As many as 318 houses have been constructed so far under the Punargeham project of the State government in Alappuzha.
Officials said here on Saturday that 248 families had shifted to their new homes.
“During the Onam festival period, 11 families from coastal areas of the district moved to new homes constructed at Tharayilkadavu, Thrikkunnapuzha, Ambalapuzha, Arattupuzha, Punthala, Purakkad, Cherthala, and Thuravoor. The houses are 450 sq.ft to 1,100 sq.ft in area. Solar panels have been fitted on 85 houses free of cost with the support of the Agency for New and Renewable Energy Research and Technology,” said a Fisheries department official.
The government launched Punargeham to provide housing for all fisher families residing in areas vulnerable to coastal erosion (within 50 metres of the coastline) in nine coastal districts of the State. The government provides beneficiary families an amount of ₹10 lakh each including ₹6 lakh for buying land and ₹4 lakh for constructing houses. The amount is disbursed in instalments.
While a district-level committee has drawn up a beneficiary list of 1,804 families in Alappuzha, 1,212 families have informed their willingness to move from the coastline to safer places. Officials said that over 800 beneficiaries in the district had identified land for building individual houses. Of these, 720 families had completed land registration procedures. A total of 517 beneficiaries had received the financial aid in full. While 318 houses had been built, the rest were in different stages of construction.
Meanwhile, the construction of an apartment complex under Punargeham for coastal residents at Mannumpuram near Purakkad is nearing completion. Officials said that as many as 204 fisher families would be relocated to the housing complex once it was ready.
The facility, being constructed by the Kerala State Coastal Area Development Corporation on 3.48 acres of land, has 17 blocks each having 12 flat units. Each 491 sq.ft flat unit has two bedrooms, living/dining area, kitchen and toilet. Besides, roads, drinking water, electricity, waste management systems, and compound walls are being readied.
