Bishwanath Sinha is new Kerala Chief Secretary; Seshadrinath for SEC

The Kerala Cabinet appointed Bishwanath Sinha as the new Chief Secretary and recommended N Seshadrinath for State Election Commissioner. It also approved financial aid for accident victims and extended the tenure of various government posts.

Keralam Chief Minister VD Satheesan on Wednesday decided to appoint 1992-batch IAS officer Bishwanath Sinha as the new Chief Secretary of the state and recommended the appointment of retired district judge N Seshadrinath as the State Election Commissioner.

According to information released by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), Sinha will succeed incumbent Chief Secretary A Jayathilak, who is scheduled to retire on June 30. The Cabinet also decided to recommend Seshadrinath's appointment as State Election Commissioner to the Governor.

Key Cabinet Appointments

The Cabinet further approved the appointment of N. Anilkumar as Special Government Pleader for the Lokayukta. According to the CMO, it also decided to appoint four Special Government Pleaders, 12 Senior Government Pleaders, and 24 Government Pleaders in the Kerala High Court.

Financial Assistance Approved

In another key decision, the Cabinet approved financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each from the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund to the families of three Kudumbashree workers who lost their lives after a wall of the Shivajinagar Hospital building collapsed in Bengaluru, the CMO said.

The state government also approved compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of three persons who died in a road accident at Neeleswaram in Kottarakkara. The government will bear the medical expenses of those injured in the accident, according to the CMO.

Tenure Extension for Government Posts

The Cabinet also decided to extend the tenure of 243 posts for one more year in six Special Land Assignment Offices in Idukki district, namely Idukki, Karimannoor, Kattappana, Murickassery, Nedumkandam, and Rajakumari. The extension will also apply to posts in the office of the Special Tahsildar, Thrissur (LA) Unit No. 1, the Peermade Land Assignment Office, and the Special Tahsildar's office handling land acquisition for the Nemom railway line, the CMO stated.

CM Addresses Assembly

Meanwhile, speaking during the 16th Assembly session earlier today, Chief Minister VD Satheesan reiterated that his government would oppose the Centre whenever its policies were against the interests of Keralam or violated the principles of cooperative federalism.

The Chief Minister also described the state's budget as a "futuristic budget," saying it had been prepared after assessing Keralam's strengths, limitations, opportunities, and challenges while focusing on education, employment generation, and sustainable economic growth. (ANI)

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