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The State Cabinet has resolved to amend laws to give more teeth to the Lokayukta and bring 117 corporations under its ambit.
Announcing this after a routine meeting of the Cabinet on Tuesday, the Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, said that he, along with Law and Finance Minister, Mr K. M. Mani, has been entrusted to work on the amendments.
In a related development, he said that a decision on implementing the proposed Right to Services Delivery Act will be taken after holding discussions with various service organisations. The Chief Minister, his Cabinet colleagues and their personal staff will declare their assets within 100 days.
The Cabinet has also decided to implement the file tracking system, IDEAS, in all departments.
The file tracking system is sought to be made people-friendly as it would enable the public to track petitions easily and determine the status.
The Chief Minister also said that the State Government will recommend to the Public Service Commission that the validity of all rank lists may be extended up to March 31, 2012. This is intended to deal with a peculiar situation arising in the wake of the retirement date of Government employees having been fixed on March 31. The move will invariably lead to a delay in filling the vacancies arising during the interim period. There is thus a risk of candidates figuring in the lists valid up to March losing a chance.
As many as 1,158 vacancies reserved for the differently-abled have not been filled since 2004-05. Supernumerary posts will be created to clear the backlog, the Chief Minister said. The Social Welfare Department will coordinate the process of computing the 3 per cent posts reserved for them in all departments and report to the commission before September 12.
The Chief Minister and the Health Minister, Mr Adoor Prakash, will convene a meeting of pharmaceutical companies here on September 4 to discuss the issue of rising prices of medicinal items.
In the run-up to this, the State Government would, in consultation with doctors, prepare a list of medicines that has the maximum demand.
REHAB PACKAGE
The Cabinet approved the Chengara rehabilitation package for landless tribals. The move is expected to benefit 1,495 persons. The Revenue Minister, Mr Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, will oversee the implementation of the package.
The Cabinet also accepted in principle the request to include 1,000 persons on the list of families to be rehabilitated. About 25 cents of land will be given to each family. The Revenue Minister will monitor the identification and acquisition of the land.
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