KASARGOD: The United Democratic Front (UDF) will scrap LIFE Mission, and other three flagship programmes of the LDF government if it returns to power in the state, said senior Congress leader and UDF convenor MM Hassan.
Speaking to reporters in Kasaragod on Friday, he said construction of the houses for the poor and the other schemes were the responsibility of the local bodies.
The other three flagship programmes of the LDF government are Haritha Kerala, Aardram, and the Comprehensive Educational Rejuvenation Programme.
Haritha Kerala aims at implementing sanitation schemes, projects for preserving water sources, agriculture development, and promotion of organic farming; Aardram aims at improving facilities in government hospitals and the education programme was launched at reviving and strengthening the public education system in the state.
Hassan, a minister in the A K Antony government between 2001 and 2006, did not name the other three programmes or elaborate on the specific problems the UDF had with them but said state government encroached on the responsibilities of the local bodies through these four programmes.
LIFE Mission is a single-window for different housing schemes offered by the local bodies and various government departments.
The beneficiaries -- selected by the gram sabha at the ward-level in gram panchayats -- get Rs 4 lakh.
Under the mission, the local body pitches in Rs 80,000 (which include shares from the district panchayat, block panchayat, and gram panchayat), the state government gives Rs 1 lakh, and Rs 2.20 lakh is a loan from Hudco. The local body concerned has to repay the loan in 15 years.
"The loan component is what makes Life Mission attractive for the beneficiaries," said a gram panchayat's assistant village office, who reviews the progress of the housing projects.
As the project completes each stage, the government transfers money to the bank account of the local body secretary, who in turns hands it over to the beneficiaries.
"Life Mission is just a nodal agency. The local self-government bodies are responsible right from the identification of the beneficiaries to the completion of the project," said an official of the Life Mission in Kasaragod.