A group of 93 retired civil servants wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi against a series of controversial decisions by Lakshadweep’s administrator Praful K Patel, and raised deep concern over disturbing developments taking place in the Union Territory.
In the letter, the group highlighted the drafts of three regulations introduced by Patel, which have triggered widespread anxiety among the islanders and nation at large. The drafts of three regulations, the Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation (LDAR), the Lakshadweep Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Regulation (commonly known as PASA or the Goonda Act elsewhere), and the Lakshadweep Animal Preservation Regulation (LAPR), is part of a larger agenda that is against the ethos and interests of the islands and islanders, decisions of which have been taken without consulting the people of Lakshadweep, they said in the letter.
Asserting that Lakshadweep occupies a unique place in India’s geographic and cultural diversity, the group further stated that each of these measures smacks of alien and arbitrary policy making, in violation of established practices that respect the environment and society of Lakshadweep. The actions and far-reaching proposals of the Administrator constitute an onslaught on the very fabric of Lakshadweep society, economy and landscape as if the islands were just a piece of real estate for tourists and tourism investors from the outside world, the letter further stated.
In the letter written under the aegis of Constitutional Conduct Group, the former civil servants have urged the prime minister to ensure an appropriate development model, in consultation with the islanders with emphasis on access to safe and secure healthcare, education and just governance among others.
Even as some of the draft orders are pending approval before the Union Home Ministry, the 93 retired civil servants have sought for controversial decisions to be withdrawn and a full-time, people-sensitive, responsive Administrator be appointed.
The move came days after several people raised several online campaigns like #SaveLakshadweep on social media. Many elected representatives from Kerala from the Congress, as well as the Left, have been opposing the unilateral drafts of the administrator, and after Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal raised concerns.
However, Lakshadweep Collector K Asker Ali had backed Patel’s draft orders as much-needed reforms for the development of Lakshadweep, quashing the online protests as misleading propaganda.