Kerela

The National Green Tribunal has sought a reply from the Geological Survey of India and others in a matter over the deteriorating conditions of Kerala's Varkala cliff, a designated national geo-heritage site. The NGT was hearing the issue after taking suo motu (on its own) cognisance of a media report regarding the site in the state's Thiruvananthapuram district facing threats due to environmental violations and administrative oversight. A bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member A Senthil Vel said, "The news item highlights that the most alarming violation was the controversial step of demolishing part of the cliff, supposedly to prevent landslides and that the GSI termed the demolition shocking given the site's immense geological and geomorphologic significance." The bench on November 22 further took note of the report over the extensive unauthorised constructions along the cliff, such as resorts, restaurants,

Amidst the rift in Kerala BJP over the party's loss in the Palakkad Assembly by-poll, the Congress on Tuesday tried to cash in on the opportunity by inviting dissident leaders of the saffron party to its fold. The displeasure openly expressed by the Chairperson and many councillors of the BJP-ruled Palakkad Municipality over the selection of C Krishnakumar as the party candidate in the Assembly by-poll, prompted the grand old party to make the political move. The district leadership of the Congress made it clear that if the BJP councillors wish to renounce Hindutva and embrace the Congress ideology, they would be welcomed. Senior Congress leader and Palakkad MP, V K Sreekandan and DCC president A Thankappan extended the invitation through the media. However, they said they didn't hold any talks with any of the BJP councillors in this regard, and the matter would be taken up only after they expressed willingness to quit the saffron party. Thankappan said the BJP councillors are yet

The Supreme Court on Monday allowed a plea by Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan seeking relaxation of a bail condition of reporting to police every week in a UAPA case registered against him. A bench of Justices P S Narasimhan and Sandeep Mehta relaxed the bail condition imposed by the top court on Kappan while granting bail in September 2022. "The order dated September 9, 2022, is modified and it shall not be necessary for the petitioner to report to the local police station. The other prayers made in the present application can be agitated independently," the bench said. The top court had on September 17 asked the state government to file its reply on the plea of Kappan, who was arrested in October 2020 while on his way to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh after a Dalit woman from there died following gangrape. On September 9, 2022, the top court granted bail to Kappan, who was in jail for almost two years, while observing that every person has the right to free expression. It had

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has urged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to release the Centre's share of Rs 817.80 crore in the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for the Vizhinjam seaport here without imposing the condition that the state has to repay it later. Vijayan, in a letter to the FM, said the condition imposed by the Empowered Committee constituted by the Department of Economic Affairs, that the VGF amount should be repaid by Kerala in Net Present Value (NPV) terms by way of premium (revenue) sharing, would result in a huge loss of Rs 10,000 to 12,000 crore to the state exchequer. "The state is investing resources to the tune of Rs 5,595 crore out of the total project outlay of Rs 8,867 crore. I am sure, the Hon'ble Minister would appreciate that given the financial situation of a small state, like Kerala with limited financial resources, this scale of investment involves tremendous sacrifice on the part of the state. "In addition, as the repayment of Rs 817.80

The Kerala government on Wednesday decided to bear the medical expenses of those injured in the fire accident at a temple near Neeleswaram in Kasaragod district that left 154 people injured, eight of them seriously. The incident occurred late Monday night at Anjoottanbalam Veererkavu temple near Neeleswaram when firecrackers stored in the vicinity exploded, according to the police. The decision to bear the medical expenses of those injured in the incident was taken in a Cabinet meeting, the chief minister's office (CMO) said in a statement. Three persons including two temple committee officials were arrested in connection with the incident on Tuesday after a case was registered under the Explosive Substance Act and various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to probe into the fire accident. Besides that, the additional divisional magistrate has been directed to carry out an inquiry separately into the incident and submi

The Kerala government on Sunday continued to express its displeasure over the delay in central assistance to landslide-hit Wayanad and said the union government was yet to announce the category in which the disaster is classified. Revenue Minister K Rajan said 100 days have passed since the massive landslides rocked the hamlets of Wayanad, but the state was yet to receive any assistance from the union government for its rehabilitation. The "negative approach" adopted by the Centre in terms of the rehabilitation of Wayanad was 'painful' for the state, he told reporters here. The state government has raised demands for central assistance several times. "What Kerala wants is not the amount from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF)...What we want is a special package for Wayanad," Rajan said. Noting that the state had already submitted a memorandum to the Centre in accordance with the Disaster Management Act, the minister said the union government is now talking only about the amou

Heavy rainfall over multiple regions in Kerala led to waterlogging, disrupted road traffic, and widespread inconvenience

The Kerala High Court on Monday directed the SIT investigating the sexual abuse allegations in the Malayalam film industry to probe the widespread use of alcohol and drugs on film shooting sets and other related work places. A special division bench of Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and C S Sudha, hearing the PIL regarding the Justice Hema Committee report and related matters, directed that necessary steps should be taken, as and when required in the future, to prevent the rampant use of alcohol and drugs at shooting locations and other connected work sites, and said this was in violation of law. The bench directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the matter and take necessary action as per law. The Justice Hema panel was constituted by the Kerala government after the 2017 actress assault case and its report revealing instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry. Following allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation

The Kerala Assembly was adjourned for the day on Monday after a protest on the floor of the House following an intense verbal duel between Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan. Raising slogans against the CM, members of the opposition UDF allegedly climbed the podium of Speaker A N Shamseer and held up a banner, preventing the House from seeing his face. This prompted Vijayan to condemn the opposition's actions. As the protest and sloganeering escalated, and the Congress-led UDF members were reluctant to return to their seats despite repeated requests, the Speaker adjourned the House for the day. The government decision to discuss the opposition's adjournment notice regarding the controversial remarks allegedly made by the Chief Minister about Malappuram was withdrawn. The second day of the session commenced on a stormy note with the enraged opposition expressing displeasure to Speaker Shamseer over the altering of 49 starred questions into ...

