CHERTHALA: The annual general meeting has approved a budget of Rs 148,17,79,500 for SN Trust for the fiscal year 2023-24. 45 crore rupees have been allocated for infrastructure development and 10 crore rupees for hospital renovations. Additionally, 12 crore rupees are assigned for new constructions and repairs in aided educational institutions, 7 crore rupees for the construction of new buildings in aided colleges, 3 crore rupees for arts and science colleges in the self-help sector, 2 crore rupees for aided colleges, 1 crore rupee for NAK recognition and 1 crore rupee for central schools.

Trust Secretary, Vellapalli Natesan presented the report estimates and budget at the annual general meeting held at Cherthala Srinarayana College Auditorium. Chairman Dr M N Soman presided over the meeting. Treasurer Dr G Jayadevan and Assistant Secretary Tushar Vellapalli also spoke. Auditor Abdul Rahim along with Executive Members Santosh Arayakandi, A R Gopinath, A Somarajan, C B Rajendran, Mohan Shankar, K Padmakumar and others participated.

According to the report approved by the SN Trust annual general meeting, all religious groups should be prepared to adopt a practical approach to the issue of a Civil Code without succumbing to political motives.

If a uniform civil code comes into force, the justice system will become much more efficient. There will be no numerous cases in the country based on personal laws. Rules should be periodically revised. No law that discriminates based on religion, caste or gender is compatible with human dignity. The primary victims of personal laws are women. In the case of objections, the central government should engage in dialogue with the Muslim and Christian communities.

The report demanded that the government demonstrate its determination to revoke the upper-caste reservation announced in Kerala.

No study has been conducted on the social backwardness of the upper class in Kerala. There is no report indicating their lack of proper representation in government services. A 10 percent caste-based reservation was implemented here prior to the constitutional amendment taking effect. Another significant point is that the authority to determine backwardness rests with the Central Government. Caste-based reservation should not be implemented in Kerala until the Supreme Court makes a decision on the petitions challenging the constitutional amendment.

Communal reservations should continue until the backward and marginalized classes achieve social, educational, and cultural advancement. There will be no objection to the implementation of financial reservations after providing adequate representation in government services to these sections. Until then, financial assistance schemes should be extended to the economically disadvantaged individuals of the forward community, as stated in the report.