Punargeham Project: 1682 Fishermen Families Rehabilitated
So far, 1682 houses have been completed under Punargehm, a project launched by the state government to relocate fishermen families within 50 meters of the tidal line. Under this scheme, help will be provided to buy 2 to 3 cents of land on their own, build a house, buy land and house together, find land in groups and build a flat. A maximum of Rs 10 lakh will be given to each family. Under the supervision of the Fisheries Department, flats are being constructed and rehabilitated by acquiring government land and private land. The government has made a transparent system with the District Collector as chairman and people's representatives as members to select the beneficiaries for the flats. An amount of Rs.2,450 crore has been earmarked for the scheme across the State.
At present, 21,219 families in the state are beneficiaries of the scheme. Out of these, 8675 families have expressed their willingness to move to safer areas. Out of 8675 willing to shift, 3568 have found land on their own and 2913 have completed the land registration process and are in various stages of construction. Out of these, 1682 beneficiaries have completed their houses.
As many as 390 flats, including 128 in Karode in Thiruvananthapuram district, 20 in Beemapally and 114 in QSS Colony in Kollam district, have already been handed over to beneficiaries. In Ponnani in Malappuram district, 128 families were rehabilitated by constructing flats. Construction of 228 flats at Mannumpuram in Alappuzha district is in progress. In Malappuram district, 1806 families live within 50 metres. Of the 1175 families who have expressed their willingness to relocate, 396 have identified land, 262 have registered land and 134 have moved to safer areas.
The administrative approval process for the construction of flats for rehabilitation work is going on at a fast pace. The government has sanctioned 556 flats in Karode (24), Valiyathura (192), Ponnani (100), Unniyal (16), West Hill (80) and Koyipadi (144). In Thiruvananthapuram district, 10 acres of land in Muttathara and Veli is being made available for the construction of about 700 flats.
As part of the project, the Department of Ports Engineering has started the construction of 4 building complexes in Malappuram Unniyal, which can rehabilitate 16 families by constructing a building complex by providing 30 cents of property from the Fisheries Department. Each 540 sq ft flat will have 2 bedrooms, a hall, kitchen and toilet facilities
