KOCHI: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday urged banks to show social responsibility by refraining from house confiscation proceedings during students’ exam season, warning that such actions disrupt families and affect children’s studies.
“Banks should take into consideration social responsibility and stop procedures like house confiscation of loan defaulters. This will make people who availed of loans dreaming of a house, homeless again. During the time of exams, banks should ensure the peace of homes is not disturbed,” the CM said while inaugurating the IT Conclave organised by Kerala Bank in Kochi.
The remarks come as the state government is moving ahead with a piece of legislation aimed at protecting families from losing their only home due to loan defaults. On September 13, the cabinet approved the draft Kerala Single Dwelling Protection Bill, 2025, which seeks to safeguard the sole residence of individuals who fall into financial distress for reasons beyond their control.
According to the draft, protection will apply in cases where annual family income is below Rs 3 lakh, and the total loan liability — including penalties and interest — does not exceed Rs 10 lakh. The relief will be strictly limited to households that own only one residence and whose repayment failure is not wilful, as determined by designated committees.
“We are aiming to become a state with no homeless people. The Life Mission was started to fulfil this dream, and over 4.5 lakh houses have already been built. But when people are evicted due to bank proceedings, they return to the list of homeless. The government is committed to protecting them and has initiated law-making for this purpose,” Pinarayi added.
At the conclave, the CM also highlighted Kerala Bank’s achievement of crossing Rs 1.5 lakh crore in business in the last fiscal year. The event, organised against the backdrop of integrating 14 different core banking systems in the state, also featured a case study on IT integration, presentations from IT companies, and interactive sessions. Minister for Cooperation V N Vasavan, Industries Minister P Rajeeve, NABARD chairman K V Shaji, Mayor M Anilkumar, and Kerala Bank president Gopi Kottamurikkal were among those present.