Setback for govt; HC quashes Nava Kerala survey, calls it illegal

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has quashed the New Kerala survey being conducted by the government. The action was on the grounds that the survey was illegal and there was no financial sanction. The court observed that there was no allocation in the budget for the survey. The order was delivered by a bench headed by the chief justice. KSU had filed a plea against the government conducting the New Kerala survey using funds from the public treasury. The court's order was based on this plea.

The plea filed by KSU state president Aloysius Xavier and others alleged that the survey, which was being conducted at a cost of Rs 20 crore from the public treasury and involving party cadres, was illegal and aimed elections. The court took action after hearing the arguments in the petition. The court had directed that CPM state secretary M V Govindan be made a party to the petitions filed by KSU.

The government had earlier filed an affidavit explaining that the 'Nava Kerala Citizen Response Program' was not a survey but was only a collection of information from the public for welfare and development activities. The chief minister announced the Nava Kerala Survey as a project to hear what the people have to say about the government's development and welfare activities. The CPM had clarified that people would visit 80 lakh households in Kerala for the survey. The announcement was that the survey would be conducted in January and February. However, the party had directed to recruit those interested in working till March 31.