Kerala's SC/ST department has launched a drive to resolve more than 50,000 pending files [1].
The initiative aims to reduce administrative delays that hinder the delivery of services and rights to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Backward Classes.
K.A. Thulasi, the Minister for Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Backward Classes, announced the effort on Saturday, Aug. 1. The drive targets a significant accumulation of paperwork that has stalled government actions for these marginalized communities [1].
To accelerate the process, the department utilized adalats—people's courts used for the speedy settlement of disputes. These sessions allowed officials to process cases more efficiently than standard bureaucratic channels [1].
According to Thulasi, the department has already seen initial success in the first few days of the operation. The minister said the department disposed of 4,970 files through adalats held over the past two days [1].
Thulasi said the department will continue to clear the remaining backlog of more than 50,000 pending files [1]. The drive is intended to ensure that the legal and social protections guaranteed to these groups are not delayed by administrative inefficiency.
The use of adalats suggests a shift toward localized, rapid resolution to handle the volume of cases. By bypassing some of the traditional filing delays, the state hopes to provide immediate relief to thousands of applicants awaiting government decisions [1].
“The SC/ST department launched a drive to clear more than 50,000 pending files.”
The scale of the backlog indicates a systemic failure in the administrative processing of claims for Kerala's most vulnerable populations. By employing adalats, the state is attempting a 'shock treatment' approach to governance—using temporary, high-intensity legal camps to bypass a clogged bureaucracy. The success of this drive will depend on whether the department can implement permanent process improvements to prevent a similar backlog from reforming.
