THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the eyes of everyone, they are a privileged lot elected by the people to be their voice in the state assembly. But whenever the House is convened, 19 MLAs, one of them a minister, find it difficult to get a proper dwelling in the state capital! Many times, they are forced to squeeze themselves into groups in cramped rooms. This has been happening for two years now.
The legislators, belonging to both the ruling LDF and opposition UDF, were earlier accommodated at MLA hostel’s Pamba block which was demolished for renovation two years ago.
Among the displaced MLAs is Saji Cherian, who was reinducted into the Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet only recently.
He has been allotted a ministerial mansion, but since repair work is going on there, he continues to stay in the MLA accommodation.
Pamba block construction to start by April: Speaker
The Legislature Secretariat had earlier taken 19 apartments for rent at Killipalam for these MLAs. But since the accommodation did not meet the expectations, they shifted to one-room apartments at the Nila block, which serve as office-cum-bedroom for the MLA and his personal assistant. Two cots, a table and a couple of chairs are cramped in a single room in such a setup.
The Legislature Secretariat has advertised in newspapers seeking 19 flats for rent. “We are trying to get 19 apartments within the city, either furnished or non-furnished at Rs 25,000 per month,” said a top official.
The decades-old Pamba block was demolished to construct a new 12-storey building with 65 flats at an estimated cost of Rs 80 crore.
It’s expected to be completed within 18 months once the tender is awarded. The e-tender inviting prospective builders to take up the contract under Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) model will be opened on Wednesday.
Speaker A N Shamseer told TNIE that construction of the Pamba block will start by April. “There were some tech issues but things have now fallen into place. The CM himself is monitoring the procedure. This is for the first time in the history of the PWD that EPC model is being followed up.”
THE WAIT CONTINUES
The decades-old Pamba block was demolished to construct a new 12-storey building with 65 flats at an estimated cost of Rs 80 crore. It’s expected to be completed within 18 months once the tender is awarded