Kerala HC Quashes LDF's Nava Kerala Citizen Survey Ahead Of Assembly Polls
The court observed that the Citizens Response project, being carried out at a cost of Rs 20 crore, did not have the required financial sanctions. There was no specific provision in the state budget to justify the funding of such a massive exercise from the public exchequer. The court noted that the government had bypassed standard administrative protocols to launch the programme
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday quashed the LDF government's controversial "Nava Kerala Citizen Response Programme", a statewide door-to-door survey to elicit people's response about development initiatives.
The court observed that the Citizens Response project, being carried out at a cost of Rs 20 crore, did not have the required financial sanctions. There was no specific provision in the state budget to justify the funding of such a massive exercise from the public exchequer. The court noted that the government had bypassed standard administrative protocols to launch the programme.
The verdict was delivered by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice V M Shyam Kumar, on the petition filed by KSU state president Aloysius Xavier and Perumbavoor resident M H Mubas.
Reacting to the development, Law Minister P Rajeev said the details of the verdict have not come out yet. "I understand it is concerning some technical issues related to the Rules of Business. We will examine the verdict, and if certain technical flaws are to be rectified, we will do so. In case there are other issues, we will take steps to resolve those," he said.
The court order has cast a shadow over the project, termed by the opposition as a state-funded political exercise of the LDF ahead of the assembly polls. The government had set a target of reaching 80 lakh households across the state as part of the survey, to collect the feedback of people on various development programmes.
The opposition Congress-led UDF and the KSU alleged that the entire exercise was aimed at eliciting public response and using the feedback for drafting the LDF's manifesto for the upcoming Assembly elections.
According to the petitioners, the government enrolled CPM workers for the survey. However, the ruling front claimed that the mass survey programme was being carried out by "social volunteers" drawn from different sections, and the entire exercise was aimed at improving policy efficiency.
The mass survey programme, which began on January 1, 2026, was to conclude on February 28.
A portal was also prepared for the project. Volunteers were asked to register in advance on that portal.
Veteran Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala said the quashing of the survey was a slap on the face of the government. The attempt was to involve government officials in election preparations, he said and added that public funds were being shamelessly utilised for a party programme.
