Kerala - Alappuzha   

Levy on costly houses soon

ALAPPUZHA: A slightly extravagant budget to construct the home of your dreams might soon attract levies from the State Government, which is planning to use the money thus garnered to build houses for the poor.

Housing Minister Binoy Viswom, talking to reporters after a review meeting on the sale of lottery tickets for the M.N. Laksham Veedu Renovation Project here on Tuesday, said the Government was contemplating a law to levy at least one percent of the total construction cost of houses from the public if the cost exceeds a particular sum. The cut-off point for construction budgets, from where the levies could be charged, would be fixed once the law is in place, the Minister said.

“As of now the Government cannot fix limits to individual budgets for constructing houses. People can spend as much as they want to, depending on their capacity. So we are thinking about putting a law in place so that if a prescribed limit is crossed, we can charge at least one percent of the total coast and use that money to help the poor have a roof over their heads,” Mr. Viswom said.

Calling for a debate on whether people should splurge money on homes, the Minister said the housing sector in the State saw the irony of towering, opulent houses on one side, and on the other, homeless poor wandering on the streets. The Rs.300-crore Laksham Veedu renovation project, which would see repair works on 60,000 homes built in 1972, and the EMS Housing Scheme were part of the Government’s efforts to address the issue, he said.

Expressing confidence that the Government would be able to complete the renovation of Laksham Veedu houses within two years, the Minister said the public, non-governmental organisations, social organisations, non-resident Indians and other philanthropists were being approached for financial assistance for the project.

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