The Local Self-Government department has allocated funds for projects to eradicate extreme poverty for construction of houses under the LIFE project as well as projects to ensure livelihood for those identified as part of the survey on extremely poor families in Kerala.
While an amount of ₹33.12 crore has been allocated for construction of houses for the extremely poor families which were found to be homeless and an amount of ₹16.43 crore has been allocated for the project to ensure livelihood for those in need of the same.
A total of 1,03,099 individuals from 64,006 families were identified as part of a ground-level survey conducted in the initial stages of the State government’s wide-ranging poverty eradication programme. Food, health, shelter, and income were the four distress factors considered in identifying the extremely poor families.
Local bodies prepared micro plans for each of the families to identify their immediate as well as long-time needs. A total of 77,555 immediate projects, 36,433 short-term projects, and 30,696 long-term projects, were formulated by the local bodies for these families.
In the first phase of addressing the issues faced by these families, the ‘Avakasham Athivegam’ campaign was launched to provide fundamental civic documents and access to essential services. Ration cards, election identity cards, Aadhaar cards, and other crucial documents and necessities like social security pensions, health insurance, MGNREGS job cards, and bank accounts were provided to 21,263 individuals who were yet to get them. Free treatment, medicines, and follow-up care were provided to those needing it.
Under the long-term plan, the government has prioritised houses for 8,600 families and land and housing for 7,067 families under the LIFE project. The State government had in the 2023-24 Budget allocated ₹50 crore as a special allocation for the poverty eradication project. This amount was initially set aside for spending on medical treatment purposes for those identified in the survey. However, it has now been decided to use the funds for construction of houses and projects for livelihood, while an amount of ₹45 lakh will be set aside for medical treatment purposes.
As per a status report released in November 2023, after completion of the first phase of the poverty eradication programme, 30,658 families (47.89% of the total identified) have moved out of extreme poverty.
