Thiruvananthapuram, May 2 (). Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan chaired a 10-minute online meeting on Saturday in the last cabinet meeting of his second term. This meeting is taking place at a time when the election results of Kerala are going to be announced.
Elections were held in Kerala on April 9 and the results to be declared on Monday will decide whether Vijayan will win a historic third consecutive term or whether the Congress-led UDF will return to power.
In this backdrop, this last Cabinet meeting had both symbolic and functional importance.
One of the main decisions taken during this period was to approve financial assistance for the victims of the Valparai accident. In this accident, a vehicle carrying teachers, employees and their family members of Pang Government UP School in Malappuram overturned, due to which many people lost their lives.
The Cabinet approved a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the families of the five deceased from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
The beneficiaries include school bus driver Naushad Ali, cook Sajida, Rukhiya, Shakeela and family members of student Mohammad Hisham.
Other deceased teachers were covered under insurance schemes. The government also decided to bear the medical expenses of Mohammad Shahad, son of the deceased teacher, Masneen, daughter of another teacher, and Mohammad Fahis, the driver of the vehicle.
In cases where victims have insurance, any additional medical expenses exceeding the insurance coverage will also be reimbursed from the relief fund.
In another decision, the Cabinet confirmed the previous order creating 14 additional posts to ensure smooth functioning of the 12th Pay Commission.
Concluding a short meeting, Vijayan wished his fellow ministers. Except for one minister, all the others are contesting the elections once again. This tenure of Vijayan started in 2016 and continued with victory again in 2021, but now his journey stands at a very important and decisive juncture.
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ASH/AS