That the Government means business to ensure zero tolerance for corruption is clear from the appointment of senior IPS officer Jacob Thomas as the director of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB). Thomas, a tough and incorruptible officer is the best man for the job. It may be mentioned that Thomas was the officer who claimed there was enough evidence to prosecute former finance minister and Kerala Congress (M) chief K. M. Mani in the infamous bar bribery case. He had to pay the penalty by way of frequent transfers for taking a courageous stand in the matter under the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) regime.

The VACB chief has already swung into action by reviewing, to begin with, the anomalies in the issuance of food safety licences. He paid a surprise visit to the Food Commissionerate to make it clear that irregularities would not be tolerated. Likewise, he has already filed FIRs against a few officials including former chairman of the Cashew Development Corporation R Chandrashekharan, a prominent INTUC leader. He has followed it up with raids of the Cashew Corporation, too.

The message the Pinarayi Government has sent out is loud and clear: that corruption would not be tolerated. The Chief Minister is on record that while there would be no political vendetta, the law will take its course when it comes to matters of dealing with political as well as administrative corruption.

Similarly, the Chief Minister has sounded a stern warning to the secretariat staff of over 4,000 employees to shed their old, proprietorial attitude and become more responsive to public needs. People should not be made to run from pillar to post to get things done, Vijayan said. The CM also hinted at the introduction of a decentralized ‘directorate system, to improve administrative efficiency instead of the current secretariat system. Delays should be avoided and files disposed of as quickly as possible. Here again, the government’s intention is clear: the government employees must abandon their old and slothful attitude and the tendency to sit tight on files.

Another important step the Government has taken is to clean the education sector, made a mess of by the erstwhile UDF Government. Closure of economically unviable aided schools would be averted, if necessary by amending the Kerala Education Rules (KER).

As a first step, the Government has decided to acquire four schools, which would entail heavy financial burden on the government. But this, like the ‘directorate system’ of governance, was part of the LDF’s election manifesto.

The step has become unavoidable as Kerala is, of late, witnessing a tendency on the part of managements to close schools on the pretext of inability to run them. The real objective is to use the land, eyed by the real estate mafia, for purposes other than running schools. The Education Minister has made it clear that, despite the high expenditure, schools would be acquired if there is no other option to avert the closure spree of greedy and rapacious managements.

Also, the managements’ move is against the provisions of the Right to Education Act. The Act makes it clear that it is the responsibility of the local self-government and neighbourhood communities to see that schools do not face problems.

At present, a school is considered uneconomic if it has fewer than 25 students in one class and the total strength is less than 100. The idea is to make the minimum number of students required in each school from 25 to 15. At present, uneconomic schools number 5,437. Out of this, 2400 are in the aided sector.

The Government’s moves have evoked a positive response from the people, especially parents of students studying in schools in the public education sector. The real estate mafia stands forewarned, and their efforts to gobble up school lands for their nefarious purposes would be thwarted by the bold government move. (IPA Service)