Kottayam first zero-poverty dist in state

Time of India

2 days ago

Kottayam: Minister for local self-govt, rural development and excise M B Rajesh formally announced the district as the first in the state without any extremely poor residents on Saturday.
Rajesh said that when the LDF govt came to power in 2021, the first decision taken was to make the state free from extreme poverty by Nov 1, 2025, and Kottayam district was far ahead of others in achieving this target.
"People in other states are amazed by the progress made by Kerala in eradicating extreme poverty. In the world, such an effort was made only in China before. We are approaching the goal by providing houses to the homeless through the LIFE project, providing land to those without land through the 'Manasodithiri Mannu' project and providing land with the cooperation of private individuals," the minister said.
Ports minister V N Vasavan, who presided over the function, said Kottayam will be the first district in the country to achieve this feat.
Works launched in 2021
The process of collecting data to identify those living in extreme poverty began in the district in Oct 2021. The survey was conducted on a mass basis. As many as 1,344 enumeration teams participated in the survey, with 2,688 enumerators involved. Focus group discussions and grama sabha discussions were held.
Extreme poverty was determined based on food, health, income and housing (homeless, without a home and land).
Kottayam became the first district in the state to complete the extreme poverty determination process on Jan 10, 2022. As many as 1,071 people were identified in the survey. Those who died and those who migrated to other states or districts were excluded through a super check. In the final list, 903 people were found to be extremely poor.
In Aug 2022, 978 microplans were prepared for the rehabilitation and livelihood of the extremely poor. Project implementation began in Oct 2022. According to the microplan prepared at the LSG level, health services such as food, medicines, palliative care and health aids were made available to all families in need.
Providing food kits to families facing food shortages and cooked meals to families unable to cook is still continuing.
This service is currently being provided to 605 families. Medicines were made available to 693 families in need. Palliative care services are also being provided to 206 families who needed them. Health and safety supplies were provided to six families in need.
Facilities were provided for 155 families who needed a source of income. Income sources were provided to 140 families through the Kudumbashree-Ujjeevanam project, six families through LSG bodies, five families through other departments, and five families through private institutions.
Safe housing was ensured for all homeless and landless people. Houses were ensured for 67 families in extreme poverty who needed only houses.
Land and houses were secured for 50 families in need of houses, property and housing. Twenty-two families were shifted to rented houses. This was made possible through the LIFE project, PMAY project, sponsorship, and the help of other voluntary organizations. As many as 490 beneficiaries were provided with entitlement documents, including Aadhaar, ration card, bank account and other identity cards. Fifty-five students were also provided with free bus passes.
Along with providing study materials to these children, study guidance programmes were also organized.
As part of the project, steps were taken to rehabilitate and treat those who wandered and those facing mental challenges.