Official residences need timely repairs, says Pinarayi Vijayan

Pinarayi Vijayan, the Leader of the Opposition in the Keralam Assembly

Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan has underscored the need for carrying out timely repairs on the official residences allotted to the Chief Minister, Leader of the Opposition, and the Ministers.

Reacting to a recent controversy over repairs planned at the Cliff House, the official residence of the Keralam Chief Minister, Mr. Vijayan said many of these official residences were in a pathetic state due to the absence of proper maintenance and the media tended to depict any effort to launch repairs as ‘beautification,’ implying that it was unnecessary spending.

Repairs were planned at the Cliff House when he was a resident there as Chief Minister in the previous LDF government, Mr. Vijayan said. Government departments wanted the repairs done as part of security arrangements, but they were not taken forward as the government’s term came to an end, he said.

Later, he had rented a house instead of moving into Cantonment House, the official residence of the Leader of the Opposition, as it was also in need of repairs, Mr. Vijayan. “I had moved into the rented house under the impression that it would be only for two weeks. I’m surprised how the previous Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Satheesan) lived there,” he said. Ideally, the government departments concerned should have a firm policy on repairs and carry them out once a year without waiting for the occupants’ clearance, but without inconveniencing them, he said.

Many of the official residences, situated on sprawling grounds in different parts of the capital city, are Travancore-era bungalows.