PIL challenges Kerala govt order permitting native our bodies to fund CPM’s cooperative hospital

Express News Service

KASARAGOD: A division bench of the High Court of Kerala issued a discover to the state authorities on a public curiosity litigation (PIL) difficult a authorities order permitting native our bodies to donate to a CPM-controlled cooperative hospital in Kanhangad.

BJP state secretary and former district president Okay Shreekanth moved the High Court calling the order issued by the Department of Local Self Government on March 16 “arbitrary, illegal and a colourable exercise of power”.

The authorities order mentioned Kanhangad Cooperative Hospital wants monetary assist and the native our bodies can donate from their ‘personal fund’ for the trigger, with the approval of their boards or councils.

The order continued to say that the district panchayat can donate Rs 1 crore, Kanhangad municipality can donate Rs 2 crore, the opposite two municipalities (Kasaragod and Nileshwar) and the 38 grama panchayats can donate Rs 50 lakh every, and the six block panchayats can donate Rs 25 lakh every.

To be certain, the slabs for the donation have been mounted by the hospital administration — a gaggle of CPM leaders — and accredited by the state authorities via the federal government order.

The New Indian Express front-paged this report on April 14.

Shreekanth in his PIL mentioned the order was handed by the particular secretary of the LSG Department with none examine into the feasibility of the challenge or verification. He mentioned the hospital society was registered in 2001 and was mendacity in limbo all these years and has turn out to be energetic solely now.

If all of the native our bodies in Kasaragod district pitch in as per the slabs, the hospital would get Rs 24.5 crore. But if solely the LDF-controlled native our bodies determine to donate, the hospital would rise up to Rs 14 crore.

The state authorities issued the order in favour of a cooperative hospital at a time when it has not but carried out a 2017 Supreme Court judgment asking it to arrange a centralised palliative care hospital in Kasaragod for endosulfan-affected individuals, the petition mentioned, “The state government has turned a blind eye to such request,” Shreekanth mentioned within the petition.

He additionally raised the problem of Kasaragod district not having a tertiary care hospital. “The state government started construction of a medical college in the district way back in 2013. Till now, the work is not complete and in-patient facilities have not been provided,” he mentioned and added that the first and the secondary well being care centres face big inadequacies in infrastructure and upkeep as a result of apathy of the federal government and lack of funds.

During the Covid lockdown, Karnataka closed its borders and the folks of Kasaragod have been left to endure with out getting medical assist. “Due to such incidents, the demand for an AIIMS in the district has now become a full-blown agitation with even doctors taking part in it,” he mentioned.

At a time when the state authorities ought to channelise each useful resource to public well being infrastructure within the state, it’s permitting public cash to be splurged on a useless cooperative society, he mentioned.

The chief secretary, principal secretaries of the Local Self Government Department, Department of Finance and Department of Health, and the secretary of the Kanhangad Cooperative Hospital are respondents within the case.