THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Seventeen ministers in the previous LDF cabinet toured 27 countries in official as well as private capacities from August 2016 till December 2019. According to the details submitted in the assembly, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Kadakampally Surendran came first and second in terms of the number of trips taken abroad.
Vijayan undertook 14 trips, including a private visit to UAE and one for medical purposes to the US. The remaining 12 were official trips to the UAE, the US, Bahrain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, France, the UK, Japan and South Korea. Surendran, the then tourism minister, undertook 13 trips abroad and visited Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Vatican, USA, UK, Kazakhstan and Japan.
Other ministers who undertook foreign trips were AK Balan, KT Jaleel, TP Ramakrishnan, KK Shailaja, J Mercykutty, E Chandrasekharan, Mathew T Thomas, K Raju, AK Saseendran, G Sudhakaran, VS Sunilkumar, TM Thomas Isaac, EP Jayarajan, Thomas Chandy and C Raveendranath. Of the 17 ministers who took tours, Thomas Chandy, Raveendranath, Mathew T Thomas and E Chandrasekharan undertook only one trip each, while G Sudhakaran and J Mercykutty undertook two trips.
There were ministers who only undertook private trips. All the six foreign trips undertaken by the then agriculture minister Sunilkumar were private and he visited Italy, UAE, USA, Oman and Sri Lanka. The three trips by K Raju as forests minister to the UAE and Germany and the two trips by G Sudhakaran (then PWD minister) to Qatar and the UAE were private in nature. The lone trip abroad by the then general education minister C Raveendranath and the then revenue minister E Chandrasekharan to the US and the UAE, were private.
Meanwhile, there were ministers who never travelled abroad. They are K Krishnankutty (then water resources minister), Kadannappally Ramachandran (then ports minister), P Thilothaman (then food and civil supplies minister), AC Moideen (then LSGD minister) and MM Mani (then power minister).
UAE was the favourite destination as the ministers visited the country 28 times. This was followed by the US (12) and the UK (9). Other countries visited by the ministers include Russia, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Italy, Thailand, Vatican, Spain, Singapore, France, Spain, Ireland and Moldova.
According to available data, a sum of Rs 53, 68, 888 was reimbursed by the government to the ministers for their travel, the maximum reimbursement was made by Surendran (Rs 14, 65, 872) followed by the chief minister (Rs 9, 65, 216).
As many as 10 ministers who undertook foreign trips for official purposes reimbursed their travel expenses under various eligible heads. No details of expenses of those who undertook private trips were available and it could have been under the sponsorships of individuals or organizations who had invited them. The trips undertaken using own funds were also categorized as private visits, and the information about such trips are unavailable.
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