Chandy seeks Rs.375-crore aid for endosulfan victims

Cabinet expansion likely on May 23
Chandy to meet Sonia Gandhi today

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Warm reception:Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy being greeted by NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here on Thursday and sought Central assistance of Rs.375 crore for disbursing compensation to the victims of endosulfan. The government has plans to build a super specialty hospital for them in Kasaragod district.
Mr. Chandy, who arrived in Delhi on Thursday after taking charge as the Chief Minister, said that he intended to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday and was hopeful that the names of his Cabinet colleagues from the Congress would be finalised then. The Cabinet expansion would most likely be on May 23.
“I am meeting Ms. Gandhi tomorrow. I will be meeting her political secretary Ahmed Patel. A decision on the Ministers from the Congress is expected after that,” he told the media here.
Mr. Chandy, who met Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary in charge of Kerala Madhusudhan Mistry, said a thorough discussion was held in Kerala on who should be included in the ministry. Asked whether there would be new faces in his ministry, he said he did not want to discuss in public the deliberations he had with his party leader.
To another question, Mr. Chandy said he had no apprehension about the continuation of his government for the full five-year term in view of the wafer thin majority enjoyed by the United Democratic Front.
Regarding his meeting with Dr. Singh, he said: “The National Human Rights Commission has recommended several measures for helping endosulfan victims. We have accepted those proposals. I urged Dr. Singh to allocate Rs.375 crore as Central assistance for those affected by the pesticide.”
He also took up with the Prime Minister the issue relating to implementation of the Kochi metro project on the lines of the Chennai and Bangalore metros and better compensation for those whose land were being acquired by the National Highways authorities for road projects.
When pointed out that the Planning Commission was opposed to the implementation of the Kochi metro on the lines of the Chennai metro, he said he had taken up the demand and he would wait for the Centre's response.
Mr. Chandy called on Defence Minister A.K. Antony, Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi, and others and discussed the Cabinet expansion.