The Finance department has sanctioned a sum of ₹4 crore for the renovation of the dilapidated row houses called ‘layams’, where plantation workers live, at Bonacaud in Thiruvananthapuram. According to the statement issued by the office of Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal, an amount of ₹10 crore had been earmarked in the State Budget for development of the layams in the State.
Out of this, a sum of₹2 crore has been sanctioned. Further, permission is accorded to source the remaining fund from the unspent fund allocated to the Plantation Workers’ Relief Fund Committee for the renovation of the layams and deposited in the bank account. The district Nirmithi Kendra has been tasked with the renovation.
Renovation of works of layams will be carried out in BA1, BA2, GB and the top divisions of the estate. Workers had been living in dilapidated layams in the Bonacaud estate, which was completely shut down in March 2015. Recently, an inspection carried out by the Labour department on plantation estates across the State to ascertain the condition of layams has found a large number of the dwelling units in the estates to be in a dilapidated condition. Out of the 58 estates in which checks were conducted, the ‘layams’ in 55 of them were found to be poorly maintained.
Published - September 05, 2024 08:50 pm IST
