Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said on Wednesday that he was not against an extension of Prime Minister’s Office being set up at the State Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram.
He will not have any blind opposition to the new Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s idea in this respect. He was not one who would refuse to look into new ideas at their face value. However, the details were yet to come. If the office benefits the State, that would be good. At the same time, there was no difficulty in Ministers and other officials taking up matters of interest to the State with the Centre in Delhi.
Talking to the media after a meeting of the Cabinet, the Chief Minister said that he would be going to Delhi on June 2. He would try to meet Mr. Modi on June 2 and discuss matters of concern to the State. However, detailed discussions would be held only on another occasion.
He said that the there was no change in the State government’s stand on the Kasturirangan report on Western Ghats. It was for protection of the environment. However, the proposals should be practical and implementable with public participation. The government was also for the Aramula airport proposal which was being opposed by BJP. All clearances for the project were given by the previous government. Decision on the promoters’ application for exemption from land ceiling would be considered. However, notification earmarking large areas, in excess of what was needed, for the project would be cancelled.
