Mookunnimala: reports yet to be finalised

The Neyyattinkara Tahalsidar is yet to file a detailed report, including a data bank, on the quarries and crusher units that are functioning in Mookunnimala even though the district administration had given time till April 25 to file the report.

District Collector Biju Prabhakar had on April 16 directed the Neyyattinkara tahsildar to create a data bank of quarry and crusher units at Mookkunnimala, including survey number of lands owned by the Fire and Rescue Services and Defence establishments in the hill.

Though the district administration has given strict directions that there should not be any delay in filing the data and report, it is ten days that the Taluk office is yet to gather all the data. When contacted, Tahalsidar Sam L Sone said that the data is only being collected. ''We are yet to collect and coordinate all the data. The work will be completed and mostly submitted by Tuesday,'' he said.

Apart from the data on total number of quarry and crusher units functioning in the region and also about the land of the Fire Force and Army, the district collector had also asked to furnish details of closed down quarries.

Meanwhile, Prabhakar said that they were for having a comprehensive data on all the land in that area. ''There are abandoned quarries of which data was not available. The entire area should be marked in Litho. It all will take some time,'' he said and added that the process was on.

Source: The New Indnian Express
http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/488448/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/28-04-2015#page/17/1

Land for tourism, Rules stresses on agriculture

Emphasis on agriculture and protecting the nature of the land has been stressed in the rules framed as part of allowing five per cent of the estate land for tourism purposes. According to the rules submitted by the Land Board to the government, it calls for using 90 per cent of the five per cent land for agriculture purpose.

Though the Kerala Land Reforms Act 1963 has been amended to ensure that five per cent of land in all plantations can be used for other purposes, the rules have not yet been framed. One of the important rules that has been framed and submitted for approval of the government is that only 5 per cent or 50 acres of the total land, which ever is minimal, should be only used for non – plantation purposes. And it has been said that only ten percent of the alienated 5 per cent land or 5 acres should be used for tourism purposes and the remaining for cultivating plants that has been specified in the amendment.

The rules specify that exemption on the land can be given only once, which the officials say would help in preventing more fragmentation of the land. In the rules, it has been said that the amendment will only be applicable to lands that are not involved in any court cases, highly placed sources said.

Another important rule as proposed is that fragmented lands should not be given the benefit of 5 per cent relaxation. It is learned that the Land Board has submitted about 40 rules to the government.

Source: The New Indian express

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/488448/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/28-04-2015#page/5/1

Non setting up of Ayush department; Kerala loses big

Kerala is losing big money from the Centre as part of its allotment to the Ayush Department as the state is yet to set up the department. Though into the final stages and the health Minister announcing at regular intervals that the department would be set up at the earliest, official apathy is alleged to have led to the delay.

The latest announcement from Health Minister V S Sivakumar was that the department would be set up in the first week of April. It is alleged that some officials in the health department were creating certain impediments in the process of setting up the department. The sources said that it is highly critical that the department was not set up when the government had no financial burdens. There was no need for creating any additional posts and no money is needed from the state exchequer, they said.

With the delay in setting up Ayush Department, it has been estimated that the state was losing crores of central fund. The state is losing funds for the different schemes under Ayush. And it is also alleged that some of the funds that has been allotted could not be used effectively. If there was an independent department, then all the money could have been utilised in a fruitful manner, they said.

''There is immense scope once the department comes up. Now the state is using only minimal fund from the centre,'' said Ayurveda Medical Association of India (AMAI) General Secretary Dr Rejith Anand. He also noted that the state government only applied for minimal funds from the centre as part of Ayush when compared to the other states.

He said that a separate department would only help in modernising the hospitals, pushing up research activities, development of education, improving quality of drugs and availability of medicinal plants. All these could give an impetus to the growth of traditional medicines, he added.

Source: the New Indian express

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/487748/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/undefined#page/5/2

IMA lauds kerala Govt's initiative against sound pollution

Welcoming the state government's decision to prohibit the use of air-horns in vehicles in the State, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) said that the state could become a model for the other states to follow.

''The cabinet on Thursday decided to take stringent steps against sound pollution. This is a welcome note that should be followeddd by other states, '' said IMA state president Dr Sreeejith N Kumar and secretary Dr A Jayakrishnan.

The government had also instructed the Motor Vehicles Department to check that the law is strictly adhered to in the State. While flagging off the all-Kerala cycle rally organised by Indian Medical Association, Kerala chapter, against sound pollution, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had on Thursday said that steps will be taken at the earliest to see that vehicles of VIPs, including that of the ministers, do not violate sound pollution norms.

