Give me red: Kerala to seek relaxation on beacon banThiruvananthapuram: The transport commissioner of Kerala has recommended the state government to urge the Center to relax the norms on the use of red beacons on official vehicles. Transport commissioner S. Anandakrishnan said in a report that the authority of the state to grant permission to use red beacons 'in emergency situations' should be restored. By banning the beacon lights, the Center had also disbanded completely the power of the state in allotting them.
Issuing the beacon ban order, the Center had mentioned that objections, if any, should be communicated within ten days. The transport commissioner's recommendation to seek relaxation on beacon ban comes in that context.
The state had been advised to raise two demands - permission to use red beacons on emergency vehicles and the vesting of the authority to grant such permissions on the state.
As of now, only police, ambulance and forest fall in the list of 'emergency' category. The chief minister and other ministers come under VIP list. The commissioner's report will be sent to the Center after the chief minister sees it.
Several ministers have already done away with the red beacon following the order of the Centre, which comes into effect on May 1. A response from the Center to the state's request on the matter is unlikely before that date. This means the Kerala chief minister and other ministers will be forced to remove the beacon lights by Sunday.
The CM had expressed displeasure over the move by some ministers, including finance minister Thomas Isaac, in taking down the red beacon in a jiffy, following the Center's order.
