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The government has issued a notification exempting the top secret section of the Vigilance and Anti-corruption Bureau dealing with enquires against Chief Minister, ministers, former ministers and elected representatives of people and all India service officers from the purview of the Right to Information Act.
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Kerala Cabinet on Wednesday decided to drop the plan to print State lotteries in a private printing press.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told the media after the Cabinet meeting that the government had taken the decision as the public sector Kerala Books and Publications Society (KBPS) had come forward to improve its efficiency and print 40 lakh more tickets a week.
The government move to entrust the part of the printing job to the private press with equity participation of State Small Industries Development Corporation (SIDCO) had given rise to a controversy.
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The Cabinet on Wednesday decided to not to withdraw the controversial order to accept basic tax from Karuna Plantations of Poabs group in Wayanad district as demanded by KPCC president V. M. Sudheeran.
Instead, it amended the order to the effect that tax should be accepted only after the High Court gives its order on the writ petition filed by the estate objecting to government decision to survey the land. The original order dated March 1 this year to the village officer was to accept the tax on 833 acres subject to the result of the writ petition.
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Kerala Parithasthithi Aikya Vedi has come out with an indictment of the government over harm done to the environment during the past five years.
The Vedi noted in the document released in the presence of scientists and environmentalists here that elephant poaching had resumed in Kerala and the government was engaged in a cover-up operation.
Permission was granted to reclaim paddy fields and water bodies at Metral Kayal, Kadamakudi and elsewhere. The government and Kochi Corporations themselves reclaimed land at Mundanveli in Kochi. Paddy fields were also filled up for Metro project.
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Kerala Chief Minister’s office has denied reports that the printing of Kerala lottery tickets had been diverted from government printing presses to a private printing press.
The office said in a press release that the government had decided to increase the number of tickets being printed from 60 lakhs to 90 lakhs a day. However, two government presses could not print that many tickets per day. Hence, it was decided, in principle, that a third press with equity participation of State Small Industries Development Corporation could be considered for carrying out the printing.
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