Keralam Cabinet recommends Vigilance probe into KIIFB’s Kannur land acquisition deal

Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan

The Keralam Cabinet on Wednesday decided to recommend a Vigilance probe into alleged lapses in the acquisition of land in Kannur district financed through the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).

The decision follows a finding by an expert committee led by former bureaucrat Sudha Pillai that the land acquisition by the KIIFB was skewed. The panel, as part of its scrutiny of KIIFB operations based on a government decision, had questioned the KIIFB’s decision to acquire land in Kannur and Palakkad districts, with 1,000 acres in Kannur alone.

The committee found that Kannur alone had accounted for 52.9% of the total approved land acquisition outlay and 74.7% of the acquisition for industrial development under the KIIFB.

According to Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan’s office, the Vigilance will carry out the investigation with assistance from the Finance and Revenue departments. Mr. Satheesan had laid the report of the Sudha Pillai Committee in the Assembly on October 15.

The Cabinet gave its approval for a Bill meant to increase the salaries and benefits of Ministers and MLAs.

In another important decision, the Cabinet decided to restructure the male-female ratio in police constable appointments from 9:1 to 7:3. This is meant to ensure more representation of women in the State Police force.

Athulya, the elder daughter of Sudhakaran, 50, who was one of the victims in a double-murder case in Nenmara, Palakkad, will be provided a government job, the Cabinet decided. The government will also provide financial assistance for the education of his younger daughter, Akhila. Sudhakaran and his 75-year-old mother, Lakshmi, were murdered in their home by the accused, Chenthamara.

The Cabinet also approved a special housing scheme for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) families and the families of fishers. Under it, the financial assistance provided for housing projects to SCs and families of fishers will be raised from ₹4 lakh to ₹6 lakh and that of ST families, from ₹6 lakh to ₹8 lakh.

Vidarsa K. Vinod, the Indian shooter who won two silver medals at the 2026 Asian Games held in Nagoya, Japan, will be given a government job.