Ernakulam district sets Aug 15 target for extreme poverty-free tag
KOCHI: Amid the government push to declare the state extreme poverty-free by November 1, Ernakulam district is sprinting towards the final phase of its 'extreme poverty eradication programme'.
According to officials, the administration aims to make the district extreme poverty-free by August 15, Independence Day. They said 5,650 'extremely poor' individuals have been identified in the district, of whom almost 90% have moved out of the category following coordinated efforts.
The first part of the project focused on identifying individuals requiring basic needs like food and healthcare. Of the 1,962 people identified as in need of food, 54 are being served cooked food while the rest are being provided with regular food kits.
As many as 2,458 individuals in need of medical assistance and healthcare were identified and are being supported through various schemes. Of them, 275 people are being provided with palliative care and 28 with self-support equipment.
In the next phase, 219 people with no source of income were identified. Of them, 199 are being supported via Kudumbashree's Ujjeevanam scheme, while the rest are getting support through other means of funding.
Meanwhile, around 281 individuals are in consideration for the housing scheme, the only part awaiting completion for the district to achieve the 'extreme- poverty' free status.
The programme was introduced by the state government in 2021 to make Kerala the first state to wipe out extreme poverty by November 1, 2025.
According to officials, almost 20 panchayats in the district are in the final stages of achieving the tag. Law Minister P Rajeeve had announced that his Kalamassery assembly constituency will be declared 'extreme-poverty free' in May.
'Ernakulam district is on track with the scheme. The revenue department and panchayats are coordinating towards using revenue poramboke land and allocating title deeds with the consent of the people in consideration,' district collector N S K Umesh told TNIE.
In April, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had announced that 50,401 families out of the 64,006 extremely poor families identified in the state have been moved out of extreme poverty. He had also declared Dharmadam, his assembly constituency, as the first extreme-poverty free constituency in the state under the scheme.
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