Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was at his candid best when he interacted with editors at a breakfast meeting here on Monday making his government’s policies clear: it will streamline the flow of information from the government to the media, will take genuine criticism in the right spirit, speak directly to the land losers of development projects and not to their agents.
But sorry, he has no immediate plans to increase the frequency of his direct interactions with the media. Development projects in which the state has high stakes are at the top of the chief minister’s agenda and the government will push them hard. There is no plan to give in to pressure tactics and bring down the width of the national highway from 45 meters to 30 meters but will compensate land losers adequately, the chief minister said, making it clear that the government will not let the project get delayed in dialogue rigmarole.
The same will be the case with the GAIL gas pipeline project and the development of Kozhikode airport. The government will, however, take care to ensure a balance between development and environment protection, he said. The chief minister complimented the media for highlighting the plight of the destitute and said the government would soon come up with a majorannouncement to rehabilitate them.
The media also played an exemplary role in highlighting the spread of drugs even into the villages, Mr Vijayan said. Pointing out that the chief minister’s office has launched WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter for the timely dissemination of information, the chief minister said the government will make efforts to make them more effective.
The chief minister, however, refused to accede to the consistent demand raised by most of the senior editors for increased interaction between the him and the media. “I shall communicate to the people through the media whenever there is something to be told,” he said.
“However, given the heavy schedule at the office, I may not be able to have more interactions for now. It could, however, improve later,” he said. The chief minister reiterated that he had no intolerance towards the media and would welcome criticism. “However, the media should introspect whether their criticism is always well-intentioned,” he said.
