Kerala govt airs concern over Centre's amendments in Explosives Act

PTI Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Wednesday expressed concern over the recent gazette notification issued by the Centre, which stipulates certain conditions for conducting fireworks. The cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, discussed certain conditions mentioned in the amendments to the Explosives Act notified by the Centre on October 11, which would adversely impact various religious festivals in the state, including the famed Thrissur Pooram, a CMO statement said. The state government's concern in this regard has been brought to the notice of the union government, it said.

A decision was also made to send a letter to the union government at the chief ministerial level for the serious consideration of the matter, it said. State Revenue Minister K Rajan and Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan also shot off letters to the Centre recently opposing the amendments. Among other stipulations, Condition No 2 requires that the licensed magazine be located at least 200 metres away from the display site.

The cabinet also decided to allot land under all local self-government bodies in the state to construct waste treatment plants, the statement said. A proposal submitted by the C-Dit to launch "Ente Keralam" portal as part of public contact and to form a special strategy and communication team for the period of one year was also accepted by the cabinet, it added.