An ordinance mooted to prevent destruction of private property during hartals seeks to deliver a clear political message that the government would not brook violence or deflect from its investment and tourism promotion and other development plans.
The ordinance is expected to win the support of the public as well as industry and trade circles.
Sources privy to the decision told The Hindu here that the proposal to promulgate the ordinance had been prompted by a series of hartals that paralysed life in the State during the past one year. It is also a natural corollary to the Act passed for investment promotion and facilitation last year. The Act addresses investor concerns regarding clearances and ensures ease of doing business.
Provisions in certain key Acts that threaten to hold back approvals, including the panchayati raj and municipal, headload workers and groundwater Acts, have been amended and inter-departmental walls have been brought down to create a new investment milieu. Single-window clearance has been put in place for issuing approvals within a time frame.
Another effort to do away with ‘nokkukooli,’ (collected by headload workers without putting in any effort) in consensus with trade unions has been deemed a major intervention to prove the government’s commitment.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has taken the lead to reach out to political leaders and key players of the tourism industry to find a solution to exempt the sector from hartals. But the menace continues to plague the State. Sporadic violence triggered by the entry of women of childbearing age to Sabarimala has prompted the government to expedite the process. The heavy loss incurred by various sectors, mainly trade and industry, and a steep fall in pilgrim arrival from within the State and other States to the temple have also prompted the government to take up the issue at the earliest.
If the current situation continues, it is feared to turn away tourists and discourage prospective investors from choosing the State for major investments. And the State that is convalescing from the ravages of a devastating flood can ill-afford to wait and miss the chance and hence decided to go ahead, sources say.