The Kerala government on Saturday said that it will again request the Centre to exclude residential areas near the Periyar tiger reserve from the buffer zone. The decision was taken at a State Wildlife Board meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, according to a statement issued by his office. According to the CMO statement, it was decided in the meeting to again request the Centre to exclude 502.73 hectares of inhabited areas of Pampa valley and Angel valley settlements from the buffer zone around the tiger sanctuary. This recommendation will be submitted to the Centre along with additional information sought by it, the statement said. The CM called the urgent meeting, also attended by state Forest Minister A K Saseendran, to ensure this issue is considered at the National Wildlife Board meeting to be held on October 9, it said. The proposal to exclude 8.9725 square kilometers of inhabited area from Thattekad bird sanctuary and include 10.1694 square kilometers of res

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman responds by saying it was not feasible to mention every state in the Budget

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Thiruvananthapuram has been a stronghold of the Congress and Communist Party of India (CPI)

Wayanad has witnessed several incidents of wild elephant attacks, including the recent death of a forest department watcher

On Thursday, India reported 358 new cases of Covid-19, of which 300 cases were from Kerala; Insacog said no traces of widespread infection were found yet

The district administration advised students to wear masks and carry hand sanitizers when going to their respective educational institutions

The Kerala State Beverages Corporation (KSBC) this year registered a record liquor sale of around Rs 759 crore between August 21-30 amidst the Onam festival. The liquor sales this year was 8.5 per cent more than last year's Rs 700 crore during the same period, KSBC CMD Yogesh Gupta told PTI. "Between August 21 and 30, liquor worth around Rs 759 crore was sold by KSBC. Last year it was Rs 700 crore," he noted. On Uthradom (on the eve of Thiruvonam day), KSBC, also known as Bevco, sold alcohol worth Rs 116.19 crore which was also more than last year's Rs 112.07 crore on the same day. "Around 6 lakh customers were served by Bevco shops on Uthradom day (August 28). More than 2,000 customers per shop on an average on a single day," Gupta said. While there was no liquor sales on Thiruvonam -- on August 29 -- the next day saw sales of around Rs 93 crore, he added. There are around 301 government-run liquor outlets across the State.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday urged Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to put in place safeguards against cases of gross medical negligence in the state. The Wayanad MP also sought an effective grievance redressal system to deal with such matters so that victims do not have to take to the streets for justice. The request was made by Gandhi in connection with the incident of forceps accidentally left inside a woman's stomach after surgery due to alleged medical negligence by the doctors of a government medical college in Kozhikode. In a letter to Vijayan, the MP also urged the government to look into the demands of the woman -- Harshina K K -- and offer her adequate compensation "in light of the unique circumstances of the case" in addition to the Rs 2 lakh already given to her. "I would also like to request you to kindly put in place adequate safeguards against such cases of gross medical negligence and establish effective grievance redressal systems so that victims

Kerala has demonstrated remarkable success in managing its finances during the last fiscal year, despite the adverse global situation and the central government's unfavourable approach towards the state, Finance Minister K N Balagopal has said. He said despite numerous obstacles, the financial performance of the Kerala government during the 202223 fiscal year was "impressive." "The state managed to fund critical development and welfare projects, demonstrating the efficiency of its revenue collection systems. Amidst global economic challenges, Kerala's resilience serves as a beacon of hope for overcoming future hurdles," the minister added. Balagopal said this in an article titled "Rising to the Challenges" published in the latest issue of "Kerala Calling", an official magazine of the state government. He noted that in March 2023, the Kerala government spent Rs 22,000 crore from the Treasury to fund various governmental activities, allowing for unhindered developmental and welfare .

The Left-ruled Kerala on Tuesday said it will consider with "utmost seriousness" the proposal by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin to pass a resolution in the state Assembly to fix a time limit for Governors to approve bills passed by respective assemblies. This was informed by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan through a letter to Stalin who had proposed to pass a resolution in the Kerala Assembly similar to that passed by the Tamil Nadu Legislature to fix the time limit for Governors to approve the bills. In his reply to the letter sent by Stalin on April 11, Vijayan said as defenders of the federal spirit of our Constitution, "we have to cooperate in every effort to prevent the curtailing of the functioning of elected state governments." "Even though the time period for giving assent to the bills is not specifically mentioned in the Constitution, it has to be a reasonable one," he said. Vijayan said going by the experience of many states, the Justice M N Venkatachaliah ..

Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal has expressed hope that the Union Budget will allocate more funds for social and infrastructure development as well as correct the Centre's fiscal policy in dealing with states. The Left leader, who is critical of the Union government's approach towards the states in terms of GST implementation and devolution of central funds, also said the "serious discrimination" showed towards Kerala should be stopped. In an interview to PTI, Balagopal said the Centre's approach has led to a financial crisis in the state that is affecting the overall development. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be announcing the Budget for 2023-24 on February 1, at a time when global uncertainties and headwinds are impacting the Indian economy. "As far as Kerala is concerned, there is a sharp fall in the percentage in our divisible pool. We have requested the Union government to correct it," the minister said. Ahead of the Union Budget, Balagopal alleged "ser