Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has claimed that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government is trying to create a new form of governance through the regional-level development review meetings.
He was speaking at the meeting covering Kozhikode, Kannur, Kasaragod and Wayanad districts, held in Kozhikode on Thursday. Mr. Vijayan said that similar meetings would be held again after an interval.
The Chief Minister said that 400 ineligible beneficiaries were found on the list of people in extreme poverty in Kasaragod district. This was revealed during the cross-checking of the initial list. Initial phase of works to set up an Ayurveda research institute at Kalliad in Kannur district would be completed by January. Once completed, it would become an asset to the State. The complaint that people belonging to the Scheduled Tribes category were found to have been getting ₹2 lakh less while implementing the LIFE Mission project was a serious one. Corrections would be made in the procedures. Local bodies should focus more on ‘Manassodithiri Mannu’ scheme to donate land for the landless. District Collectors should look into the complaint that Coastal Zone Regulation rules were coming in the way of approving development projects. Projects of the Jal Jeevan Mission were not being implemented properly in the Malabar region. Land should be acquired and new canals built to set up new water ways in Kannur and Kasaragod districts.
Land acquisition
The tunnel road to Wayanad would be a major development initiative of the government. The Chief Minister pointed out that rehabilitation of land losers should be ensured while acquiring land for the project. A total of 19.59 hectares in Kozhikode and Wayanad districts would be acquired for the project which is estimated to cost ₹2,043 crore. Environmental clearance was expected by December this year. Kozhikode District Collector A. Geetha said that official notification for land acquisition had been issued.
The district collector, Kasaragod, should settle the dispute with the Railways on the national highway development. Mr. Vijayan said that the issues related to acquisition of forest land for the hill highway could be sorted out.
While development projects in the four districts were discussed till the afternoon, law and order problems were taken up thereafter. All the Ministers in the State Cabinet, senior officials, including Chief Secretary V. Venu, district collectors from the four districts, and top police officials were present. Similar meetings were earlier held at Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, and Thrissur.
