155 fisher families get land approved for rehabilitation package
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Fisheries Department has approved purchase of land for constructing houses for 155 fishermen families in Thiruvananthapuram. A district monitoring committee chaired by the Collector evaluated the fair value of land identified under ‘Punargeham’, a rehabilitation scheme started by the department. The coastal families in Poovar, Valiyathura, Anchuthengu, Kayikara, Mambally, Poonthura, Nedumkandam, Vettoor and Chilakur have applied for the land evaluation. The value of land has been evaluated between Rs 60,000 and Rs 2 lakh.
As part of the project each family will get Rs 10 lakh. The family can spend a maximum of Rs 4 lakh for purchasing land and the rest Rs 6 lakh for constructing the house. If the amount spent on land is less the family can use the excess money for construction. “The success of the project depends on initiative of beneficiaries in making applications before the land evaluation committee. Similar procedures have been followed in other districts as well,” said Fisheries Minister J Mercykutty Amma.
The project was conceived to rehabilitate fisher families who are living in dwellings vulnerable to sea erosion. It involves rehabilitation of 18,685 fisher families who live within 50 metres from the coastline. It requires 421 acres of land for rehabilitation in coastal districts.
The government gave administrative sanction for Rs 2,450 crore to the Fisheries Department by the end of last year. It received an allocation of Rs 1,398 crore from the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF). The rest of the money will be provided by the department.
Punargeham will be implemented in three phases and Rs 998 crore will be spent on the first phase for rehabilitating 8487 families. An amount of Rs 797 crore and Rs 655 crore will be spent during next two phases for rehabilitating 5,099 families in each.