kerala in the
public sector. The state government has initiated primary steps for
acquiring land needed for the coach factory.
REJUVENATION OF INDUSTRY
Relentless efforts of the state government have resulted in the
rejuvenation of industrial sector in the state. The government could
reopen almost all the closed industries. Lock out was common in the
past whenever an industry was saddled with losses. Now the number of
profiteering public sector industries has gone up to 24 from the mere
12 earlier. Many new industries have been started. Titanium Sponge
Factory has been launched in KMLL. Construction of Integrated Textile
Park began at Palakkad. In Thiruvananthapuram, KELTEC has been handed
over to the defence department for BrahMos missile unit.
Endeavour for generating additional 500 mega watt power within three
years has begun. Special attention has been given to utilise
non-traditional energy sources and wind energy project commissioned at
Idukki.
The ban on appointments in government service has been revoked and
steps have been taken to fill all vacancies. There were thousands of
vacancies left unfilled in health department alone during the regime of
the previous government. With such apathy they destructed public health
system. The reason behind the rapid spread of of chikungunya and other
infectious diseases was this. The government has taken immediate steps
to appoint doctors and para medical staff. By introducing Clean Kerala
project, continuous action has been launched against pollution. A new
public health policy is being implemented for saving government
hospitals from penury. A scheme has been adopted for upgrading
community health centres to national standards. A hospital with state
of the art facilities has been opened at Sabarimala.
Many projects have come into existence for the welfare of expatriate
Keralites. Procedures have been made to give identity cards to non
resident Keralites who comprise around 2.5 million. The share of the
government in NoRKA�Roots company has been raised from 26 per cent to
51 per cent. Santhwanam project for the expatriates has been
liberalised. A Bill envisaging vast welfare scheme for expatriate
Malayalis has been approved.
Initial steps have been taken to establish World Malayalam Mission for
coordinating Malayalam teaching among the children of expatriate
Malayalis. Chief Minister�s Relief Fund has been expanded and
implemented to ensure speedy and liberal assistance for the needy.
Thousands of hapless and sick people got solace from this effort.
Consolation money for the families of the farmers who committed
suicide, endosulfan victims and those who died of chikungunya was given
immediately. This could be done effectively with utmost generosity by
collecting money through a special lottery.
Companies like Tata and Harrison Malayalam are exploiting the state�s
wealth by holding tens of thousands of acres of land for a nominal
tenant tax. There exists an allegation that they even try to sell out
the land. Besides, such a few companies have encroached thousands of
acres of state owned land. For the last few months, stern action has
been taken to recover these lands. The Thoothampara Estate kept by
Poabson Group has been taken over and is run by Plantation Corporation.
The measuring process of the land possessed by Tata and others is on
using modern technology. Stern action has been taken for recovering
Kovalam Castle and to prevent encroachments in Kovalam in the disguise
of tourism.
In the Munnar region, Kurinji Garden and Silent Valley Buffer Zone
projects have been launched. Comprehensive projects have been designed
for preventing the decay and pollution of rivers and water bodies
including Vembanad Lake and Bharathappuzha River.
The LDF governance of 24 months could make a giant leap in the journey
towards a corruption-free and prosperous Kerala that is rushing towards
a comprehensive development. The foundation is set for a comprehensive
development. Now is the time to build that progress.
People's Democracy