Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala cabinet has decided to make the assets of the chief minister and all ministers public. The details will be uploaded on the government website and will be available for all to view. The cabinet also decided to submit this information to the governor every two years.
Another decision of the cabinet is to wind up the Munnar tribunal. The preliminary measures in this regard would be launched soon. The functioning of the tribunal, set up during the term of V S Achuthanandan as chief minister to deal with land encroachment issues, was not satisfactory.
However, the cabinet failed to take a decision on the compensation package for the victims of the recent monsoon tragedy. After the entire losses are assessed, the compensation will be decided during the next cabinet meeting.
Other cabinet decisions
Kochi Metro: The cabinet gave its nod to the revised project report of the Kochi Metro’s phase II. This stretch will extend from Nehru Stadium to Infopark via Kakkanad.
Funds for cleaning: It has been decided to sanction up to Rs 3 lakh to local bodies to carry out cleaning to prevent the spread of contagious diseases following rain, based on the report of district collectors.
Aid for septic tank tragedy victims: An amount of Rs 8 lakh each will be sanctioned from the chief minister’s relief fund to three workers who died while cleaning a septic tank. The victims were Sathy of Kudivalappu house, Chembilode in Kannur, son Ratheesh and Muneer of V P House, Manna in Valapattanam. Their families were earlier allotted Rs 2 lakh each and the additional amount is based on a Supreme Court order which said that workers who die while engaged in unhygienic activities should be paid Rs 10 lakh.
Pay for akademi secretaries: The monthly remuneration of the secretaries of Kerala Sahitya Akademi, Lalithakala Academi, Kerala Sangeetha Akademi and Kerala Folklore Akademi will be unified at Rs 50,000. This will be effective from April 1, 2018.
Optical fiber: The IT Mission will be entrusted with the task of setting up a single window web portal to facilitate telecom operators and other agencies obtain sanctions for laying optical fiber cables. This facility will be available based on the condition that the company laying the cable should repair the roads damaged as part of the work.
Posts created: The cabinet has cleared the creation of 92 faculty posts in the government engineering colleges at Barton Hill Thiruvananthapuram, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Wayanad, Kozhikode and Kannur.
College sanctioned: Nod has been given to start a new aided college named Santhome Malankara arts and science college at Idinji in Parasala constituency of Thiruvananthapuram district. The posts of a principal and three assistant professors will be sanctioned.
Additional posts: Four additional professor posts will be created at Karunagapally Thazhava Government Arts and Science College.
Salary revision: The salary of employees belonging to Kerala Forest Development Corporation will be revised.
Ockhi aid: The cabinet has ratified the sanctioning of Rs 1.65 crore as compensation for loss of fishing equipment during the Ockhi disaster.
Startups: The self-attestation clause will be extended to all startups registered with the Shram Suvidha portal.
