Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan announced a slew of welfare measures following the first cabinet meeting of the new government. Of the five key promises made under the UDF’s “Indira Guarantee” during the election campaign, two received approval in the very first cabinet meeting itself.
The cabinet decided to introduce free travel for women in Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses from June 15, and also to create, for the first time in the country, a separate government department exclusively for senior citizens. The chief minister said Kerala would study the Japanese model of elderly care and seek to develop itself into a global model in senior citizen welfare. A special committee has also been tasked with studying the best international practices in the field.
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Announcements were also made for ASHA workers. In the first phase, ASHA workers will receive an additional Rs 3,000 in their honorarium. Notably, Satheesan recalled that during various stages of the ASHA workers’ protest, which had rocked the government of former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and especially on the final day of their protest in front of the Secretariat, he had promised that an incoming UDF government would address their demands on its very first day in office.
Satheesan announced that the Rs 3,000 hike was only the first step and that further increases would follow as the state’s financial condition improved. ASHA workers have been demanding that their honorarium be raised to Rs 21,000 a month. With the latest increase, ASHA workers in Kerala will now receive Rs 12,000 per month.
“We welcome this wage hike because the government has kept its word in the very first cabinet meeting itself,” said S. Mini, who was at the forefront of organising the ASHA workers’ agitation. “The UDF government has honoured its promise. We welcome that. But we are not stepping back at all from our demand of Rs 21,000. At the same time, the Chief Minister also said that the wages would be increased in phases as the financial situation improves. He has acknowledged that these are deserving workers.”
The CM also announced that the government would seek a report on retirement benefits for ASHA workers. Anganwadi workers will receive an initial salary hike of Rs 1,000. Cooking workers, pre-primary teachers and ayahs have also been granted an increase of Rs 1,000 each.
With the introduction of free bus travel for women in KSRTC buses, Kerala joins neighbouring Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in implementing this landmark women’s empowerment initiative. Departments have been directed to complete all preliminary arrangements by June 15.
The new chief minister also announced that the government would release a white paper on the state’s financial condition. Satheesan further said that a special investigation team had been constituted, following a court order, to reinvestigate the incident in which Congress workers protesting by the roadside were allegedly surrounded and assaulted by former CM Pinarayi Vijayan's gunmen during the Nava Kerala Sadas programme in Alappuzha. He alleged that despite the court ordering a reinvestigation, no action had been taken until now. One of the protesters allegedly assaulted during the incident, A.D. Thomas, is now among the youngest legislators in the new Assembly.