Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, since assuming the post of the executive head of the government, has held 19 foreign tours so far. Of these, 15 are official tours, while three trips were held for treatment apart from a private visit.
An amount of Rs 32,58,185 was spent for two treatment trips and three official trips alone, as per the reply to a question raised by Sajeev Joseph in the Assembly. However, the expense for the remaining 14 trips is yet to be revealed.
The private visit was to the US from July 9 to 17, 2018. The Chief Minister, who went to the Fokana meeting from July 4 to 8, stayed back for one more week to meet private requirements. This period has been bracketed as a private visit.
The Chief Minister informed the Assembly that since the Pinarayi Government assumed office, 77 deputation appointments were done in 14 posts in different stages at the Raj Bhavan. Four of the people who were appointed on a contract basis were made permanent later. A cook and a waiter were made permanent in March 2018 while a sweeper cum sanitary worker was confirmed in August 2019 and a photographer in February 2022. It was also informed that the temporary and contract appointments were done through Kudumbashree.