Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala state government does not intend to retrench the existing government employees, though there is an estimated 80,000 surplus workforce in the state, says Chief Minister A K Antony.
 I will look into the reported cases of retrenchment in some government departments, he says. Over the past five years the salary paid to the employees has almost doubled - there must be some control. What the government intends to do is to bring down the number of employees in a phased manner.
Will the government strive to make the liquor policy foolproof? Liquor policy always attracts criticism, but the government cannot shy away from implementing it. After weighing the pros and cons we have realised that leaving toddy shops to individuals will be the best available option, says Antony. The toddy cooperative societies are actually run by the benamis. That is why the United Democratic Front (UDF), in its election manifesto, promised to dissolve the societies. Referring to the controversy over the UDF teams talks with Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam and Nair Service Society leaders, he says there is nothing wrong in it. The decision in this regard was taken by the UDF liaison committee. The private sector does play an important role in Keralas education sector.
The communal tension that the state is witnessing is slowly cooling down. Compared to other states, only minor clashes were reported from Kerala, he says. It is not possible for the government to give complete compensation to the victims of violence; it will create an undesirable precedence.
About the differences between the state government and the party, Antony says there are no major glitches between the two. Unlike in the past, there exist just minor problems.
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