Minister for Local-Self Government K.T. Jaleel on Monday castigated Kozhikode Corporation officials for their alleged complacency and the delay in dealing with building permits. Speaking after hearing complaints at the town planning file adalat of the corporation for the disposal of files on building permissions, occupancy certificates and pending arrears, he said the adalat would not have been necessary if the officials had done their job well.
Earlier, inaugurating the adalat, the Minister said the government would introduce performance audit for the staff in all the Local Self-Government Department (LSGD) institutions in the State from June 1. The Minister said honest officials would be felicitated after the audit.
Principal Secretary T.K. Jose, who joined the Minister, also lashed out at the officials. He said that attitude, skill and knowledge were necessary to succeed in any profession, but in the absence of integrity all these things would go waste.
The officials were directed to complete building permit procedures within 30 days of the submission of application and were issued an ultimatum to find ‘missing files’.
As many as 400 complaints were received at the adalat, of which 204 were brought before the Minister. While 165 complaints were redressed on the spot, 39 were referred to the Coastal Regulatory Authority. The remaining 196 complaints were forwarded to the Paddy and Wetlands Committee. This was the fourth such adalat in the State and the biggest in terms of the number of complaints received.
Meanwhile, an official was suspended for allegedly trying to block a file from considering at the adalat while an explanation was sought from another official for delaying a file.
Mayor Thottathil Raveendran, who presided over the adalat, said online building plan approval would be a reality in the corporation within two months.
