The State government is expected to announce the completion of two lakh houses under its Livelihood, Inclusion, Financial Empowerment (LIFE) housing scheme at the end of this month. As on Wednesday, a total of 1.86 lakh houses have been completed under the two phases of the LIFE scheme and the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (PMAY)-LIFE project.
Among the local bodies, the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation has the top position in the number of houses completed with 27,287 houses. The first phase of the LIFE project was meant for houses which have remained incomplete from previous housing schemes. Among the 54,173 such beneficiaries, 52,033 have already completed their houses.
In the second phase, to construct houses for those who own land, out of the 1,00,460 chosen beneficiaries, 92,213 inked agreements with various local bodies. A total of 71,815 beneficiaries out of this have completed their houses now, with the rest expected to complete within a month.
In the PMAY-LIFE scheme for urban areas, 46,605 out of the 79,520 beneficiaries have completed their houses, while in the PMAY-LIFE for rural areas, 16,531 out of the 17,475 beneficiaries have completed their houses.
Along with the announcement of the 2 lakh milestone, the third phase of the LIFE project, in which landless families will be accommodated in flat complexes, will also be formally launched. A total of 1,06,925 beneficiaries have already been identified.
Work on flats have begun in 10 districts, while issues with identifying appropriate land has delayed work in other districts.
The work on around 85 flat complexes are proposed to begin this year, out of which 14 will be under the co-operative department's care home project.
According to an official, many beneficiaries have come forward with a wish to construct houses, after purchasing land.
The government also sees this as a better model than flats in panchayats where the number of beneficiaries is not big enough for a flat project.
This is more economic too, as the unit cost for each family in an apartment would come to ₹13-14 lakh.
Reduced rates
As some beneficiaries have been found to be struggling to complete houses with ₹4 lakh, the LIFE mission has joined hands with various brands to provide electrical fittings, wiring, paint, sanitary fittings, cement and water tanks at 20-60% reduced rates. Cement and other materials will be provided at 15% discount from the Nirmithi Kendra's ‘Kalavara’ centre.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is expected to make the official ‘2 lakh’ declaration at the Putharikkandam maithanam in Thiruvananthapuram on February 29, with LIFE beneficiaries from the capital district participating.
