By P. Sreekumaran
THIRUVANTHAPURAM: Kerala has added yet another feather to its capacious cap of achievements, turning its critics and detractors green with envy.
‘God’s Own Country’ is set to officially become the first state in the country to be free from extreme poverty. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will make the announcement at a function to be held at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on November 1.
Actors Mammootty, Mohanlal and Kamal Haasan will be special guests at the event to which all state ministers and the leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan will be invited, Minister for Local Self-Governments M. B. Rajesh said at a press conference. The extreme poverty eradication programme began in 2021 as one of the first Cabinet decisions of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government.
A Niti Ayog study said Kerala is the State with the lowest poverty rate in the country with a poverty rate of 0.7 of the total population. The Government, Rajesh said, took the initiative to reach out to this small population and meet their needs.
At the end of a ground-level survey, as many as 64,006 families in the State were identified as extremely poor, based on factors such as food, health, livelihood and shelter. Many marginalised people, whose names were not on the voters’ list, and didn’t have even a ration card or Aadhaar were on the list. Micro plans on the immediate and long-term needs were prepared for each of the families. Essential documents were given to 21, 263 individuals lacking these.
Houses were provided to 3,913 families; land for 1,338 families, house repair works of up to Rs 2 lakh each done for 5,651 families, Rajesh added. Out of the 64,006 families identified in the 2021 survey, 4421 individuals (considered as single member families in the survey) died in the intervening years Despite extensive checks, contacts and efforts, 261 families living as nomads could not be found during this process as a vast majority of these are migrants to other States. Arrangements have been made to provide them with all help if they return. Also, there are 47 cases where different members of the same family are listed in various local bodies. Thus, but for 4,729 families, the remaining 59, 277 families have been uplifted from extreme poverty, the Minister asserted.
Around four lakh enumerators were pressed into duty in the State. Their task: to identify the extremely marginalized population through a participatory, grassroots exercise. The extremely poor were identified based on four parameters — food, health, income and housing — in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development goals.
The Local Self-Governments Minister said the project became a success thanks to the State’s strong, decentralised, local governance structure. The local bodies, Rajesh admitted, played a big role in the initial survey, the formulation of micro plans and their implementation. The Government ensured the coordination of all departments. For instance, the Civil Supplies department issued ration cards on a priority basis; the Revenue department identified lands for building houses; the health department provided treatment and supply of all medicines; the General Education and Higher Education departments offered free education to children from these families and the Transport department gave them cards for free travel.
Not surprisingly, the project has attracted criticism from the BJP and Opposition-backed United Democratic Front (UDF). BJP State chief Rajiv Chandrasekhar caused eyebrows to be raised in disbelief when he claimed that the reduction of poverty in the State was made possible thanks to the schemes sponsored by the Central Government! The remark drew a sharp reaction from the Chief Minister, who wanted Rajiv to mention which schemes of the Union Government were utilized for the project. Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan also sang the same tune by dubbing the achievement as a mere poll-eve drama. (IPA Service)
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