Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 9 (PTI) The Keralam government has completed 568 of the 588 projects targeted under its 100-day programme, Chief Minister V D Satheesan said on Friday, announcing a new initiative, ‘Janasparsham’, to clear pending government files from October 15 to December 31.
Speaking to reporters after the cabinet meeting, the CM said the remaining 20 projects had achieved more than 90 per cent completion, bringing the programme’s overall progress to 96.5 per cent.
He said the achievement reflected effective monitoring, with reviews conducted twice under his leadership, four times under the Chief Secretary and every 25 days by the respective ministers.
The government also launched a public portal to enable the media and the public to track project progress, marking a step towards data-driven governance, he said.
“For the first time in Keralam’s history, a public portal was set up to give access to the media and the public to monitor this progress,” Satheesan said.
He said departments were required to obtain clearance from their secretaries and approval from the concerned minister before declaring a project complete.
The Electronics and Information Technology Department completed 39 of 42 projects, while the Public Works Department completed 29 of 30. The Local Self-Government Department completed 19 of 20 projects, AYUSH 10 of 11, Water Resources 21 of 23, Health and Family Welfare 26 of 32, Home 29 of 34 and Social Justice five of six.
The Chief Minister said delays in some projects were caused by factors beyond the departments’ control.
“A Home Department project, for instance, was awaiting equipment for the Fire and Rescue Services from Finland, although procurement procedures had been completed,” he said.
Satheesan said 602 projects were initially planned under the 100-day programme, but some could not be implemented in practice.
Projects requiring legislation were also excluded after the government reviewed their feasibility and the obstacles involved, he said.
“We examined every single project to see if it is feasible and what the obstacles are, and cleared those hurdles,” he said.
He said some projects required coordination between departments, with ministers and secretaries from several departments holding joint meetings to resolve issues.
“It was a massive process. It gave us great confidence that we can do it and we can execute tasks,” Satheesan said.
He said that the government would now focus on clearing pending files through the ‘Janasparsham’ file adalat, scheduled to run from October 15 to December 31.
“The government’s objective is not to clear files as a mere ritual. Along with this, a study will be conducted to understand the issue in each file, why it accumulated, what obstacles exist, and what measures should be adopted to prevent delays in similar files in the future,” he said.
The government currently has around 2.76 lakh electronic files pending, besides a significant number of physical files, he said.
“Behind each of these files lies a human life — the real issues of individuals, groups, or different sections of society,” Satheesan said.
The initiative would examine why files remained pending, why matters involving the same subject were sent to multiple departments and whether decisions could be taken at lower administrative levels instead of being unnecessarily escalated, he said.
Satheesan said the file clearance drive was being organised after detailed preparations and would seek to address long-standing complaints about delays in government departments while establishing a mechanism to prevent similar problems in the future.
He said the adalat would focus on files pending at the departmental level.
“When we assumed power, there were 2,40,671 pending files in e-files alone. So, including those files and other physical files, this is to resolve them and take decisions,” he said.
The government also planned to introduce dashboards at the Chief Minister’s Office and the Chief Secretary’s Office to track project delays, identify bottlenecks and monitor departmental activities, he added.
Satheesan said the portal and project monitoring system had been developed with the assistance of Kerala Digital University.
He urged the media to examine the achievements reported by each department and flag any discrepancies in the figures.
He said educational benefit arrears had been cleared for 1,70,457 students from backward classes and other eligible communities, covering post-matric benefits that had been pending since the 2022-23 academic year.
A total of Rs 180 crore was disbursed over the 100 days.
The Chief Minister also referred to projects worth Rs 510 crore initiated at Vizhinjam on Friday, including a new fishing harbour, modernisation of the existing harbour and a breakwater to protect fishermen.
The projects included Rs 260 crore for a new fishing harbour, Rs 90 crore for modernising the existing facility and Rs 125 crore for the breakwater, he said.
Additionally, Rs 35 crore was distributed as compensation to 2,000 fishermen who faced longer travel distances and higher kerosene costs during the breakwater construction through 2024.
“This sends a clear message that Vizhinjam port belongs to the fishermen as well, and the government will protect them,” Satheesan said. PTI TBA TBA ROH
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