Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala government is all set to form a Kuttanad Development Coordination Council (KDCC), to implement a development package for the region.

The decision on the same was taken on Thursday, and a monitoring and advisory council and an implementation and technical committee would also be formed under the KDCC, chaired by the Chief Minister.

A Kuttanad cell which would be formed in the Planning Department would function as the State-level secretariat of the KDCC, a release issued by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said.

The CMO release, which details the Cabinet decisions, said the Agriculture Minister would be vice-chairman of the KDCC while Revenue, Cooperation, Food, Water Resources, Electricity, Fisheries, Local Self Government Department and Tourism Ministers would be the council members.

The KDCC aims to conserve and develop the paddy fields of Kuttanad and to protect the harvest from floods, compensate farmers and mitigate the losses due to climate change. A comprehensive water management is also part of the project.

The council would take steps to reconfigure the agriculture calendar to face the irregular monsoon caused by global climate change, the CMO said.

The Cabinet has decided also to approve 12 news posts at the Koothuparamba special sub-jail.

The government also decided to provide Rs two lakh each to the families of the nine people who lost their lives in the bus accident recently. This is apart from the amount already allocated earlier.

Also, the Cabinet decided to extend the service period of Dr Jayakumar, managing director and chief executive officer of the Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited, for two more years.

(With inputs from PTI)