THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Though COVID-19 has taken a toll on the state's economy, there is a silver lining too. The virus has helped the government save a considerable amount of money as public functions are being confined to virtual platforms.
Routine inaugurations of various projects are bound to go up in the final year of the ruling dispensation. The Chief Minister alone has inaugurated close to 200 projects through the e-platform which otherwise need crores of rupees in expenses if inaugurated physically. Finance minister Thomas Isaac and agriculture minister V S Sunilkumar were next in line with 193 and 185 inaugurations respectively.
According to the office of the Chief Minister, around 81 projects were inaugurated by the CM in August and September. In the beginning, the Chief Minister had inaugurated the projects or attended meets from the office in the Secretariat building. Now, he has been inaugurating or presiding over various functions from his official residence Cliff House.
Finance Minister Thomas Isaac even inaugurated around 25 automatic spinning mills through the virtual platform when he was placed in quarantine after being diagnosed with COVID-19, said his office.
PWD Minister G Sudhakaran has inaugurated 138 government projects in August and September. Industries Minister E P Jayarajan inaugurated close to 50 projects during the lockdown period. Other ministers have attended or inaugurated anywhere between 25 and 100 functions virtually.
This virtual inauguration spree has saved crores of public money for the state government as each trip of ministers, especially the Chief Minister, requires inter-department coordination. The general administration department coordinates the functions of the Chief Minister and the tourism department provides the vehicles required for the entire event.
Further, more than 100 security guards are involved in various levels in the smooth conduct of the programme, including providing security cover and streamlining the traffic. Switching to the online platform, the state government could not only save large sums of public money but also make use of the manpower for other purposes.
With local body and assembly elections just a few months away, the Chief Minister and his team are racing against time to inaugurate as many pending projects as possible. The state government has already announced that 100 projects will be completed in the next 100 days as part of an action plan to boost the socio-economic status of the state.