Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala cabinet on Thursday sanctioned Rs 351 crore for the Wayanad township project for the rehabilitation of the survivors of the massive landslides in the hill district last year which claimed over 200 lives.
The cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan granted administrative sanction for the amount, which also includes the initial cost of the project, subject to the technical approval to be given by KIIFCON, a subsidiary of the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), a statement by his office said.
The cabinet also validated the amount of Rs 17 crore deposited in the Kerala High Court in connection with a case filed by Elstone Tea Estate Ltd seeking enhanced compensation for the land acquired from them for the township project, the statement said.
It further said that the cabinet also decided to allocate Rs 20 crore to the Wayanad Township Special Officer, from the CM's relief fund, for payment of advance amount to the Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society (ULCCS) after signing the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with it.
The township project was necessitated after a major landslide struck the Mundakkai and Chooralmala regions of Wayanad on July 30 last year, almost completely decimating both areas.
The disaster left hundreds injured, claimed over 200 lives, and 32 persons remain missing.
Vijayan recently assured the timely completion of the township construction, which commenced on April 12.
The work began a day after the Kerala High Court paved the way for the state government to take possession of the Elstone Estate land, meant for the project, after depositing an additional Rs 17.77 crore.
The cabinet also approved the decision of the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) to appoint STUP Consultants Private Limited, Navi Mumbai, as a consultant for the preparation of the detailed project report and related works for the Sabarimala Greenfield International Airport project with a consultancy fee of Rs 4.366 crore, the statement said.
It also said that the cabinet ordered the formation of a committee under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary to resolve issues related to the progress of the airport project.
The cabinet also approved the detailed project documents submitted by the Kerala State Electricity Board in connection with the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN) scheme.
The documents relate to electrification of 261 houses of tribals belonging to the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) in 22 partially electrified tribal areas of the state, the statement said.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
