The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) proposal to shift the Devaswom Commissioner is likely to trigger administrative stalemate in the functioning of the board, especially at a time when only 14 days are left for the beginning of the annual pilgrimage season at Sabarimala.
The TDB had submitted a panel of three persons to Kerala High Court for replacing Commissioner P.V. Nalinakshan Nair. Leaders of many Hindu organisations termed the proposal to change the commissioner as ‘‘a political decision taken at an inopportune time.''
Mr. Nair, along with the former Devaswom Chief Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary, K. Jayakumar, had received accolades from the court as well as devotees for the smooth conduct of the annual Sabarimala pilgrim season during the past two years.
With the reconstitution of the board in July, the role of Mr. Jayakumar had been minimised to chairman of the high power committee for the implementation of Sabarimala Master Plan. However, the commissioner, who is also the member secretary of the committee, had continued his efforts to mobilise funds for implementing various developmental projects proposed in the master plan.
He was instrumental in setting up the Infra-structure Development Fund for implementation of the master plan. Arijit Pasayat, Supreme Court Judge, T.K.A. Nair, Prinicpal Secretary to Prime Minister, and industrialists from different parts of the country were made patrons of the fund in an effort to implement various key projects in a time-bound manner.
The Supreme Court as well as the Union Ministry of Forests and Environment had specifically mentioned that various short-term projects at Sabarimala should be implemented by 2015.
The State government had approved the master plan in 2007 and three years had already elapsed without any improvement in its implementation. It is noteworthy that a high-level team comprising the TDB chief and the commissioner had visited Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu recently on a successful mission to mobilise funds for Sabarimala development.
Many senior TDB officials were of the view that shifting of the commissioner at this juncture would only slow down the process of the master plan implementation, besides leading to administrative stalemate, at least for a few months.
Highly placed TDB sources said the decision to shift the commissioner was a political one for the stern stand he had taken in the conduct of a free and fair referendum of Devaswom employees' unions, leading to the rout of the unions backed by the CPI(M) and the RSP.
Moreover, the commissioner's unrelenting attitude to end corruption too had irked certain ruling political quarters, sources said.
ABASS plea
Akhila Bharatha Ayyappa Seva Sanghom (ABASS) vice-president D. Vijayakumar and Pandalam Palace Managing Committee president P. Ramavarma Raja had called upon the TDB to drop the move to shift the commissioner.
Mr. Raja said it was high time the judiciary and the Ombudsman intervened in the matter and take measures to ensure stability and transparency in TDB administration.
