KOCHI: Laila's mornings still start with the struggles to move around in her single room shack. The widow's life has been stuck in the ghettos of Thuruthy for the last 25 years. Having nowhere to go, she looks after her children doing menial works even though she has several ailments. Many souls like her lead a similar life in the Kalvathy, Thuruthy and Koncheri colonies of Fort Kochi. With a promise to change their life forever, Kochi Corporation started the construction of flats under Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) in 2017 only to be stopped abruptly.
As per the initial proposal, a total of 755 families living in the aforementioned colonies would benefit from the RAY project. The ambitious slum rehabilitation plan focused on building apartments for 398 families and a double-storey building for six families along with the renovation of houses of 88 families.
Though a few residents received monetary support for renovating their homes, many are complaining about Corporation's negligence in realising the flat project. "There are many families living in puramboke land by paying hefty monthly rent. Most of them are going through severe financial strains. The apartments were their sole ray of hope. But the constant disruptions in the construction have cast a shadow over their dreams," said Hashim, a resident who refurbished his home under the RAY project.
Battling with various health issues, the slum dwellers have been going through a tough period. "All of us have been struggling with numerous unknown diseases. Viral fever, malaria and dengue are common here.
Our children live in these tiny rooms without medical assistance. Once the monsoon begins, the situation will get even worse. Other than the occasional visits during polls, political parties don't really care about us," said Khadeeja, a resident of Thuruthy colony.
Interestingly, there is a fully furnished apartment built under the scheme yet to be handed over to the families. "They can cite procedural delays and lack of funds in the ongoing work, but how can they justify their action when these families are living in pathetic condition?" asked a furious Ajith, who is awaiting his apartment.
Mayor Soumini Jain attributes to the technical glitches in the proposed estimate and lack of sufficient funds for the delay in construction. "There were many flaws in the first estimate of the project submitted for the sanction from the union government. Rs 19 crore was quoted in the estimate. But this is only less than half of what is required to complete the project. With the Rs 67.32 crore sanctioned under RAY utilised for different initiatives of the corporation, we were looking for gap funding to complete the work," she said.
Furthermore, she also said an agreement with Cochin Smart City Mission Limited (CSML) for the funds will be sanctioned soon.
"They agreed to allot Rs 21 crore from their slum rehabilitation project. The construction was stopped due to the delay in approving the contractors' bills. As the dilemma over funding is over, we will be able to resume the work soon," added the Mayor.