Thiruvananthapuram: The LDF's understanding of a ministerial change is turning out to be an extra strain on the state treasury amid the existing financial crisis.
Following the recent resignations of Ahamed Devarkovil and Antony Raju from their respective cabinet roles, 36 political appointees in their staff have also been withdrawn. This is due to their appointments being contingent on a co-terminus basis, signifying that the personal staff changes when the minister leaves office.
Despite being withdrawn, they are eligible for pension and other benefits, similar to what is provided to other state government officials, as they have completed the stipulated two-year requirement.
An equivalent number of new political appointments will occur in the staff of K B Ganesh Kumar and Kadannappalli Ramachandran, and they too will be eligible for pension after completing two years of service.
In response to an RTI query, the government acknowledges that since May, marking the completion of two years in office, there have been 10 political appointments in the personal staff of ministers. Consequently, the government now bears an extra burden of at least 46 appointments.
Among the 10 political appointments made since May, one is in the staff of Opposition Leader V D Satheesan. The distribution of appointments in the ministers' staff is as follows: P A Mohammed Riyas and V Abdurahiman each have two, while Roshy Augustine, V Sivankutty, K N Balagopal, R Bindu, and K Radhakrishnan each have one.
Out of the total 559 personal staff serving 23 Cabinet Ministers, 394 were appointed directly. All of these appointees are entitled to receive a pension, and 37 of them have been re-appointed, reads the RTI.
Despite the possibility of having a maximum of 30 members of the personal staff, the LDF had decided that 25 would be sufficient, with a maximum of 15 people appointed directly. However, this was not implemented in the case of the Chief Minister and a few other ministers.
Rs 40 crore a year for salary
As per the initial rules, three years of service were required to qualify for a minimum pension. However, the amended rules now consider two years and one day of service as equivalent to three years of service. This facilitated the appointment of two people to a post during the five-year tenure of a government. With just two years of service, one will get a minimum pension of Rs 4,750 and all the benefits for government employees. The government spends around Rs 40 crore a year on personal staff salaries.
