Page 9 - Kerala Government

Kerala moved SC against illegal financial measures of Centre: CM Vijayan

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said his government has moved the Supreme Court against the Centre's allegedly "unconstitutional and illegal" measures that have pushed the southern state into dire straits financially. Vijayan contended that even though the state government repeatedly communicated to the Centre to stop its "discriminatory" actions, the Central government intensified its "vindictive moves" to make it difficult for Kerala to survive. "In this backdrop, the state government has approached the Supreme Court against the discriminatory measures of the Center which is throwing Kerala into dire straits by sacrificing the federal principles of the Constitution of India." he said at a press conference held here as part of the Nava Kerala Sadas, an outreach programme of the Left administration. The CM said the aim behind initiating the legal battle was to seek an order from the apex court under Article 131 of the Constitution which deals with settling ...

Kerala govt moves SC over Centre's interference in the state's finances

The Kerala government suffered a cumulative expenditure loss or resource deficiency of Rs 1.07 trillion over FY 2016-23

If govt wants swift action on bills, explain urgency: Kerala Guv on row

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Wednesday said that the state government should come to the Raj Bhavan and give him an explanation if they wanted urgent action regarding any bill or ordinance. He also asked the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to ensure that the Marxist party's members and supporters avoid calling Pakistan Occupied Kashmir as 'Azad Kashmir' and not "stoke the fires of separatism and regionalism." Khan made these comments in response to media reports about him not signing two ordinances sent for his approval by the government. The Governor said that his enquiries after seeing the news reports found that the ordinances had come two-and-a-half weeks ago. "I request the CM to not speak to me through the media. I cordially invite him to the Raj Bhavan to explain to me the urgency regarding any bill or ordinance. If they want me to act with urgency, then they should come to the Raj Bhavan and explain the rationale of whatever they are proposing. I assure you .

Kerala Guv blames Vijayan for pressuring him to reappoint Kannur Univ VC

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Thursday accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of pressuring him to reappoint Gopinath Ravindran as the vice chancellor (VC) of Kannur University. Khan, speaking to reporters here, said that state Higher Education Minister R Bindu was not to be blamed as the CM used her for seeking reappointment of Ravindran. The Governor's response comes after the Supreme Court quashed the Kerala government's decision to re-appoint Ravindran as the VC of Kannur University. A division bench of the Kerala High Court had on February 23 last year dismissed an appeal against a single-judge order upholding the re-appointment of Ravindran as the VC of the university, saying it was done in accordance with the law and that he was not "an usurper to the post". The impugned judgement and the order passed by the high court dated February 23, 2022 is hereby set aside and as a consequence, the notification dated November 23, 2021 reappointing the respondent number 4 ...

Supreme Court asks Kerala Governor to meet CM, minister to discuss bills

The Supreme Court on Wednesday noted that Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has taken decisions on eight bills and asked him to meet Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan along with the minister concerned to discuss the bills, saying let us hope that some political sagacity takes over. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud took note of the submissions of Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for the office of the governor, that out of eight Bills, seven have been reserved for consideration by the President, while one has been assented by Khan. The top court, meanwhile, permitted the state government to amend its plea to seek issuance of guidelines for the governors on grant or decline of assent to the bills passed by the assembly in a time-bound manner. We will record that the governor will discuss the matter with both the chief minister and the minister in charge and related to the Bill..., the bench said. Let us hope that some political sagacity takes over the state an

Man arrested for making hoax bomb call to police station in Kerala

A man was arrested on Friday for allegedly making a hoax bomb threat to a police station in Ernakulam district, police said. The control room received a threat call this morning claiming that there was a bomb planted at the Kothamangalam police station, around 53 kms from here. Immediately, the bomb squad and the dog squad rushed to the spot and inspected the police station but found nothing, they said, adding that the call was subsequently declared a hoax. Haneefa was arrested after tracing the phone call. The police have initiated an investigation into the incident.

