Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said that the office of newly constituted Administrative Reforms Commission will be at the Institute of Management in Government near PMG junction. However, V S Achuthanandan was allotted office in Assembly complex. The decision to allot him office in Assembly was soon taken after the veteran shot off a letter to Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan demanding an office commensurate with status of Cabinet minister.
The chief minister, ministers, opposition leader and government chief whip have offices in Assembly complex. Earlier, replying to a question by Muslim League MLA Parakkal Abdulla in House, the chief minister said the ARC will function from IMG. With his reply, it is now clear that the demand placed by Achuthanandan who is the chairman of the commission, for allotting an office in secretariat or at the new annexe.
To a question regarding the financial liability on account of salaries of the chairman and members , staff and other paraphernalia, the chief minister said the amount had not yet been calculated. Earlier this month Achuthanandan had shot off a letter to chief secretary S M Vijayanand expressing his displeasure over the alleged government indifference towards requirements of ARC. What had annoyed him the most was the manner in which two women staff came to his house and passed on the information that ARC office would be located in IMG. The government sources, had denied Achuthanandan's charges, saying adequate space had been allotted in IMG for ARC office.
