The Kerala State Housing Board (KSHB) will start the formal allotment process of flats in its new apartment complex, exclusively constructed for temporarily settled urban labourers in the city, from next month.
Altogether 40 labourer families will be able to occupy the flats, which was recently completed under the ‘Athani’ Innovative Housing scheme of the KSHB.
Unlike the other costly urban flats, accommodation at the KSHB flats near the Kozhikode Medical College would be cheap and a family would be able to avail itself of the facility by paying just Rs.1,000 a month, the officials said.
A security amount of Rs.6,600 would be collected from the tenant for confirming the allotment for a period of 33 months.
P.C. Mohanan, Executive Engineer of KSHB, said the application process for allotment of the flats would be completed by Tuesday and the allotment process would begin in January next. Only labourers under the Below Poverty Line (BPL) would be considered for the scheme and the allotment would be made after scrutinising the documents, he added.
The KSHB authorities said there would be priority for women labourers, single women, and widows who come from distant locations for work in the city. It would never be a permanent accommodation for labourers, as they would be asked to vacate after 33 months, they added.
Each flat in the new building would have an area of 342 square feet, which would include a bedroom, hall, kitchen, and a toilet.
Though the rooms did not have any other modern facilities, the spot would be ideal for a three-member family, who wanted to have an affordable stay in the city.
The KSHB officials said they had already received a number of enquiries from labourers seeking accommodation at the new apartment complex, which came at a very reasonable rate.
“Already 90 application forms have been distributed from the Kozhikode office, of which 30 persons have already returned the filled-in applications, they added.
It was in November, 2011, that the foundation stone for the ‘Athani’ project was laid by Finance Minister K.M. Mani. The State government allotted Rs.231 lakh for completing the project.
