As many as 88,000 more houses will be completed under the State government's Livelihood Inclusion and Financial Empowerment (LIFE) housing project this year, Minister for Local Self-Government M.V. Govindan has said. The government's aim is to complete four lakh more houses in the coming four years to reach the target of five lakh houses in five years, the Minister said.
He was speaking after handing over the keys to the house of Vedivechankovil-native Vidya and making the declaration of completion of 12,000 houses under the LIFE housing project as part of the government’s 100 Days action plan.
"We will make the dream of a house for everyone in Kerala come true. The LIFE project has now become a model for the entire country. Land and houses are being provided for the landless. The work on the 36 flat complexes in different districts are also progressing. Their keys will also be handed over to the beneficiaries soon," said Mr. Govindan.
Waste disposal project
He stressed that the government was also planning to initiate a major project to remove solid waste from cities and villages in the State. To address joblessness, a project to provide jobs to at least five out of 1,000 persons in every grama panchayat, municipality and Corporation is being planned.
The doorstep availability of various services will be expanded by December. The government's various projects as part of the silver jubilee celebrations of the people's plan programme will bring about a lot of change in the State, he said.
I.B. Satheesh, MLA, district panchayat president D. Sureshkumar, LIFE Mission CEO P.B. Nooh and the heads of various local bodies in the region were among those present.
Later, inaugurating a workshop organised by the Kudumbashree on PMAY-LIFE project and the National Livelihood Mission, Mr. Govindan said the local bodies had intervened effectively in times of crisis.
For the successful implementation of developmental projects, the support of the local bodies is required. Kerala has taken a different developmental path, compared to many other States, by focussing on improving the lives of the downtrodden rather than expanding the assets of billionaires, he said.
V.K. Prashant MLA, Thiruvananthapuram Corporation Mayor Arya Rajendran and Kudumbashree Executive Mission Director P.I. Sreevidya were among those present.