Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Rs.991-cr. resettlement scheme mooted

Special Correspondent

Families living in danger zones to be resettled at safer places

K.P. Rajendran

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Government has submitted a Rs.991.50-crore scheme to the Centre for resettlement of families living in calamity-prone areas of the State, Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran told the Assembly on Wednesday.

Replying to a submission by V.S. Sunil Kumar (CPI), the Revenue Minister said the scheme was proposed to be implemented over the coming five years and was aimed at finding a permanent solution to the displacement of families living in coastal areas, river banks and places prone to landslips on account of sea erosion and floods. The families identified as living in such danger zones would be resettled at safer places and provided with proper houses under the scheme.

The Government, he said, proposed to draw upon the expertise of the National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, Bharathidasan University and the Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS), Thiruvananthapuram, in the matter. The project would be in addition to the Rs.1,441-crore project already sanctioned by the Centre for rehabilitation of tsunami-affected families. The proposal is to resettle 5,000 families in the first year and 12,000 families in the second from the coastal areas and 5,000 families from the river banks within the coming three years, taking the total number of families to be resettled to 22,000. The Government also wished to secure the support of voluntary agencies in the matter, he added.

Studies conducted by the Government had revealed that there were around 50,000 families living in flood-prone areas in the State. Of them, 4,000 each lived in Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Thrissur, Ernakulam and Alappuzha districts and 10,000 each in Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts, Mr. Rajendran said.

Cases

Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told A.M. Arif (CPI-M) that it was not the policy of the Government to harass political activists by pursuing cases registered against them for their role in popular agitations. The decision whether or not to continue with the cases should be a taken by courts. All that the Government could do was to issue No Objection Certificates (NOC) in fit cases. The Government would study each case on its merit and issue NOC for their withdrawal, he said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Call to make sanitation drive a success
Children show that sensitivity is not a dead word
Rs.991-cr. resettlement scheme mooted
Railways mull wagon factory in State
Assault on children: two caretakers arrested
Preparations apace for pilgrimage
Child dies following fever
Devasia laid to rest
Missing girl traced
Abandoned infant adopted
Sanitation drive to be held tomorrow
Around the City
In Thiruvananthapuram Today

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu