Action committee questions construction cost of houses
Action committee chairperson Nazeer Alakkal said that it is not proper to reap profits on the disaster front.
"The people who are in the beneficiary list and are awaiting houses at the township are very concerned over the controversy. Just look at the 1,250sqft house provided by Kerala Police Association at a cost of Rs 23 lakh. If the landslide survivors were provided Rs 30 lakh, we would have built a 2,000sqft house," Alakkal said.
He said that it has been specifically mentioned in the law that disaster rehabilitation efforts should be carried out only after consultations with the victims.
"Even the court has said that. But here what consultations have been carried out with us? The district collector should immediately convene a meeting of the people in the beneficiary list and hear their suggestions. We had told the collector that the stairs from the ground floor should be provided from inside the house but in the model house it has been provisioned from outside," he said.
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Also, the beneficiaries have raised concerns over the metal awning above the window instead of a proper concrete sunshade saying that it could lead to water seepage in the monsoon.
Congress leaders had said that the model house should not have cost Rs 30 lakh. However, Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society (ULCCS), which took up the project, said each house cost Rs 22 lakh to build and with 18% tax, the final price would be Rs 25.9 lakh.
Action committee convener Shajimon Chooralmala said that even the construction cost of Rs 23 lakh claimed by ULCCS seemed to be exaggerated as construction costs won't work out to that figure with around 400 houses being built. "Also, we want to have the tiled roofed portion in the front replaced with concrete roofing and the stairs should be provided from inside the house," he said.
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