The Hindu Business Line : Model poverty alleviation scheme for Mattanchery

The Government has formed a monitoring committee with the Minister for Local Self Government, Mr Cherkalam Abdullah, as Chairman and Mr V.K. Ibrahim Kunju as Vice-Chairman. Development works costing Rs 55 crore will be taken up under the programme.

This will include construction of houses, sanitation, drinking water supply, social welfare and education as well as small-scale entrepreneurship proposals.

About Rs 10 crore has been released for the first phase of the project, of which Rs 5 crore was given by the Union and the State Governments and rest by the lead bank. Creation of around 1,000 small-scale units for women has been given priority in the first phase. The project is expected to be completed in five years, Mr Ibrahim Kunju said.

An order issued by the State Government in this regard said that the project would be considered as a model as it is for the first time that a special project has been conceived for alleviating poverty in a particular region.

The Convenor of the committee would be the Executive Director of Kudumbasree, Mr T.K. Jose, and the Mayor, Mr C.M. Dinesh Mani, the Department of Local Self Government Secretary, Mr Kamal Kutty, and the Urban Affairs Director, Ms Rani George, will be its members. All the corporation councillors of Mattanchery, Kudumbasree Local administration officials and the CDS officials will also be members of the committee. The first meeting of the committee will be held on the first week of June.

A special survey was launched in Mattanchery in May 2003 and seminars and workshops were held in July and August. Based on these, a detailed report was submitted before the Union and the State Governments. The Union Government has given the final approval to the programme in February this year.

However, no action could be initiated at that time on account of general elections.

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