Thiruvananthapuram: The File Adalat, declared by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to clear the massive backlog in government offices, appears to have derailed from the start. Even after three weeks into the initiative, 50 directorates and 10 departments in the Secretariat have yet to upload file details.
Key departments that directly engage with the public, such as the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and the Kerala Water Authority, have failed to share any data. Of the files that have been uploaded, only a meagre 4% have been acted upon.
According to the Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department (P&ARD), 16 Secretariat departments and 16 directorates have not resolved even 1% of their listed files. Alarmed by the sluggish response, the Additional Chief Secretary of the P&ARD has issued an ultimatum, directing all departments and offices to upload their file details to the official portal by the end of the day.
The development comes as the Chief Minister continues to stress in public forums that “each file is a life.” Yet, the indifference from several departments persists, undermining the core purpose of the Adalat.
The File Adalat, which runs from July 1 to August 31, mandates departments to upload file details seat-wise and section-wise, and regularly update the status of resolved files. Out of 48 departments in the Secretariat, 38 have complied with the upload directive so far.
Malayala Manorama had earlier reported that a staggering 3,18,441 files were pending in the Secretariat alone. Out of 80 directorates under various department heads, only 30 have provided the data.
Despite the countdown to the Chief Minister’s first review meeting of the Adalat initiative, many officials appear to remain indifferent, as file stacks continue to grow.