Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 1: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday declared that the state was free of extreme poverty.
Vijayan made the announcement in a special session of the House convened on the occasion of Kerala ‘Piravi’ or formation day and later at a public event held at Central Stadium here in the evening.
At the massive public event attended by Malayalam film superstar Mammootty, he said that eradication of extreme poverty from the state “was a reality and not a fraud”.
He was responding to the opposition Congress-led UDF allegation that the government’s declaration was a “fraud” and a “public relations exercise” in view of upcoming local body polls.
In the morning, as the special Assembly session commenced, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan said that the CM’s statement via rule 300 was “pure fraud” and in “contempt” of House rules.
“So, we cannot join in that and are completely boycotting the session,” Satheesan said. The opposition then walked out of the House shouting slogans that the claim was a “fraud” and that it was “shameful”.
Responding to the opposition’s allegation, the CM said the UDF was referring to its own habits when they say “fraud”.
“We only say what we can implement. We have implemented what we had said. That is our reply to the opposition leader,” he said.
The CM said that with the eradication of extreme poverty from the state, Kerala, “as a laboratory of welfare initiatives”, was presenting a new model to the nation that other states can emulate and benefit from.
He said that the project was successfully completed due to public participation and the coordinated efforts of the various government departments and local bodies.
Vijayan further said that measures like providing social security pension to about 62 lakh families, houses to about 4.70 lakh homeless families, and other similar welfare measures, “have helped to significantly reduce the extent and intensity of extreme poverty in Kerala”.
He said that the achievement has proved that if people step up and move forward with a sense of purpose, nothing is impossible.
“But this is not the end, it is a new beginning. We will ensure that extreme poverty does not resurface. For this, proper inspection needs to be carried out from time to time. The government will take steps for this. A blueprint for activities at various levels has been prepared.”
The CM said that with the eradication of extreme poverty from the state, it has made progress in the Sustainable Development Index envisioned by the United Nations.
“The process of eradicating extreme poverty is a continuation of the steps taken earlier to implement the Universal Public Distribution System and to eradicate landlessness and homelessness.” he said.
Vijayan said that though the goal was tough to achieve, it was done in a time-bound manner with public participation.
According to him, the decision to eradicate extreme poverty from the state was taken in the first cabinet of the second LDF government in 2021 and the beneficiaries were identified through an extensive participatory process.
The project was implemented on a pilot basis in the Wadakkanchery Municipality and the Anchuthengu and Thirunelli Grama Panchayats, and later extended throughout the state.
As part of the project, micro plans were prepared for each of the 64,006 beneficiary families, categorised into short-term, medium-term and long-term programmes.
A separate allocation of Rs 50 crore each for the financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25 and Rs 60 crore for 2025-26 has been made for this project and the amounts were used for healthcare, housing, and livelihood security, he noted.
“Through social welfare schemes, educational facilities, rural employment guarantee, and livelihood distribution, it was ensured that there was no hunger anywhere. Kerala has spent more than Rs 1,000 crore on extreme poverty eradication,” he emphasised.
After boycotting the Assembly in the morning, the opposition told the reporters outside the House that lakhs were spent to convene the special session only to make the announcement of extreme poverty eradication,” which has already been advertised in the news media at the cost of crores of rupees”.
“So, that is why we boycotted the assembly,” Satheesan said.
He also said that the government declaration was a “fraud” as a woman, who lived alone in a shed in Thiruvananthapuram district, reportedly died of starvation.
“Was she not in the list of extremely poor?” he asked and termed the declaration as a “public relations” exercise with the upcoming local body polls in mind. (PTI)
