Thiruvananthapuram | The Kerala Cabinet has approved a 50 per cent amnesty on pending traffic fines as part of a special scheme aimed at clearing a massive backlog of e-challan cases and reducing the burden on courts.
The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, according to a statement issued by Chief Minister's Office (CMO) on Sunday.
Under the amnesty scheme, motorists will get a 50 per cent concession on fines imposed for all traffic violations committed up to December 31, 2024.
The concession will be applicable if the pending fines are cleared on or before April 30, 2026, it said.
Officials said the government accepted the recommendation of the Transport Commissioner to introduce the scheme as many vehicle owners were reluctant to settle e-challan cases due to multiple pending violations against a single vehicle and the high penalty amounts involved.
The accumulation of e-challan cases has also led to a significant rise in the number of traffic-related cases pending before courts, prompting the government to bring in the amnesty scheme to encourage the settlement of dues.
The Cabinet also decided to include 10,115 more farmers aged above 60 in the Small and Marginal Farmers Pension Scheme, granting them a monthly pension of Rs 2,000.
The government has sanctioned Rs 24.276 crore for the purpose. At present, 6,201 farmers are beneficiaries under the scheme, it said.
In another decision, the government approved the release of Rs 76.68 crore towards pending dues under the emergency assistance scheme for crop losses caused by natural calamities since October 2021.
The amount will be distributed among 1,50,267 farmers, in addition to Rs 87.89 crore already disbursed.
It was also decided to construct houses for 13 families affected by the landslide at Mundakkai–Chooralmala areas in Wayanad, following the model adopted under the Wayanad Township project.
The beneficiaries are residents of Punchirimattom, Erattukundu and Village Road hill areas.
A total of 1,857 teacher posts will be sanctioned in government and aided schools across the state.
Besides, the Cabinet approved a proposal submitted by the Kerala Water Authority Managing Director to avail a loan of Rs 4,000 crore from NABARD under the NIDA scheme to meet the state share for the Jal Jeevan Mission.
A special rehabilitation package of Rs 10 lakh was sanctioned for families displaced due to the acquisition of 245.32 acres of land in Keezhallur village in Thalassery taluk of Kannur district for the expansion of the runway at Kannur International Airport.
The government decided to name the School of Legal Studies at Palayad in Thalassery, under Kannur University, as the ‘Justice V R Krishna Iyer School of Legal Studies’.
The Cabinet approved financial assistance of Rs 7 lakh each from the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund to the dependents of four persons who died in a building slab collapse accident at Valiyangadi in Kozhikode district. The government will also bear the treatment expenses of a person injured in the incident.
An assistance of Rs five lakh from the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund will be provided to the family of Danish from Malappuram district who died due to Nipah virus infection.
The Cabinet further resolved to compensate fishermen who lost livelihood opportunities due to sand accumulation at Muthalapozhi in Thiruvananthapuram district.
A total of 2,433 fishermen will receive compensation equivalent to 91 days of wages, calculated as per the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) rate.
In addition, the Cabinet gave in-principle approval for setting up an additional Judicial First Class Magistrate Court at Varkala and approved a special compensation package for the implementation of the Kasaragod–Wayanad 400 kV transmission line project, with the financial liability to be borne entirely by the Kerala State Electricity Board Limited.