KALPETTA: In a bid to end the rampant corruption in tribal housing projects, Adivasi societies will be formed across the State to assign the task of constructing houses allotted under various State and Central government schemes.
The first such society in the State has been set up in Vellamunda panchayat in Wayanad.
The society, registered under the Kerala Cooperative Societies Act, comprises 75 skilled tribal construction workers hailing from the panchayat.
“This project is part of the government’s efforts to end rampant irregularities in the execution of tribal housing projects. The project would be extended to the remaining districts, if found successful,” said Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Tribes P K Jayalakshmi.
The path-breaking initiative will be implemented on an experimental basis in 21 wards in the panchayat and it will be gradually extended to other parts of the district, said officials with the Scheduled Tribes Development Department.
Initially, the society will take up the construction of 16 houses in the panchayat. The 75 members are being divided into four area-specific groups to execute the project.
The houses which are currently being constructed are those allotted under the Centre-sponsored Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) and the special State government housing package programmes for primitive tribal groups.
Each house with an area of 650 sq ft consists of two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and an outdoor toilet.
In the next phase, the society would be assigned to complete the construction works of the partially-built houses in Wayanad, she added.