They said that the campaign , titled National Initiative for Safe Sound (NISS), will cover all the districts. The rally that will conclude at Kozhikode on April 28 will highlight the serious health and social effects of noise pollution. Seminars, street plays and other awareness campaigns are being organised as part of the campaign, Kumar and Jayakrishnan said.

Source: the new indian express

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/481833/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/18-04-2015#page/2/1

Kendrathil News: Directions for detailed report on Mookunnimala qua...

Kendrathil News: Directions for detailed report on Mookunnimala qua...: T he Thiruivananthapuram district administration has directed the Neyyattinkara Tahalsidar to file a detailed report on the quarries and c...

Directions for detailed report on Mookunnimala quarries

The Thiruivananthapuram district administration has directed the Neyyattinkara Tahalsidar to file a detailed report on the quarries and crusher units that are functioning in Mookunnimala.

District Collector Biju Prabhakar directed the Tahalsidar on Thursday to file the report by April 25. He has asked to furnish the report regarding the total number of quarry and crusher units along with the survey numbers of the land where they are functioning. Even the details of closed down quarries should be included in the report, he said. Apart from this, the Tahalsidar has also been asked to provide details about government land, including that of the fire force and the Army.

The collector gave the direction after a high level meeting at the Collectorate, which was attended by officials of the Revenue department, Pollution Control Board and the Geology Department.

Prabhakar also stressed that all the vehicles and equipment of the quarry and crusher units that were functioning without proper license and documents will be confiscated. Meanwhile, the officials of the Pollution Control Board said that licenses have not been renewed for any of the units at Mookunnimala.

The above direction gains significance in the wake of allegations that the panchayat was going to renew the licenses of the various quarry and crusher units. It has been alleged that the Panchayat had recently renewed the Dangerous and Offensive Trade License to a private quarrying group defying the Collector's orders and directives from the National Green Tribunal.

The Mookunnimala issue has been boiling for the last many years with the Mookunnimala Samrakshana Samithi intensifying their agitation against all quarry activities in the hill. The samithi leaders have reiterated that they would continue the agitation till all the quarries are stopped in the hill. They have alleged that all the rules have been violated by the quarry owners for the last many years and the officials had only helped the quarry mafia. They allege that most of the quarry operators did not have the required licenses and papers.

Source: the New Indian Express

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/481127/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/17-04-2015#page/17/1

Kerala for free recruitment of Nurses abroad

Labour Minister Shibu Baby John has said that the government will actively look into the feasibility of making recruitment of nurses, who seek employment in the Middle East, completely cost-free.

“The government aims to make such a situation where the recruitment is made completely free of cost,” he said after releasing the brochure and prospectus of NICE- Nursing Institute of Career Enhancement, a centre for excellence in nursing under the Kerala Academy of Skill Excellence (KASE), here. The academy will start functioning at Kinfra park here on May 20.

He also noted that during a preliminary round of discussions with the Kuwait government, it has been decided that the employers will bear the recruitment charge. NICE has also decided to sign an agreement with ODEPC and NORKA in the wake of the state government’s move making overseas recruitment of nurses only through government agencies.

NICE will start operations under the KASE with an aim to provide world-class training to nurses, which will help them to find jobs anywhere in the world. The Trivandrum Specialists Hospital of NMC Health Care Group will lead the training sessions and recruitments of the nursing academy.

NICE will provide certificates for subjects including the Basic Life Support, Advance Cardiac Life Support, Quality and Patient Safety, Infection Prevention and Control, Emergency and Critical Care Nursing and Work Ethics. It also provides training for various qualifying exams conducted by the Ministry of Health, Health Authority of Abudhabi, Dubai Health Authority and Qatar Ministry of Health. Apart from the selected section, it will also provide training in languages like English and Arabic.

Source: the New Indian Express

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/481127/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/17-04-2015#page/2/1

Kerala to take steps against sound polution

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has said that steps will be taken at the earliest to see that vehicles of VIPs, including that of the ministers, do not violate sound pollution norms. He said this while flagging off the all-Kerala cycle rally organised by Indian Medical Association, Kerala chapter, against sound pollution.

''Discussions have been held with Transport and Environment Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan regarding sound pollution of vehicles, including that of Ministers,'' he said and added that a decision in this regard will be taken in the cabinet soon.

Meanwhile, Radhakrishnan said that it was a reality that sound pollution was beyond the permissible limits. Every one is responsible and at the same time a victim to sound pollution, he said and added that instructions have been given to his departments to take action against sound pollution.

Health Minister V S Sivakumar, who launched the logo, said that there was lack of awareness about sound pollution.

The campaign, titled National Initiative for Safe Sound (NISS), will cover all the districts. The rally will highlight the serious health and social effects of noise pollution. As part of the rally, they would also organise seminars, street plays and other awareness campaigns. The rally, the participants who will include doctors, will conclude in Kozhikode on April 28.

