Kannur: Congress MP K Sudhakaran has questioned the continued centralisation of railway administration in northern Kerala, saying even routine matters affecting residents in Kannur cannot be decided locally and require clearance from the Palakkad Railway Division.

Raising the issue at the DISHA (District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee) meeting on Monday, the Kannur Lok Sabha Member said the absence of local decision-making was causing avoidable delays for the public. He cited the example of residents living along railway tracks, who must obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Railways before carrying out even minor construction work on their properties. "Even such routine matters cannot be decided in Kannur," the MP said, urging railway authorities to devolve powers or create a mechanism that would allow local officials to clear such requests.

Responding to the concern, Additional District Magistrate (ADM) P N Purushothaman, who chaired the meeting, asked railway officials to examine the feasibility of setting up a temporary railway extension office in Kannur to deal with local issues without referring every matter to Palakkad.

Sudhakaran also took up a series of infrastructure and public service issues, including the unresolved concerns of traders affected by the Valapattanam-Puthiyatheru National Highway project. He criticised the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for failing to respond to several public complaints and pointed out that a proposal for a bus shelter at Muzhappilangad was still awaiting an NOC.

The MP also flagged delays in the disbursal of education loans to students pursuing higher studies outside Kerala. He said many students receive loan approvals only after their courses have begun, putting them under severe financial strain.

Officials attributed the delay partly to banks insisting on affiliation certificates from colleges. The ADM suggested that once an affiliation certificate has been submitted for a particular institution, banks should not insist on the same document from every subsequent student joining that college.