The Hindu Business Line : 100-day action plan in offing: Kerala CM

The schemes to be taken up for the 100-day action plan will be identified in a week's time, the Chief Minister, Mr. Oommen Chandy, said here on Monday.

Participating in a meet-the-press programme, he said the finances of the State Government had improved since the United Democratic Front (UDF) took office three years ago. However, the spiralling non-plan expenditure on account of large pension and interest payouts continued to be a major cause of worry for the Government.

In this context, he said, there is no proposal to raise the retirement age of the Government employees. It was not desirable in a situation where more than 40 lakh educated youth are looking for employment, he added.

On the restructuring of public sector undertakings, Mr Chandy said there was no point in spending tax-payers' money on continuously loss-making units. On the other hand, if some of the units could be made profitable with a one-time infusion of funds for purposes such as modernisation and technology upgradation, it could be pursued.

In any case, there was no intention to privatise PSUs that had been making profits. The Government would shortly hold a detailed discussion with the Opposition leaders on the issue of restructuring of PSUs, he said.

On the controversies surrounding self-financing educational institutions, he pointed out that allowing such institutions to come up was one of the most significant decisions of the UDF Government as it opened up more opportunities for the students within the State. However, there had been a change in the outlook now on the question of enabling financially backward students to get education in those institutions. At the same time, it has to be ensured that the institutions had the means to offer quality education, he added.

On the issue of corruption and irregularities in government dealings, he said what was needed was prevention of such incidents rather than tracking them down later. This would require simplifying of procedures and a time-bound programme.

The Government would strive to create an environment where there were no corruption and irregularities, he said and added that he would welcome suggestions in this regard from interested forums and the general public.