Thiruvananthapuram, May 20: Kerala Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan today presented a detailed road map for the state for the next five years with sector-specific projects and plans. Briefing the media after the first cabinet meeting after having sworn in as the Chief Minister of Kerala for the second term of the Left Democratic Front government, he said, “We are committed to fully implementing the 50-point programmes and fulfilling the 900 promises mentioned in the LDF manifesto.”

“The first Cabinet meeting has taken an important decision to achieve the goal of extreme poverty alleviation. The Secretaries of the Local Government Department have been directed to conduct a detailed survey in this regard to determine the distress factors and submit suggestions for mitigation. This Government is committed to implementing a variety of projects to achieve the broader goal of housing for all. The government will enact legislation to prevent the loss of accommodation through foreclosure proceedings. A committee comprising of Additional Chief Secretary – Finance, Additional Chief Secretary – Planning and the expert lawyer has been directed by the Cabinet to study the issue and submit a report by July 15. Further steps will be initiated based on that report”, the Chief Minister said.

The Chief Secretary, the Local Self Government Secretary and the Secretary, Department of Women and Child Welfare have been tasked to formulate a scheme that will ease the workload of housewives through a smart kitchen project and also protect the women engaged in domestic work. The Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council (K-DISC) has been entrusted to submit a report by July 15 on the guidelines to provide employment to 20 lakh educated persons.

The government will launch a scheme on October 2 to offer all government services at the doorstep of the citizens. The project will be finalised by a committee comprising IT Secretary and IT experts. A committee was appointed to implement the expansion of e-office and e-file systems. The Cabinet also decided to set up a Grievance Redressal Committee headed by a senior IAS officer for promoting ease of doing business.

“We will take a stand that upholds the vision of a secular socialist republic. Let me use this opportunity to declare once again that the Government is committed to the Constitution and the people of this country. We request the support of all people for this”, he added.

Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister along with 20 Ministers took the oath of office and secrecy before the Hon’ble Governor, Shri Arif Muhammad Khan at a grand ceremony held at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.

The CM also informed that the Cabinet decided to recommend to the Governor to convene the first session of the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly on the 24th and 25th of this month. The cabinet also decided to recommend the appointment of Adv P T A Rahim (MLA from Kunnamangalam) as the pro-term speaker. The cabinet decided to appoint Adv K Gopalakrishna Kurup as the Advocate General of the State, Adv TA Shaji as the Director General of Prosecutions, and V K Ramachandran as the Vice-Chairperson of the State Planning Board.

Meanwhile, 30,491 new cases of Covid-19 were detected in Kerala today from 1,31,525 sample tests in the last 24 hours with a test positivity rate of 23.18%. 128 recent deaths were also confirmed today as caused by Covid and the death toll in the State is now 6,852. At the same time, 44,369 patients have recovered from the disease and at present, there are 3,17,850 persons under treatment for the disease in the State. Malappuram district reported the highest number of 4,746 new active cases.