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Mathew Thoompumpattu Thomas (born 27 September 1961) is an Indian politician and a member of legislative assembly, who was the former minister for water resources in Government of Kerala, State President and Legislature Party Leader of the
Janata Dal (Secular) {{Infobox Indian Political Party , party_name = Janata Dal (Secular) , party_logo = , colorcode = {{party color, Janata Dal (Secular) , abbreviation = JD(S) , president = H. D. Deve Gowda , founder ...
an ally of LDF. He was the Minister of Transport for
Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
from May 2006 to August 2009 in the LDF ministry led by V.S. Achuthanandan.


Early life

Mathew Thomas was born in
Thiruvalla Thiruvalla, () also spelled Tiruvalla, is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipality in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. The town is spread over an area of and has a population of 52,883 people, down from 56,837 in 2001. It is also the H ...
as the son of Rev. T. Thomas, a priest of the
Mar Thoma Church The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, often shortened to Mar Thoma Church, and known also as the Reformed Syrian ChurchS. N. Sadasivan. A Social History of India''. APH Publishing; 2000. . p. 442. and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malab ...
. He is a member of the Thoompumpattu family. He completed his
B.Sc. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
degree from the
Mar Thoma College Mar Thoma College is an institution of higher education located in Tiruvalla in the south Indian state of Kerala. The college is affiliated with Mahatma Gandhi University and offers 12 undergraduate, 10 post-graduate, and 7 doctoral programmes ...
,
Thiruvalla Thiruvalla, () also spelled Tiruvalla, is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipality in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. The town is spread over an area of and has a population of 52,883 people, down from 56,837 in 2001. It is also the H ...
, and also has an LL.B. from
Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram is an institution for legal education at graduate and post-graduate levels in Kerala, India. Established by the then Maharaja of Travancore in 1875, it is one of the oldest law colleges in India. Affili ...
. He was motivated by the imposition of
Emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...
in 1977 to enter politics and joined the Kerala Vidyarthi Janata (KVJ), the state youth wing of the erstwhile
Janata Party The Janata Party (JP, ) is an unrecognised political party in India. Navneet Chaturvedi is the current president of the party since November 2021, replacing Jaiprakash Bandhu. The JP was established as an amalgam of Indian political partie ...
. He served in various positions, beginning as the KVJ Unit Secretary in Marthoma College,
Thiruvalla Thiruvalla, () also spelled Tiruvalla, is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipality in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. The town is spread over an area of and has a population of 52,883 people, down from 56,837 in 2001. It is also the H ...
; then as Taluk Secretary, Thiruvalla, District President, Alappuzha, State Secretary, and as State President (1985-88). He is married to Achamma Alex and has two daughters- Achu Anna Mathew and Ammu Thankam Mathew.


Political career

He has been elected as a Member of the
Kerala Legislature The Kerala Legislative Assembly, popularly known as the Kerala Niyamasabha, is the State Assembly of Kerala, one of the 30 states in India. The Assembly is formed by 140 elected representatives. Each elected member represents one of the 140 ...
, in 1987, 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021. In the 2021 elections, he got 62,178 votes, winning by a margin of 11421 votes, over his nearest rival, Kunju Koshy Paul of the Kerala Congress.


Accomplishments in office

As the Minister of Transport, Mathew bought the
Kerala State Road Transport Corporation Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is a state-owned road transport corporation in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one of the country's oldest state-run public bus transport services. The corporation is divided into three zones ( ...
(KSRTC) out of great financial crisis with a series of reforms. He commissioned a study that identified areas where KSRTC could generate revenue and reduce costs. The major steps taken were transforming the bus depots into revenue generating shopping malls. As KSRTC owned the key location in every town this could generate income in the form of rent. Another progressive step was to improve fuel efficiency and reduce accidents. This was achieved through incentivising the drivers with better economy and fewer accident rates. The corporation had submitted a proposal to the State Government for switching over to CNG as fuel. The proposal, worth Rs 280 crore, envisaged using CNG in 1,500 buses in the first phase along with another proposal for acquiring electric buses, and both the proposals would be presented before the 13th Finance Commission. The Corporation could register an annual profit of Rs 43 crore on converting to CNG and Rs 288 crore on using LNG. The KSRTC has been selected for the Kerala State Energy Conservation Awards 2009. Mathew revived the KSRTC bus bodybuilding units and ditched the decision to buy chassis from private companies, which saved the corporation a huge amount. This scheme also helped to move more contracted employees on to a permanent basis. He reviewed the pay scales, improved working conditions and made the KSRTC more employee friendly. He hence managed to avoid the strikes which had previously caused heavy losses. Mathew was instrumental in getting more funding for the KSRTC. Under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission project 80 low floor air-conditioned Volvo buses were launched in
Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...
and
Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...
. Thiruvananthapuram also received another 50 air buses under the Ananthapuri Fast Buses Scheme. During his tenure, the monthly earnings of the corporation jumped Rs.68 crore to Rs.100 crore. The distance covered by the KSRTC buses increased from over 11 lakh to 13 lakh kilometers. KSRTC also created 9,135 vacancies during his term. Mathew achieved all this with the credit of the only transport Minister to reduce the fares of KSRTC.KSRTC to take up work on bus stations
The Hindu He resigned as a result of a split in his party and sacrificed his ministership to his fellow party MLA, Jose Thettayil.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Mathew T 1961 births Living people People from Thiruvalla Kerala MLAs 2011–2016 Kerala MLAs 2016–2021 Janata Dal (Secular) politicians Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram alumni