THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: While criticism is mounting in various parts of the State on the unscientific ways adopted in the distribution of departments to different Ministers, a heated debate on the subject was witnessed in the Thiruvananthapuram City Corporation Council on Wednesday. The debate was sparked off following an adjournment motion presented which said that the Chief Minister should review the decision to trifurcate the Local Self-Governing Department (LSGD) into those for Rural Development, Panchayats and Urban Affairs. The motion was presented by Palayam Rajan, the Public Works Standing Committee Chairman, in which he stated that the LSGD in the State, which coordinated the works of panchayats, municipalities and city corporations, was an example to all other states in the country. The State had won several awards from the Central Government for the exemplary implementation of projects like decentralisation and people’s planning. But now the new government that came into power under Oommen Chandy has split the department into three, which would adversely affect the smooth functioning of the LSG bodies. However, the opposition led by the councillor of Nalanchira ward, Johnson Joseph, strongly opposed the motion, terming it is a childish. Johnson said that it was only two days since the new government was formed and it should be given more time before being criticised. He also said that the decision would only help improve the efficiency of the different departments, as the respective ministers would give more attention to even the smallest issues under them. But Palayam Rajan alleged that the decision was taken only to satisfy the different groups and said that Chief Minister Oommen Chandy was a captive of IUML leader Kunhalikutty, who was playing the politics of vendetta. The opposition members were agitated by this remark and they retorted by shouting that it was, in fact, V S Achuthanandan who had been a captive of his own cabinet ministers and not Oommen Chandy. Finally, Palayam Rajan had to withdraw his statement owing to the strong protests. However, despite stiff protests from the UDF councillors, Mayor K Chandrika announced that the Council would bring the matter to the notice of the Chief Minister.
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