Govt. may take Ordinance route to clear legal hurdles

HC order on deferment of salary of employees

29/04/2020, N.J. NAIR,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

The State government is likely to promulgate an Ordinance to clear the legal hurdles to its decision to defer the salary of government employees and teachers.

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday had stayed for two months the operationalisation of the government order to defer the payment of six days’ salary from April to August to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Cabinet is likely to clear the draft Ordinance on Wednesday and set the ground for deducting the salary. The stay order was set to compound the fiscal woes of the government which was striving hard to garner resources for meeting its routine expenditure.

Inadequate funds

Finance Department sources told The Hindu that the ₹2,000 crore left at its disposal was grossly inadequate to foot the salary bill, leave alone the service pension and other expenses. The estimated outgo for salary and pension is ₹3,800 crore. Had the court not stayed the decision to defer the salary, the government would have saved ₹500 crore a month.

The returns from Goods and Services Tax for the month has been pegged at ₹150 crore, the revenue deficit grant from the Centre at ₹1,276 crore and a trickle of ₹574 crore from petrol cess and other sources.

Of the approved limit of ₹25,400 crore for the current financial year, the government has already borrowed ₹6,000 crore. On deciding to expend the ₹2,000 crore for clearing the salary and pension bills, the government would again have to opt for market borrowing to meet the other committed expenditure and the additional burden incurred by COVID-19.

Disbursal of full complement of the salary would still be a tough task. On deciding to promulgate the Ordinance, the government could buy time to decide its future course.

Four COVID-19 patients discharged from Salem GH

29/04/2020, STAFF REPORTER,SALEM

Four patients, who were undergoing treatment for COVID-19 at the Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College Hospital here, were discharged on Tuesday.

The patients, a 20-year-old youth from Mettur, a 45-year-old woman and two women aged 25 from different parts of Salem city were discharged after their results turned negative in the last two tests.

The doctors said that the patients were contacts of previous cases reported here.

R.Balajinathan, Dean of Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College Hospital, P.V.Dhanapal, Medical Superintendent, Dr.Rani, Resident Medical Offficer, Suresh Kanna, Head, General Medicine, and J.Nirmalson, Deputy Director of Health Services cheered the patients on their recovery.

Dr.Balajinathan said that till date, 20 COVID-19 patients had been discharged from the Hospital and there were 11 patients from Salem, four from Namakkal and a patient from Dharmapuri undergoing treatment at the Hospital.

Grocery shops in Salem might operate on rotation basis

29/04/2020, STAFF REPORTER,SALEM

With the total lockdown ending in Salem on Tuesday and the earlier lockdown with some relaxation set to resume, Salem District Collector S.A. Raman said the district administration was planning to allow grocery shops to operate on rotation basis.

However, uzhavar sandhais and vegetable shops in containment areas would not function.

“We are planning to let grocery stores function in a controlled manner. In a bazaar, shops on left side would be allowed to function on one day and shops on right side on the next day. Public should strictly follow social distancing when they come out and they should compulsorily wear masks and they may be fined otherwise,” he said.

About 250 mobile vegetable vehicles were being operated in the district.

On Tuesday, Mr.Raman flagged off a mobile grocery store with over 70 products for delivery in containment areas.

Mr. Raman said that teams were working at the State and district level actively for identifying from where recently reported primary cases in the district contracted the disease.

He said that there was no community spread at present in the district.

On Tuesday, Mr. Raman received 1.5 lakh eggs provided by Tamil Nadu Egg Poultry Farmers Marketing Society here.

He said 85,000 eggs would be provided to Salem Corporation, 40,000 to municipalities and 25,000 to town panchayats for free distribution to public to improve their immunity.

The eggs would be provided to sanitary workers, and to others through Amma canteens and community kitchens.

Students from Assam want to return home

29/04/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
COIMBATORE

As many as 39 women students from Assam, pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate courses in different educational institutions in the city, have demanded facilities to return home.

They had tweeted their wish to the Assamese officials and this was taken up by a non-profit organisation working in the north eastern States. The organisation sought support from the local authorities here to meet the needs of these students.

The students, who are staying across the city, had received financial support from the Assam government. They said their main need was train service to return home. They said they were not feeling comfortable staying here and preferred to go back to their families.

District Collector K. Rajamani said officials had met the students and provided them with provisions. The officials had also discussed with the students their needs and assured them support to return home when train services will be resumed.

Rise in number of people dependent on Amma canteens in Erode city

29/04/2020, STAFF REPORTER , ERODE

With the lockdown entering 35th day on Tuesday, the number of people dependent on Amma canteens has gone up significantly in the last one week.

11 canteens

The Erode Corporation runs 11 canteens in the city that provides breakfast and lunch at a nominal price to about 1,200 poor people every day.

After the announcement of lockdown on March 24, all the hotels and eateries were closed.

Homeless people, poor people and those involved in providing essential services started relying on Amma canteens for food. Since the demand for food has gone up, the Corporation started providing dinner at all the canteens from the first week of April.

The average number of people depending on the canteens started to increase with 7,500 people consuming food every day.

From April 23, food was provided free of cost to the people and hence long queues can be seen outside the canteens.

With more people turning up, food was served in areca leaves and police personnel were posted to monitor the crowd and to ensure personal distancing.

Corporation Commissioner M. Elangovan told The Hindu that on an average 15,000 people consume breakfast in the canteens. “Since the canteen workers are experienced, they are able to serve over 45,000 people a day in the city”, he added.

CM silent on filing appeal

29/04/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday refused to reveal whether the State would file an appeal against the High Court’s stay on deducting the salary of government employees.

The High Court had put in abeyance, for two months, the controversial decision to defer the payment of six days’ salary every month from April to August to help the government tide over the financial crunch caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. Mr. Vijayan said the State was constitutionally bound to obey the decision of the court. Mr. Vijayan ignored the question whether the Law Department had let down the government by issuing an ambiguous order that had scant legal backing or precedence. Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala who had moved the High Court against the controversial order, said the arrogance of the government that it could arm-twist State employees into forsaking their pay had earned the opprobrium of the court.