The NISS Award instituted by the IMA was presented to Thiruvananthapuram district collector Biju Prabhakar.

Source: The new indian express

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/481127/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/17-04-2015#page/2/1

Hospitals to find hard to deal with ''ghost faculty'' with RFID coming

With the Medical Council of India stressing on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system to track the teaching staff, the medical colleges both in the government as well as private sector will find it hard to recruit ''ghost faculty'' (who actually do not exist and remain on paper only) for a day at the time of annual inspections. Many of the colleges resort to such practice so that they get approvals from MCI for increasing the number of seats.

Various Medical organisations such as the Indian Medical Association and the Kerala Government Medical College Teachers Association (KGMCTA) have welcomed the move to introduce biometric scanners. However, they also opined that apart from the new systems that the MCI is introducing, an overall revamp of the medical education system is the need of the hour.

The MCI has given instructions to all Medical colleges to immediately set up the RFID system. Through the system, The details of the attendance of doctors can be monitored even from Delhi, which will help in ensuring that that no impersonation is taking place during routine inspections.

The new instructions gain significance in the wake of concerns raised among the medical fraternity with respect to the redeployment of doctors to the two new medical colleges at Idukki and Manjeri.

Indian Medical Association national president A Marthanda Pillai said that IMA supported the move to make the system fool proof but this only cannot bring in any comprehensive change in the whole system. ''We have to see how far the system is going to be effective, he said but cautioned that problems could also crop up if more stringent measures are brought in.

Source: The new Indian express 

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/478558/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/13-04-2015#page/1/1

Functioning of govt Hospitals likely to be affected

With mass retirement of doctors, especially specialists, in the government hospitals lastmonth and in the coming month, the patient care at these hospitals are going to be 

badly hit even as it is alleged that the government is showing no efforts in filling the 

vacant posts. Moreover, the medical fraternity is of the opinion that once the due 

promotions are affected, vacancies could be opened up in the lower levels, which could  fill the gap of  doctors. 

It has been said that despite the PSC rank list of about 3,500 candidates two years 

ago, advice memo had only been sent to as many as 1083 candidates till now.  It is also alleged that for the last two years promotions are due to specialist doctors in the 

health service. 

Both the Kerala Government Medical Officers Association (KGMOA) the Kerala 

Government Specialist Doctors Association (KGSDA) have come out against the delay in filling the vacancies. It is alleged that the government that was now only interested in building Medical Colleges was giving no importance to primary and tertiary health 

care. The associations said that patient care has already been affected and is going to 

be worse in the coming days. 

Stating that most of the vacancies have not been reported, KGSDA secretary Dr Sunjith Ravi said that about 120 specialists have retired in March and about 100 could go in May, which is going to create a void in the health service. He opined that vacancies could be filled up in the lower levels only if due promotions are affected. Its about two years that promotions are due in the health service, he said.

Source: The new Indian express 

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/479851/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/15-04-2015#page/4/1

centre calls for relaxing norms of medical regulatory bodies

Stressing the need for a drastic change in medical education, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda said that the government was for relaxing the norms of regulatory bodies to give an impetus to medical education.

''The regulatory measures need a fresh thinking, a rethinking. Discussions are on with Medical Council of India and the Indian Medical Association and we are trying to convince them that we should be pragmatic,'' he said here after laying the foundation stone for new women’s hostel building and Dental College additional block at the Medical College.

Noting that medical education was facing a double challenge, he said the first challenge was lack of resources, mainly man power and the second one was that of maintaining quality of education. He stressed the need for a balance between quantity and quality in medical education. ''As per the WHO standards the doctor- patient ratio is 1: 1000 but we have 1: 1674 now. When 14 lakh doctors are needed in the country, we have only 7 to 8 lakh doctors. There is a need to address the issue at the earliest,'' he said.

Moreover, there is also a regional imbalance with regard to Medical institutions. While 65 per cent of the medical institutes are in Southern and Western India, the northern and eastern parts are unaddressed, the minister said. ''Of the 6640 districts, 400 districts do not have medical institutions. We are now planning to upgrade 100 district hospitals to medical colleges so that all the regions get at least one medical institute. With 100 more seats in each of the colleges, we can have 10,000 more doctors,'' he said.

Source: The New Indian Express

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/477312/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/11-04-2015#page/2/1

Kerala to get AIIMS: Minister

Dismissing concerns over delay in granting All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to the state, Union Health Minister J P Nadda assured that the state will get AIIMS. ''The Centre is committed to start AIIMS in all the states. Kerala is one of the states where we are going to start it,'' he said.

