Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, after chairing the cabinet meeting announced that about 20,000 cubic metre sand which had accumulated on the banks of Pamba river during the 2018 August floods would be provide free of cost to the Travancore Devaswom Board that manages the hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala.
The cabinet also decided to permit the forest department to sell the remaining sand to any private parties at the central public works department rates.
It was also decided to bring in a bill for constituting the Kerala Devaswom Tribunal, which will have a retired district judge as member, to ensure speedy settlement of disputes relating to encroachments of land belonging to devaswom boards and devaswom management.
It is to be noted that the TDB had made a request to this effect to the Kerala government. The decision was welcomed by the TDB President A Padmakumar. He said the sand would be used for construction of various facilities that had been destroyed during the deluge.
The TDB issued a press release saying that the Cabinet decision was a relief for the board, which otherwise would have to spend crores of Rupees for the purpose.
In the floods last year, a Pilgrim shelter that used to accommodate 5,000 people, a roofed pathway and around 270 toilets were among the facilities that were damaged at the hill shrine.