CPI's Binoy Viswam urges PM Modi to appoint Kerala Administrative chairman at earliest

Communist Party of India (CPI) MP Binoy Viswam wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday over Kerala Administrative Tribunal (KAT) and has urged him to appoint its chairman at the earliest.

The KAT has been functioning without a permanent chairman since the retirement of TR Ramchandran Nair in September 2020.

Emphasising how KAT has been providing relief to thousands of government employees, Viswam said, "The tribunal, at present, has two judicial members, out of which one holds the post of acting chairman. Both judicial members, along with one of the two administrative members are set to retire by July 2021, which will cause the functioning of the tribunal to come to a standstill."

He also mentioned that the Kerala government had already chosen the Former High Court Judge C K Abdul Rehim as the next tribunal Chairman, and that the candidacy has also been approved by the Chief Justice of India.

He asked the Prime Minister to take necessary action to approve the candidacy, and said, "No action has been taken by the Central Government to get the candidacy approved by the President of India, the appointing authority."

Stating that 75 per cent of the tribunal staff would retire by July, and the effect it will have on the overall functioning in both the short and long run, he requested Prime Minister Modi to intervene to help fill the post of Chairman in KAT at the earliest.

He pressed to ensure that such positions of importance are not left vacant for long, and cited that it can cause distress to the people.

( With inputs from ANI )