Nadda made the assurance after laying the foundation stone for new women’s hostel building, dental College additional block at the Medical College here. The government had given a memorandum related to AIIMS, he said. ''We respect the sentiments of the state regarding AIIMS and assure that we will go forward with it,'' he said.

Nadda also said that the Centre has received representation of four locations that have been identified by the state government for setting up AIIMS. ''We have decided to go ahead with the proposal and a team will come here and decide on it,'' he said.

He said that though health is a state subject, the Centre would always suport the state's initiatives. '' I assure you that whatever needed here will be taken care of. The state will gets its due share to keep the pace of development,'' he said.

Sources: The new indian express

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/477312/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/11-04-2015#page/2/1

IMA comes out with food policy document

Noting that scant attention is being paid to food safety in general and child nutrition in particular, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has called for reversing this alarming situation and suggested that good quality and affordability are the key requirements to an ideal food culture. The IMA, Kerala Chapter made the observation in its Food Policy Document 2015 that will be released by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Health Minister V S Sivakumar on World Health Day, which falls on Tuesday.

The IMA has come out with a food policy document with the theme of World Health Day 2015 being 'food safety'. In its in its guidelines on Safe and Healthy Food, the IMA said that every one including the authorities, organisations and citizens have to be aware about safe and healthy food and that it should never be a reason for disease.

The IMA under 27 different heads has highlighted the importance of taking a wholesome food that provide adequate calories and nutrients. It stresses that good quality and affordability are the key requirements to an ideal food culture.

Source: The Newindian express 

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/474173/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/07-04-2015#page/17/1

IMA Plans big on Organ Donation

With lack of awareness among the people on organ donation and a significant number of patients awaiting transplantation, the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Kerala Chapter, has stepped in to find donors for these patients with its various awareness campaigns across the state.

''The IMA has stepped in to help the patients find altruistic donors in accordance with its motto of the year “For the profession, for the people”. We aim at spreading awareness on brain death, voluntary organ donation and transplantation of various organs,'' said IMA Committee for Organ Donation state convenor Dr S Vasudevan.

With a number of voluntary organisations coming forward to join the IMA's initiative, he said that the association will be acting as an umbrella organisation. ''The Society for Organ Retrieval & Transplantation and others have come forward to associate with us,'' he said and added that it would give accelerate the efforts.

Vasudevan also said that a a registry with details of all those wiling to donate organs will be created. ''The association will accept consent forms from people who are willing to donate organs. They would be given donor cards and certificates and a registry will then be created. The first voluntary consent was given by Chairman of the Committee Dr Vinay Ranjan,'' he said.

Further, he said that the Association will reach the common man at various levels through its public meetings, workshops, awareness classes and other programmes. The association will be conducting various awareness programmes at educational institutions, residential colonies and other public places.

Source: The Newindian Express

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/474173/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/07-04-2015#page/2/1

Political pressure lands survey official out

With political pressure mounting from various service organisations, a senior official in the survey department, who is second in command, has been shifted from the post, stating that she is not eligible for the post. It was the same government that gave E R Sobhana a provisional promotion in 2012 taking into consideration her administrative skills. 

And the strange thing is that the government, allegedly under pressure from the service organisations, had given charge of the additional director to a deputy director against whom the vigilance had recommended suspension and even demoting him on various allegations. 

It is alleged that Sobhana was removed from the post as she had been taking stern action against corrupt officials, especially joint/deputy directors and even district survey officials, which has now agitated the service organissations. She even transferred certain people who were siting idle for years at the directorate to other offices, which is alleged to have angered certain union leaders.

As per the government order dated April 4, 2015, it is said that ''some service organisations have represented to government requesting to review the appointment of Sobhana as additional director''. It said that there was no provision in the Special rules of Survey and land records department to promote a person directly to the post pf Additional Director from deputy director in the absence of qualified persons in the cadre of Joint Director. It also said that Sobhana was not eligible for provisional promotion as per rule 31 a (i) of Kerala State & Subordinate Service Rules and as such her appointment was cancelled.

It should be noted that the government in its order dated September 20, 2012, had given provisional promotion to her evoking rule 9 a (i) of the same Kerala State & Subordinate Service Rules. Apart from this, the 2012 order states that she was being given promotion as the two joint directors could not be given promotion as several vigilance inquires were pending against them and were facing action. It also said that one of the joint directors was facing criminal charges at the Peroorkada police station. Sobhana was given promotion as the post was lying vacant from 2000 and the activities of the department was affected. Moreover, the seniority and promotion list in some of the sections are pending for a long time that had led the government to take such a step.

Source: The New Indian express

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/473534/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/06-04-2015#page/5/1