Thiruvananthapuram: The cabinet on Wednesday decided to extend by six months the validity of 18 Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) rank lists for teacher appointments under the general education department.The extension will apply to rank lists from the primary level to HSST whose validity expires in Sept, Oct and Nov this year. The decision was taken to address delays in reporting teacher vacancies, said chief minister V D Satheesan.The cabinet also decided to establish three new special narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances (NDPS) courts in Palakkad, Manjeri and Thrissur judicial districts to expedite the trial of drug cases. A total of 33 new posts will be created for the three courts. The number of permanent posts in the existing NDPS courts in Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam will be increased from eight to 11 each.Satheesan said govt’s ‘Toofan’ anti-drug programme was progressing strongly and warned that strict action would be taken against those attacking officials conducting drug inspections or members of the public assisting them.Govt will complete the scrutiny of applications related to flood relief at the earliest and begin disbursing the assistance this week, Satheesan said. The five-member committee appointed to study the Wayanad tunnel road landslide will submit its report to govt soon, he said.The complaint filed by the sports department in connection with footballer Lionel Messi’s proposed visit has been forwarded to the home department for further action, he said. A special investigation team is examining reports concerning alleged GST irregularities, he added.On the ecologically sensitive area (ESA) issue, Satheesan said there was no basis for apprehension as the expert committee had only prepared a draft report. The present draft covered less than 10,000sq km, compared with 13,108 sq km identified under the Kasturirangan report, he said.Oommen Chandy govt had appointed the Oommen V Oommen committee, which reduced the area to 9,993.7sq km. The area initially covered 123 villages, which were subsequently split into 131 villages for the purpose of demarcation. Satheesan said the previous govt had further reduced the number of villages to 98.He said govt’s demand was to retain ESA within 98 villages and exclude populated areas within villages where forest and residential areas coexist, rather than declaring an entire village as ESA. The expert committee had indicated that the suggestion could be considered, he said.Govt will continue the measures taken by the Chandy govt on the issue and take a firm stand, Satheesan said. Around 9,200sq km of the nearly 10,000sq km in the current draft was reserve forest, he added.The state will convey its strong opposition to the proposed railway bifurcation directly to Prime Minister and Union railway minister, he said.Satheesan said tax revenue had increased over the past three months but it wasn’t sufficient and govt wasn’t satisfied with the revenue position.Responding to leader of the opposition Pinarayi Vijayan’s criticism of tax collection, Satheesan said govt was following the principle of collecting taxes without burdening people, comparing it to a bee drawing honey from a flower.He said govt hadn’t increased taxes after taking office but instead reduced tax on certain goods, including electric vehicles priced below Rs 20 lakh and Rs 10 lakh. The reduction had contributed to a significant increase in electric vehicle sales in Keralam, he said. Satheesan rejected allegations that govt had borrowed beyond its permitted borrowing limit.
