The National Fisherfolk Forum (NFF) has sought the intervention of the President in ending the stalemate in administration following the endless feuding between the Lt. Governor and Chief Minister.
In a memorandum, forum chairperson M. Ilango said he sought to highlight the “administrative disaster” in the Puducherry Union Territory as a representative of the fishermen community which was the third largest community of Puducherry and as someone with concern for the common man.
The memorandum pointed out that Puducherry had a high population of farmers, Dalits, fishers and weavers. Since all the four geographical regions of Puducherry happened to be on the coast, fishermen were the third largest community.
Besides farmers, agriculture workers, and fishermen, there was a large number of people with traditional occupation such as weaving. The elected government of Puducherry and the present Lieutenant Governor took charge of their respective offices last year.
In the past 54 years since Puducherry became a Union Territory of India, umpteen number of Lieutenant Governors, Chief Ministers and ministers have functioned without much friction.
They — all those who were in the administrative responsibility such as the LG, CMs and the ministers — have functioned according to the provisions of the Puducherry Union Territory Act 1963 and the rules of Business of Government of Puducherry 1963 and provided a stable and well functioning government to the people of Puducherry.
‘Work affected’
“But now there is an extraordinary situation where the Puducherry government has come to a standstill; the bureaucracy is bewildered about what to do and the government is thrown to a pitiable state of coma,” the memorandum stated.
According to the memorandum, there were public accusations that the L-G had ordered the Secretary to the Finance Department not to allow financial sanctions to certain departments of Puducherry. The ministers themselves had made open complaints that the secretary to the Finance Department did not address the call of the ministers and did not provide any explanation to why he was not doing so.
Also, the contents of the secret files between the Ministry of Home Affairs of the union government and the Government of Puducherry were released on social media. Farmers, dalits, fishermen, weavers, labourers, old age pensioners, the poorest of poor who benefit from the free ration schemes and such common people of all walks of life of Puducherry are in utter misery as the schemes did not reach them.
“Leaving such a situation to continue is tantamount to destroying an elected government,” the NFF said.
The memorandum urged the President to take cognisance of the seriousness of the situation and “advise the Lt. Governor to let the democratically elected government to function smoothly.”
