Kerala Cabinet Approves Endosulfan Aid, Pay Revision

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala cabinet on Wednesday approved a series of key decisions, including financial aid for Endosulfan victims, housing support for extremely poor families, and implementation of pay revisions for select government institutions.

Financial assistance will be extended to eligible individuals among 1,031 people who were included in the preliminary list but later excluded from the final list of Endosulfan victims identified in Kasaragod during the 2017 medical and field-level verification. The district collector has been authorised to disburse the aid.

Under the state’s Punargeham project, 50 flats will be allotted to landless and homeless families listed under the Extreme Poverty Eradication Programme in Alappuzha district. The flats, constructed by the Fisheries Department at Munnumpuram, Puthukkad, form part of an additional block completed under the project.

The cabinet also approved the implementation of the 11th pay revision, effective from July 1, 2019, for employees of the Kerala State Development Corporation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and for staff of the LBS Centre for Science and Technology and its affiliated institutions. The decision includes rectification of anomalies from the 10th pay revision and continuation of the existing arrangement regarding EPF contributions until further orders.

A proposal worth 26.58 crore rupees for infrastructure development at the K R Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts will be considered for KIIFB funding.

The government also decided to amend an earlier General Administration Department order related to reimbursement of expenses for the repair and replacement of items in High Court judges’ camp offices.

The tenure of Kerala Startup Mission CEO Anoop Ambika has been extended by one year from July 11, 2025, while the reappointment of S V Unnikrishnan Nair as Registrar of the Kerala Administrative Tribunal has been ratified and extended by another year from July 10, 2025.

The cabinet granted relaxation in land ceiling norms under the Kerala Land Reforms Act for KIMS Health Care Management Ltd. in respect of 1.14 acres of excess land in Kadakampally village, Thiruvananthapuram.

Additionally, 2.7 acres of land in Poovar village and adjoining coastal outskirts will be allotted to the Defence Research & Development Organisation and the Naval Physical & Oceanographic Laboratory for research purposes at a fair value of 2.5 crore rupees.