Final Cabinet meet of Pinarayi Vijayan clears relief for Valparai victims ahead of Kerala verdict day

Thiruvananthapuram, May 2 (IANS) In what marked the final Cabinet meeting of his second term, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday chaired a brief, 10 minute online session that combined administrative urgency with a sense of political closure, just days before Kerala's electoral verdict will be announced.

Kerala went to the polls on April 9, and the results, to be declared on Monday, will determine whether Vijayan secures a historic third-consecutive term or if the Congress-led UDF returns to power.

Against this backdrop, the Cabinet’s last sitting carried both symbolic and functional significance.

Among the key decisions taken was the sanctioning of financial assistance for victims of the Valparai accident, in which a vehicle carrying teachers, staff, and family members of Pang Government U.P. School in Malappuram overturned, leading to multiple casualties.

The Cabinet approved Rs 10 lakh compensation from the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund for the families of five deceased people.

The beneficiaries include the kin of school bus driver Noushad Ali, cook Sajida, Rukhiya, Shakeela, and student Mohammed Hisham.

Other deceased teachers were covered under insurance schemes.

The government also decided to bear the medical expenses of Mohammed Shahad, son of a deceased teacher, Masneen, daughter of another teacher and Mohammed Fahis, the driver of the vehicle.

In cases where victims have insurance, any additional medical expenses beyond coverage will also be reimbursed from the relief fund.

In another decision, the Cabinet ratified an earlier order creating 14 additional posts to ensure the smooth functioning of the Twelfth Pay Commission.

Closing the brief meeting, Vijayan extended his best wishes to his Cabinet colleagues, with the sole exception of one, all of whom are once again in the electoral fray, bringing to a quiet end to his tenure that began in 2016, continued through a re-election in 2021 and now stands at a decisive crossroads.

--IANS