THRISSUR: The three-day revenue staff arts festival that got off to a colourful start here on Friday evening has also invited criticisms that it was an unwarranted luxury when the state is passing through an acute financial crisis.
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had inaugurated the festival through an online platform.
A procession showcasing various cultural and art forms of Kerala was held in the city to mark the beginning of the festival.
The staff members of the different revenue offices in the district, local self-government institutions, members of the Kudumbasree, Haritha Karma Sena, Kerala Youth Force, NCC, and Scouts were among those who joined the procession.
The critics point out that the government has misused its official clout for the conduct of the festival and procession.
In fact, the government has issued a letter sanctioning the local bodies in the district to utilise the funds for the conduct of the procession.
As per the letter, the district panchayat can spend Rs 50,000, corporation can spend Rs 1 lakh, municipalities Rs 30,000 and grama panchayats Rs 15,000, for the cultural procession
“This is a diversion of scarce resources of the local bodies for a programme of the revenue department staff alone and has no public involvement dimension. This is strongly condemnable,” said Naito Baby Areekal, general secretary of Kerala panchayat employees’ organisation.
