Delinquency as elections approach; seven lakh lives are in limbo; file clearance at standstill

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the assembly elections approaching, file clearance in Kerala has stalled due to official negligence. It is reported that the number of files pending in the secretariat and the offices of department heads has exceeded seven lakh. Despite the Chief Minister reminding the officials several times that each file is a life, they are not enthusiastic. There has been no significant change even after holding a special adalat for the disposal of the files.

As the government's term is about to end, officials are hesitant to take decisions on files. The discussion in government offices is about whether there will be a change of government in the elections or whether there will be a continuation of the government. There is no possibility of any movement on many files until the new government comes. With the announcement of the elections, the file movement may come to a complete standstill.

The transfer of officials as part of the elections has also become a setback. The transferred officials are not eager to clear the files. With a large percentage of the revenue department officials being assigned to election duty, the clearance of files there will be delayed. Officials in other departments also have the burden of election work.

1. Only 52% of the files pending in the Secretariat were resolved in the Adalat. 60% in the offices of the heads of departments were also resolved. It was the Chief Minister who took the initiative and organised the Adalat from July 1 to August 31 for the resolution of the files

2. The Administrative Reforms Department had again issued an order giving 16-point instructions to resolve the files pending even after the Adalat period. Still, the progress is slow.

3. The resolution was taking place at three levels: the Secretariat level, the Head of Department level, and the files in institutions that have contact with the public. The priority order was also determined according to the subjects in the files.

Total pending files in the Secretariat: 3,05,555

Disposed in the Adalat: 1,58,336

Pending in departments: 9,09,778

Disposed in the Adalat: 5,49,267

Portal not started either

The IT department was instructed to look into setting up a special portal to take quick action on people's complaints and petitions, but it did not happen. The instruction was related to the file adalat.