Kerala guv accuses state govt of using legislature for other purposes

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Tuesday accused the state government of using the legislature for purposes other than what it was meant for and keeping him in the dark on various issues. Khan was responding to queries by reporters here on the recent Supreme Court observation that the state government and Governor should work in tandem. "Of course they should," he said on the issue of state governments and Governors working in tandem, but asked what should be done when he is kept in the dark or "when the legislature is used for purposes other than what it is meant for". "When, right from the beginning, you start using the legislature for purposes other than what it is meant for, you keep the Governor in the dark. "You pass laws beyond your jurisdiction. Then what to do? You want me to acquiesce to something where it is absolutely clear that they have transgressed their jurisdiction. What to do then?" he asked. He also said that while everyone respected and was bound by what t

Governors vs state governments: Supreme Court calls for introspection

Experts say 'sitting on a Bill'' not an option as Punjab, Kerala move apex court

8 court staff test positive for Zika virus in Kerala's Kannur district

The state's health department said in a release that the elderly and children should maintain caution and avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes

Happy Kerala Piravi 2023: History, importance, celebration and more

Kerala Day or Kerala Piravi, also called Kerala Formation Day, is a significant annual occasion to celebrate the unification of Malayalam-speaking areas to form 'Kerala'

We have to remove this corrupt govt: JP Nadda at BJP protest in Kerala

He also mentioned the participation of Hamas leader Khaled Mashal's virtual participation in a pro-Palestine rally at Mallapuram in Kerala

Deve Gowda's comment about Kerala's LDF-BJP coalition stirs state politics

A political row has erupted in Kerala over a statement by JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda a day ago that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had greenlit his party's alliance with the BJP in Karnataka to protect its interests. Kerala JD(S) leader, K Krishnankutty on Friday, firmly refuted Gowda's statement. Opposing the national leadership's association with the BJP, Krishnankutty also emphasised the state unit's commitment to maintaining its alliance with the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF). "I met him (Deve Gowda) along with our state president, Mathew T Thomas, MLA, and informed him about our objection in joining the BJP. The state party unit stands by the earlier decision to stand firm with the Left party in Kerala," Krishnankutty, who is also a minister in the LDF government in Kerala, said. The opposition Congress alleged that the JD(S) revelation had established an undercurrent between the ruling CPI(M) and the BJP in Kerala. Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala today

Over 13 Sabarimala pilgrims injured as bus overturns in Kottayam, Kerala

More than 13 Sabarimala pilgrims were injured after a bus they were travelling in was involved in an accident in Kottayam district on Wednesday morning, police said. The accident occurred at Kanamala, near Erumeli, they said. The pilgrims, hailing from Kolar in neighbouring Karnataka, were proceeding to the hill shrine located in Pathanamthitta district. A senior official said as many as 43 people, including 40 pilgrims, were in the vehicle when it overturned after the driver lost control of it. Over 13 people suffered injuries, he said. Four injured pilgrims were rushed to the government medical College here, he said, adding that four persons were taken to the general hospital and some other accident victims were admitted to a nearby private hospital, the official added.

First ship berths carrying cranes from China arrive at Vizhinjam port

The first ship that arrived at Vizhinjam port here carrying cranes from China was given a water salute by the tug boats which pulled the vessel into the Rs 7,700 crore deep-water international port on Thursday, official sources said. The mammoth container handling cranes onboard the vessel would be transferred to the port on Sunday, October 15, in an official event that would be attended by Union Minister for Ports Sarbananda Sonowal and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the sources said. The vessel -- Zhen Hua 15 -- which began its journey from China at the end of August was scheduled to dock at Vizhinjam on October 4, but its journey got delayed due to bad weather conditions along its route. On reaching Indian coastal waters, it first went to Mundra port in Gujarat to offload some cranes there and then proceeded towards Vizhinjam, the sources said. It docked at Vizhinjam port at around 11.20 am, they said. The Kerala government last month had said that three more ships wou

Kerala launches insurance cover for MSME sector to safeguard businesses

In a boost to Kerala's thriving MSME sector, the state government has introduced a comprehensive insurance scheme covering Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises. This initiative aims to safeguard these businesses from various risks and instill confidence in them to thrive in a competitive business environment, an official release said here. The Department of Industries and Commerce formalised agreements with four public sector insurance companies in the presence of Minister for Industries, Law, and Coir, P Rajeeve. Emphasising the importance of this initiative, Rajeeve said this was an upfront initiative that will provide financial protection to MSMEs against all kinds of risks that can have a detrimental impact on their businesses. As of now, Kerala boasts over three lakh MSMEs, out of which approximately 1,40,000 have registered as part of the government's Year of Enterprises initiative. However, only around 15,000 of them have insurance coverage against various risks. Suman Bil

