THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, who did not sign the Kerala Public Health Bill passed by the Legislative Assembly on March 21, has sent a letter to the Health Department in response to complaints about the same. According to the Rules Of Business, such reactions do not fall under the jurisdiction of the governor, so the legal department is unsure what further action to take.

According to the second sub-section of Section 57 of the Rules of Business, the governor can seek the opinion of the Law Department only on two matters. If it is decided to send the bill to the President, the State Law Department may be consulted on it. This should be communicated in writing to the Law Secretary through the Governor's Secretary. If the governor decides to send the bill passed by the assembly back to the government for reconsideration, the law department can also be consulted at that stage. Apart from this, the Raj Bhavan cannot seek direct opinion from the Law Department at any other stage and the current move from the governor is considered as an extraordinary action. This is why the legal department is in a quandary as to what to do about the matter.

The Consolidated Public Health Bill was passed in the last legislative session by merging the Madras Public Health Act, 1939 and the Thiru-Kochi Public Health Act, 1955. The Bill was first referred to the Select Committee and was finally passed by the Assembly after lengthy discussions and gathering of public opinion.

But the AYUSH section opposed this bill. Their complaint is that the provisions in the bill make the AYUSH section irrelevant. When the governor received their complaint, he stopped the bill without signing it. The governor has written to the health department and thereby the law department in response to the complaint raised by the AYUSH section. With the governor's new move, it is certain that the bill will be delayed.