Thiruvananthapuram: The cabinet meeting held here on Wednesday decided to investigate into the fire broke out in the protocol department of the secretariat and the security lapses in the secretariat complex. The Home Department assigned the additional chief secretary to take immediate action and resolve the issues.

The cabinet meeting also evaluated the actions taken in connection with the fire accident occurred in the North Sandwich block of the secretariat the other day. The fire in the protocol department where important filed are kept had led to controversy. Political leaders including K Surendran and others entered into the secretariat and protested after the incident. This is considered as a serious security lapse.

The cabinet meeting also approved the salary revision of the teachers in medical, dental, nursing, pharmacy and non-medical sections under the Directorate of Medical Education with effect from January 1, 2016. Non Practicing Allowance (NPA) and Patient Care Allowance (PCA) provided to the teachers of the medical and dental departments will be continued. The salary was last revised on January 1, 2006.

It has also been decided to provide the compensation for the fishing equipment which were damaged in rough sea in 9 districts after the monsoon in 2018. Rs 51.49 lakh in total for completely damaged items and Rs 2.4 crore in total for the partially damaged equipment were allotted from the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF).

Apart from this, various other decisions were taken in the cabinet meeting including the implementation of e-governance in agricultural department, revision of allowances provided to the employees of Indian institute of Handloom Technology, providing Rs 1000 as COVID allowance for the cooking staff in schools among other decisions.