Kerala finance minister T M Thomas Isaac wants to finally put brakes on galloping non-plan revenue expenditure. All requests for new teacher posts will henceforth be shot down and if any government official is found seated idle in schemes, projects and department sections that have long been declared redundant will now be asked to be useful in areas where hands are badly needed.
Isaac said it was fine to create posts, but it has to be done after detailed deliberations. He said 17,614 new posts were created during the tenure of this government. “It was sanctioned after intense deliberations and detailed examination,” he said.
However, the 18,119 posts created in government-aided schools have left Isaac fuming. “These were created without following the necessary procedures. 13,255 teachers continue to be in the protected category,” Isaac said.
This spike in teacher postings was mainly on account of the 30:1 student-teacher ratio that was introduced during the UDF tenure. It was brought down from 45:1 to retain protected teachers. Tragedy is, this temporary measure has now become the norm.
Worse still, such teacher postings are done behind the back of the state government. In any other department, government permission is required even for a temporary posting. In the case of schools, the management only has to intimate the AEO (assistant educational officer).
The KER (Kerala Education Rules) has been so tweaked that even if one more student is admitted to a class of 30, the school can appoint a new teacher. “The situation that one post could be created if the student ratio exceeds by even one student will have to change. New posts should be created only with concurrence of the government. Kerala Education Rules will be amended accordingly,” Isaac said.
Where the finance minister might face resistance is when he attempts to make underutilised government staff more useful. As much as Rs 21,174 crore will be spent by local bodies during 2020-21 and, clearly, their staff strength is not sufficient to bear the load.
However, Isaac said the Local Self-Government Department had 1000 employees in its District Rural Development Agencies and performance audit wings. “Their duties are not relevant at present. More important tasks have to be done at lower levels. So, it is decided to re-deploy them all before the end of this financial year,” Isaac said. Even the UDF government had wanted the DRDAs disbanded. And the work of the performance audit wing is now done by the Local Fund Audit.
Likewise, the abolition of check-posts had left 234 employees of the State Goods and Service Tax Department jobless. Of this, 25 have already been re-deployed to lotteries department and Isaac said the remaining will be re-deployed to panchayats.
Isaac said all departments would be subjected to detailed scrutiny to find excess staff. “Many lower posts have become irrelevant due to computerisation. Engineers remain in many irrigation schemes even though the works have been completed. At the same time, for local water shed development programmes, canal cleaning, preparation of estimates and supervision more engineers are required," Isaac said.
It is not clear whether Isaac would be successful in his pursuit. If early attempts are any pointer, he could be thwarted.
Right from his second budget in this tenure, Isaac had been talking about curtailing the use of cars and travel allowance bills. No one seems to have heard him.
Isaac repeated the call, indirectly acknowledging he had failed before. "At present there is an order restraining the purchase of cars, TA bills, and new grant-in-aid institutions. This will be implemented strictly," he said.
Instead of purchasing new cars, Isaac has asked departments to hire them on a monthly basis.
