Vennalappara housing scheme nearing completion

Government agencies and philanthropic groups join hands for the project

A view of Kochi Corporation’s housing project at Vennala. The first set of 14 dwelling units, built under the Vennalappara Housing Rehabilitation Project, will be handed over to the beneficiaries next month.

Fourteen homeless families who have been residing in makeshift houses in Vennala for decades would move into the safety of proper houses shortly.

The first set of 14 dwelling units, built under the Vennalappara Housing Rehabilitation Project, will be handed over to the beneficiaries next month. The scheme aims at rehabilitating 28 families that have been residing in the Vennala area of the Kochi Corporation for decades together.

The first set includes five individual residential units and nine flats. The housing units were being given the finishing touches and it may require three more weeks for the families to move in, said M.B. Muralidharan, the councillor from the area.

Each housing unit will have a carpet area of around 400 sq ft. The kitchen and toilet facilities of these units would match any professionally constructed private apartments. The power and water connection to the individual house owner will also be provided by the authorities under the scheme. Water drawn from bore-well is also provided to the residents in addition to the potable water provided for drinking and cooking needs, he said.

Financial aid

The housing project was initially conceived under the Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana. Later, when the State government came up with the LIFE Mission housing project, the individual beneficiaries were provided financial assistance to the tune of ₹ 1 lakh each from the scheme. The ₹50,000 each contribution of the beneficiaries, who belong to the economically weaker section, was met by a philanthropic group, which supported the scheme by providing ₹14 lakh, he said.

Mr. Muralidharan said the housing project, which saw government agencies and philanthropic groups coming together for providing residential units to the urban poor, was being showcased as a model project.

It would require additional funds for completing the remaining 14 housing units. The authorities have approached some of the public sector companies seeking support from their Corporate Social Responsibility corpus for completing the project, he said.