The government has submitted a Rs.750-crore housing project for the beneficiaries of the Zero Landless project for Central assistance.
Minister for Revenue Adoor Prakash told the media here on Tuesday that each beneficiary would be provided Rs.3 lakh for construction of houses (21 sq m). As many as 25,000 houses were proposed to be built under the project.
The Minister said about three lakh persons were proposed to be given three cents each under the project. While all applicants from Kasaragod and Kannur district had been given land, land could be transferred to only about 2,500 persons in the seven southern districts. He admitted that some of the plots, for which titles were issued, were under litigation.
Mr. Prakash said he had submitted the housing project to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had commended the project. He had also submitted a memorandum to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh for assistance to provide compensation to victims of monsoon havoc.
He recalled that 123 persons had died during the monsoon and many houses were damaged.
The State had sought Rs.258 crore, including Rs.193.8 crore for repair of public roads. The State had sought establishment of three doppler radars in the State for forecast of rains and cyclones. Work on the radar centre in Kochi should be restarted, he said.
The government had also submitted a memorandum to the 14th Finance Commission urging it to include death and losses from lightning and sea erosion for assistance from the Disaster Response Fund. At least one death was taking place in 75 per cent of villages in the State every season from lightning.