Kerala govt announces cash rewards for 2018 Asian Games medalists

The Kerala government on Wednesday announced Rs 10 lakh cash incentive for state athlete Anu R, who was recently declared to have won a bronze medal in the 18th Asian Games held in Jakarta in 2018. Anu received the bronze medal in the hurdles after a Bahraini athlete, who had earlier won the medal, was banned after failing the dope test, a CMO statement said here. The Kerala government had announced Rs 20 lakh cash award for the gold medal winners, Rs 15 lakh for silver and Rs 10 lakh for bronze medalists during the 2018 Asian Games. Similarly, Muhammad Anas, who was declared as the winner of the gold medal by the organisers in the mixed relay competition in the same event, would also be given the remaining amount of Rs five lakh, it said. Anas's silver medal turned into gold as the person who had earlier come in first place was banned after finding out he used drugs, the statement added.

Despite recent heavy rains Kerala still deficient in monsoon rainfall: IMD

Despite heavy rains lashing several parts of Kerala in the last few days, the state is still deficient in monsoon rainfall, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said. Kerala received 34 per cent deficient rainfall during the south-west monsoon this year while the country as a whole got six per cent deficit rains. As the south-west monsoon is now in the withdrawal phase, the rains are expected to reduce from Wednesday, October 4, onwards, IMD sources said. The heavy rains which lashed many parts of Kerala on Tuesday were due to the low pressure system over Jharkhand, they said and added that the withdrawal of the monsoon was complete in three to four states of north-west India. "The conditions are favourable for the withdrawal of the south-west monsoons. The rains will reduce from tomorrow," K Santhosh, director of the Regional Meteorological Centre, Trivandrum told PTI. He said Lakshadweep received a 15 per cent deficit rainfall but that is considered normal. "Upto 19 pe

'Early detection, effective treatment helped control Nipah mortality rate'

Kerala Health Minister Veena George has said that the effective and timely intervention of the state health system brought down the Nipah fatality rate to 33 per cent in its fourth outbreak. She made the statement in the wake of all four Nipah-infected persons recovering from the zoonotic illness. The government on Friday announced that a nine-year-old boy, who was among those under treatment for Nipah in Kozhikode, had recovered. The virus strain seen in Kerala was the Bangladesh variant, which generally has a high mortality rate, George said in a Facebook post on Friday night. This variant can cause death among 70-90 per cent of the infected people. "However, we have lost the lives of two out of the total six affected persons in Kozhikode, which means we have a relatively low death rate of 33.3 per cent," the minister said. The relatively early identification of patients and treatment using antiviral drugs may be the reasons for the low mortality rate, she said. Another signifi

Kerala govt withdraws Nipah related restrictions in northern Kozhikode

The Kerala government has withdrawn containment in all zones and allied restrictions imposed in northern Kozhikode district as no new cases of Nipah virus have been reported here since September 16. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, District Collector A Geetha said all schools located in the areas that fell within containment zones would be opened and regular classes would commence on Wednesday. However, the collector urged people to continue their vigil against the virus infection, maintain social distancing and ensure the use of masks and sanitizer. All the institutions in the district had been closed since September 14, and online classes were being held after the virus outbreak was declared in the state on September 12. The district administration advised students to wear masks and carry hand sanitizers when going to their respective educational institutions. A total of six people were confirmed to have been infected by the virus till date, and of them, two died. Of the two deat

Kerala's left govt starts regional review meetings to assess performance

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his Cabinet colleagues started their state-wide regional review meeting here on Tuesday in order to assess the public mood and review the performance of the state government. Vijayan chaired the south regional review meeting that would discuss various programmes of the government and would also seek the opinion of the public regarding the implementation of the same, official sources said here. The South regional review meeting includes the districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and Pathanamthitta. All senior officials of government departments, apart from district collectors from the three districts and ministers from these districts were present at the review meeting. NGOs and prominent social workers were also invited to the meeting. The media was not allowed to cover the details of the review meeting. After the meeting of government department officials, a review meeting with senior police officials of these districts will be held i