THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Briefing the Cabinet decisions here on Wednesday, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that for the first phase of the Palakkad coach factory project, 239 acres of land would be handed over to the Railways.The land would be made available at a reduced rate of Rs 33 crore. However, the Chief Minister was non-committal when asked whether the project would be in the public sector. Asked whether it would be proper to hand over the land charging only a reduced price from a private party, in case of a private party tie up with the Railways for the project, he said the project would be in total control of the Railways.He said nationalised banks would be asked to declare a moratorium on repayment and recovery of farm loans availed of by the farmers in Wayanad district till March 31, 2012. He said that cooperative banks had already accepted such a directive from the government.Agricultural Production Commissioner (APC) has been asked to prepare a price support scheme to arrest the fall in prices of agri products. Stamp duty would be waived on the loans being availed from Converted Christians Corporation.The proposed National Construction Academy for Skill Development would come up on Primo Pipe factory premises at Neendakara. C Biju, director, Employment and Training, has been asked to prepare a project report in this regard.The teachers and non-teachers of Panchayat schools taken over by the government would be entitled to get the same benefit as in the case of teachers and staff of government schools. The 764 Kerala police personnel assigned for election duty in Punjab would be given `2,000 each for purchasing winter clothing. Government employees would be given `5 lakh as reimbursement for cochlear implant surgery for themselves and their dependents. The same amount has already been approved for those undergoing the same surgery among the general public.LSGs to Prepare Five-Year PlanThe Chief Minister said that from this year onwards the three-tier local bodies would have to prepare Five-Year Plans for their respective local bodies instead of preparing annual plans.This year’s plan expenditure has reached 40 per cent compared to 44 per cent in the same period last year.He said the general election held during last year had affected the plan expenditure in the first three months of this fiscal. Staff shortage had also been a problem. He said 1,093 posts would be transferred to the LSGs from the government. After the approval of the Finance Department, the transfer of posts would be granted approval.He said that the next plan outlay worth Rs 10,010 crore, fixed by the Planning Board, would be given approval in the next Cabinet. In place of the Attappady Hills Area Development Society (AHADS) project, which had been extended till March 31, a special agricultural package for vegetables would be implemented in Attappady. Some of the officials engaged in AHADS would be re-deployed.Out of the Rs 148-crore sanctioned for the primitive tribes of Wayanad, Rs 16 crore would be made available to the tribes of Attappady for four years.
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