CM Satheesan Announces Five Governance Reforms To Speed Up Projects in Kerala
Governance overhaul aims for faster project approvals.
The Kerala Cabinet on Wednesday approved a five-point administrative reform package aimed at reducing bureaucratic delays, accelerating project implementation, and improving governance across government departments. Announcing the decisions after the Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan said project delays were resulting in significant financial losses to the state exchequer. He said the reforms are designed to streamline decision-making, enhance administrative efficiency, and create a more business-friendly environment in Kerala.
A key component of the reform package is the establishment of a Special Asset Management Portal that will digitally map all government-owned properties and maintain a comprehensive asset register covering government institutions. The Cabinet also approved the launch of Plan Space 2.0, a GIS-enabled project registry that will geo-tag and monitor capital projects in real time. Around 2,000 government projects will initially be brought under the new monitoring system to improve transparency and ensure timely execution.
The government will also undertake a review of outdated, unnecessary, and conflicting laws that often delay development projects. These regulations will be amended or repealed to simplify administrative procedures and improve the ease of doing business in the state. An Empowered Committee of Secretaries will oversee the implementation of the reforms across departments. The Chief Minister noted that Kerala currently has 591 government institutions with an annual salary expenditure of nearly Rs 19,000 crore, adding that institutions with overlapping functions would be rationalised to improve efficiency.
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Ahead of the Onam festival, the Cabinet also approved a comprehensive market intervention programme to control inflation and ensure the availability of essential commodities. More than one lakh free Onam kits, each containing 16 essential items worth Rs 854, will be distributed to yellow ration card holders and inmates of welfare institutions between August 10 and 20. The government has already sanctioned funds for the programme and will also release 1,65,932 metric tonnes of rice and 24,506 metric tonnes of wheat into the market to stabilise prices.
As part of the festive measures, non-priority blue ration card holders will receive three kilograms of rice at Rs 10.90 per kilogram and two kilograms of wheat at Rs 8.70 per kilogram. The state will also organise Mega Onam Trade Fairs in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, and Kozhikode from August 8 to 25, along with district-level fairs in the remaining 11 districts and Onam markets in all Assembly constituencies.
The Chief Minister said the government had allocated Rs 448 crore to the Food and Civil Supplies Department during its first two months in office, including Rs 273 crore for market intervention, Rs 154 crore as paddy procurement bonus, and Rs 20 crore for transportation, reaffirming the government's commitment to preventing any surge in essential commodity prices during the festive season.
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