A DAY before the commencement of Onam, on August 30, Kerala chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan announced 100 projects that will be completed in the next 100 days as part of an action plan to boost the socio-economic status of the state.

As part of the food security programme, the distribution of the much-lauded food kits was launched by the government during the Covid crisis and it  will continue for the next four months. Grocery kits will be distributed through ration shops and this would directly benefit about 88 lakh ration cardholders in the state, he said.

The social security and welfare pensions have been increased by Rs 100 each and will be paid monthly. Since the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government came into power, it has gradually increased the pension from Rs 600 to Rs 1,300. The number of beneficiaries has also been increased from 35 lakhs to 58 lakhs over the last four years by the state government.

Briefing the media on the 100 days programme, the chief minister said that Kerala’s economic growth should not become stagnant during the Covid season. “We have to face new challenges as per the changing needs of the people. We will speed up projects which were delayed due to the pandemic. The 100 projects in 100 days action plan will boost the economy and the society. It is a fulfillment of the promises the government made when it came to power and will bring relief to the common man directly,” he said.

The public health system will be further strengthened as part of the fight against Covid.  Since the outbreak, 9,768 healthcare workers have been recruited through the National Health Mission, he said. He added that more staff will be added to the health system within the next 100 days if required. The operation of Covid First-line Treatment Centres will be made more efficient and the number of tests will be increased to 50,000 per day, he said.

“The government aims to transform the Primary Health Centres in the state into fully equipped Family Health Centres (FHC). So far, 386 FHCs have been completed and commissioned. In the next 100 days, 153 FHCs will be inaugurated. Ten new dialysis centres, nine scanning centres, three Cath labs and two modern cancer treatment facilities will be completed,” he announced.

About programmes concerning school education, Vijayan said that all government schools with a capacity to have more than 500 students are being built with Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) funding. About 35 school buildings were constructed at a cost of Rs 5 crore and 14 school buildings were constructed at a cost of Rs 3 crore and will be inaugurated within the next few days. The construction of 27 other school buildings will be completed and the construction of 250 new school buildings will be started at the earliest.

“The programme to transform all lower primary schools into hi-tech schools is progressing with funding from KIIFB. Hi-tech computer labs will be set up in 11,400 schools. The Vidyashree project to distribute laptops to five lakh school children under the auspices of Kerala State Financial Enterprises (KSFE) and Kudumbasree will start within the next 100 days. Ten Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) which were renovated at a cost of Rs 18 crore will also be inaugurated,” the chief minister said.

Apart from this, the Kerala government has geared up to allot 150 new courses in government and aided colleges in the state. The first 100 courses will be announced by September 15. APJ Abdul Kalam University and Malayalam University would complete the land acquisition process for the permanent campuses and lay the foundation stone. Buildings for 32 higher education institutions will be completed with an investment of Rs 126 crore, Vijayan said.

The Kerala government is also preparing to set up Special Task Force under the Legal, Finance and Public Administration departments to make special rules in 11 institutions assigned to the Public Service Commission. Within 100 days, 1000 posts would be created in the college and higher secondary sectors. As many as 50,000 people will be employed in the non-agricultural sector through 15,000 new ventures. The main agencies will be local co-operative banks, Kudumbasree, KFC, district industrial centres and local bodies. Each agency will publish additional jobs created through a dedicated portal.

The chief minister said that Rs 961 crore will be provided from the Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Fund for the rehabilitation of 5,000 rural roads in the state. Administrative sanction of Rs 392.09 crore for rural roads will be done as part of Rebuild Kerala. As many as 189 PWD roads funded by KIIFB and built at a cost of Rs 1,451 crore will be opened to traffic soon and 158 km of KSTP roads worth Rs 901 crore and 21 bridges are in the pipeline. About 41 KIIFB projects tendered for Rs 671.26 crore will be inaugurated by November.

The chief minister made several announcements in various sectors like agriculture, water, electricity, sports & culture, Kudumbasree, local self-governance and also in traditional sectors like coir and cashew.

"The government is striving to move forward with its development achievements. The performance of the 100-day action plan announced today will be reviewed at all levels in the coming days. We would like to give assurance that they will be completed on time”, he added.